Saturday, December 10, 2011

The answer is 42, but what is the question?

Well, today is it. My 42nd birthday. This is the year of why could be if.... My father died when he was 42 years old. He was 42 and and half. I don't know much about his life or health as he left us kids and didn't have contact with us, but I know he never had a weight problem. He was a fairly heavy smoker and had been smoking since his mid teen years. He had a horrible diet of fried foods and 10 years before his death, he had a very serious accident that was miraculous that he survived (and I'm sure that contributed to his short life). He died of a heart attack. 42 years old and a heart attack. He had one, was in the hospital and then had another that killed him while at the hospital recovering from the first very serious attack. Knowing this as his child is a bit scary.

My mom went through menopause when she was 42. Completely done. That too is early and a bit scary for me. Not that I plan to have any more kids, but going through menopause early means that my bones are more at risk for osteoporosis. And since I didn't drink milk as a baby or young child, I think I'm at a greater risk. My maternal grandmotheer suffered from osteoporosis too, so there is hereditary risk too.

So what was I doing with my life, knowing all this? I was fat and unfit and eating a semi unhealthy diet. I was avoiding everything even though I had warning signs of problems. I was just afraid and didn't want to face anything hard.

Well, you all know I had a health wake up call. I got really scared. My husband was scared too. I was still 40 years old when I got word that my health was in a really bad place and I had a 14 year old and a 5 year old child. Hello?? I owed it to all of them to be healthy.

So, it started. A year ago today I weighed 260 pounds. I remember as I had gained a few since Thanksgiving. I lost those 4 pounds by New Year's when I started the exercising. I started by just watching my sugar intake, but I needed to feel a bit better before I started the exercise. That came a bit later.

I weigh, as of this morning, 171.0 pounds. 89 pounds less than I did last year! Nearly ninety pounds!!! If you would have told me last year that this was even possible, I would have said you were lying! No way could it happen! But here I am.

And as the ultimate gift, for the first time ever in my just shy of 19 year relationship with my husband, I weigh less than he does. This is no easy feat as he is thin and the most he's ever gained is 25 pounds which still had him within a normal BMI for his height. And he has lost 20 pounds this year. Yesterday it was close. He weighed 170.8 and I weighed 171.4. That was the lowest he had been in a month and it was my all time low. Today he was back up to 172.4 (where he has been recently) and I was down to 171.0 on the nose. You cannot imagine how huge that feels. He has a smaller build and I have a larger build, so there should never be a huge diffence in our weights, but I "should" weigh less than him and I never have! Until today, on this very significant birthday.

I am now doing all I can to make my life healthier. I eat better. I have dropped the weight and continue to try to do better and I have increased my fitness level. I can't know what my future will bring. I could go through menopause early too. I could die of a heart attack at a young age too, but at least I can know and my family can know that I tried to do things to make the risks lower.

So 42... Here I am.... I may not know the question, but I'm ready with my healthier answer to this year. This year will be the year of maintenance and fine tuning my health and weight. The big job is done. The harder part (maintenance) still needs to be tested.

Stats for 12/10/11:

Beginning weight: 255.6. Now: 171.0

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