In my previous four books, I have discussed my life experiences and stories about myself and my family. I have also covered my travel and work in two additional books. What I have failed to discuss to any great extent is my physical health. As I stated in the foreword, I have been fighting my weight all of my life. While I have been overweight several times in my life, I have always managed to lose the weight when I set my mind to it. My weight has never affected my health in any way. Unfortunately, as I got older, my metabolic rate has slowed down, and weight loss has become problematic. I have noticed that as I edge closer and closer to the 60 year mark, so does my weight increase.
When I hit the 270-pound mark, my blood pressure became an issue. I am currently on two anti-hypertensive medications. I have also been diagnosed as being pre-diabetic. I have always had problems with cholesterol levels in my blood, which is just genetics. Even when my BMI was 18, my cholesterol was hovering around 200. I will discuss that later on in the book. When I hit the 308-pound mark, I started becoming short of breath when I went on the all-too-infrequent walks with my wife. I also noticed that I was having problems kneeling and getting back up. It was high time that I did something to reverse this worsening trend. A few months ago, I came across an old co-worker of mine. I did not recognize her at first until we started talking. The reason I did not remember her was that she had lost over one hundred pounds. I, of course, asked her how she did this, and she told me that she had bariatric surgery.
I had frankly not given it much thought and filed that little tidbit away. I have always had a low opinion on bariatric surgery, thanks to the experiences my Aunt Alida had with the procedure back in the 1970s. Now that my health was becoming a major issue, it was fast becoming my last hope. It is one thing to have to take a couple of medications, it is an entirely different matter when your breathing is involved. This is when it truly became a critical issue for me. I will discuss the surgery and its ramifications in a later chapter. All I will say right now is that having the surgery is not a decision to take lightly. It will affect the way you live the rest of your life.
As I developed the idea for this book, I realized that maintaining a stable and healthy weight was only possible when I followed a consistent exercise plan. That meant mainly jogging. My income, at least until I reached my forties, was never very substantial, so I could not rely on any expensive new fads like Peloton to stay in shape. Running was always the easiest and cheapest activity for me. I ran consistently for over 10 years, accumulating a few thousand miles and wearing out several pairs of running shoes. I ended up completing three marathons and countless 10K races. I found that no matter what shape my physical fitness took, having a goal made motivation much easier. Having an exercise partner can make the grueling hours spent training much more tolerable. While most of the time was spent in solo exercise, I did have a young lady or two that I would go on rides with once I took up cycling. Organized events can also spice things up a little.
A few other issues that my excess weight caused, firstly, were that two life insurance companies refused me policies. Secondly, I discovered that I couldn’t ride some of the attractions in local amusement parks. Thirdly, it was affecting my sleep. I have always slept on my stomach. Due to my excess weight, I had to change my sleep position. That sounds trivial until you think about how much time you spend sleeping in your life.
I will cover not only my own experiences with weight gain/loss, but I will also spend time discussing our country’s health issues. Obesity has reached epidemic proportions in our country. For the first time in over a century, our life expectancy has decreased.
Obesity is a life-limiting disorder associated with several comorbidities. Currently, more than two-thirds of Americans are overweight (BMI ≥ 25 kg/m2), and over one-third are obese (BMI ≥ 30 kg/m2). Worldwide, 500 million adults are obese, and this number is estimated to increase to 1.12 billion by 2030.