Geo - Eye's Wide Open 2012

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Geo - Eye's Wide Open 2012

Postby geo » Wed Feb 29, 2012 7:33 am

I just had some blood work done on Monday and the results quite frankly shocked me. They weren't unexpected but their severity finally opened my eyes. I need to be serious about this diet/lifestyle...now...before its really too late.

I showed my wife the numbers (she's a nurse) and she started to panic. She of course wanted me to see a doctor right away. But I hate doctors or more accurately I hate the pills and potions they foist on us. I've never used one that wasn't all about treating the systems of chronic disease rather than curing anything. So I tend to avoid them like the plague.

So when my wife said I needed to see a doctor right away my response was no, I'll fix this myself, after all I caused it in the first place and I've read/learned enough to know I CAN fix it. Of course later on I found her crying by herself because she was worried about me. That was the last push I needed. It was then that I decided I really need to do this once and for all, for myself and for my family.

First thing I did was write to Dr Mcd. I'm not his patient and he has no obligation to me what so ever. But I've heard others here recommend it so I gave it a shot. He responded to me a few hours later with some helpful advise and encouragment. (I have no idea how a busy Doctor can be bothered to respond to someone they dont even know, but I'm so grateful he did.) So thus begins my Journey, eyes wide open to the possibilities and the reality. I will heal myself!

For the curious, my stats:

age: 55 Height: 6'0 Weight: 261

Blood Work Report:

Glucose - 131 - high
Creatinine - 1.5 high - may indicate chronic Kidney disease
eGFR - 52 low - a persistant eGFR below 59 (3 months or more) may indicate chronic Kidney disease.

Other metabolic serum levels were all in the normal range thankfully.

Lipids:
Total Cholesterol - 273 high
Triglycerides - 559 Very High with an alert to see a physician and the fact that results were verified by repeated testing.
HDL - 37 low
LDL and VLDL not calculable due to Tri's being so high
Total Cho/HDL ratio - 7 high

C-Reactive Protein - 7 high (High risk for future cvd events starts at 3 so I'm well beyond that)

Basically I'm a walking time bomb for CVD and potentially have kidney disease. This is made more concerning due to the fact I have only one kidney (donated kidney to sister about 16 yrs ago (she was Type 1 diabetic))

And of course chronic disease is a family trait - cvd (father, brother, sister), Diabetes (sister), cancer (sister, mother). I'm determine not to follow in their path now anymore...

geo
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Re: Geo - Eye's Wide Open 2012

Postby LauraA » Wed Feb 29, 2012 8:14 am

Wow- welcome! How great that Dr McD answered you right away. Did he have specific advice that will speed up your efforts? Welcome here. I just started a journal, and I hope that yours helps you. Take care, LauraA
Take care, LauraA

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Re: Geo - Eye's Wide Open 2012

Postby geo » Wed Feb 29, 2012 8:50 am

Thanks LauraA!

I didn't ask DrM for anything specific per se (I didn't provide my numbers above as I didn't think that would be proper as I'm not his patient and don't expect him to provide medical advise for my condition). He did however point me to lots of info/links on this site that would be relevant to me. Some I've read before, some I haven't seen yet but will be looking at over the days and months ahead...

I think my objective concerning diet will be to follow the MWL with a strict Novickian flare :D I.e., keep it very simple, minimize salt/sugar and consider the effects of cron...

I just read your journal, great stuff!

geo :shock:
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Re: Geo - Eye's Wide Open 2012

Postby geo » Wed Feb 29, 2012 9:04 am

Day 0

... oh and forgot to mention my BP yesterday was 153/92...obviously high, <sigh>.

So I start this journal today but actually started the diet yesterday :-D

B: nothing, was too busy at work to even get hungry and just forgot to eat
L: 2 cups brown rice, 12 oz stiry-fry vegs and 1/3 cup salsa. This is becoming one of my favorite meals...easily done in 10 mins or less
S: 3 potates - 20.8 oz (yeah I measured just to gauge how much it was). I was buried in work all day and just didn't feel up to cooking anything else. It filled me up and no complaints here :-)

Now I need to work on exercise (what, when, how) and stress reduction. I want to attack this stuff from all angles, diet, lifestyle, exercise (mental and physical), stress reduction, and who knows maybe I'll convince the family to follow suit...I just wish their were more hours in the day to get my reading in :roll:

geo :shock:
Last edited by geo on Mon Jul 16, 2012 7:16 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: Geo - Eye's Wide Open 2012

Postby geo » Thu Mar 01, 2012 6:38 am

Day 1

B: oatmeal with flax and cinnamon. Added Stevia (yuck, the after taste is no better than artificial sweetners) may go back to just a tsp of sugar or maybe I could add some chopped dates???
2 cups of herbal tea
S: Banana
L: pound of Mexican mixed veggies with salsa (starch was corn)
Tangerine
D: Baked Potato and pound of mixed veggies

I know, no beans. Unfortunately, I hate beans. I love a good middle east lentil soup, but haven't found a good McD-ized recipe yet and I'm a lousy cook (I burn water easily). And for no good reason I'm trying to avoid the gluten grains. They simply make me want to eat bread and I'm not going there.
Doesn't sound like much but its all I could eat and am quite full so I'm satisfied. Probably need to do some cron-o-meter work to balance out the nutrients some.

Oh and started taking B-12 and D. 1000 mcg B-12 daily for 2 weeks, then switch to a twice a week schedule. 2000iu D everyday. I'll probably get my levels checked next time just to make sure I'm not over doing the D. I'm taking the D because I get almost no Sun this time of year and not a lot the rest of the year (to self-conscious right now lol)

Another heavy work day, to tired for anything. Fell asleep at 9PM lol

I'm still working on my workout plan. I've got some of it figured out. Basically it will be HIT and HIIT based. HIT for body weight exercises, HIIT for aerobics and also have some gentle static stretching. I want what I call BI (Brief Intensity)...lol sounds like a good title for a book :-) I'm thinking I'll give my body a week to get used to the eating pattern and then start my routines.

Reading: Healing Cancer from the Inside Out by Mike Anderson. Good book and excellent explanation of the games the medical industries play with "relative" percentages vs "absolute" percentages. Keep that in mind when reading studies...
Also keeping up with Jeff's writings...always great info with that scientific basis...Got just a bit more to read from the info DrM gave me...its definitely making me worry far less than I have been last couple days.

Also have DrM MWL book at my side for motivation and keeping the details in the back of my mind always.

geo :shock:
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Re: Geo - Eye's Wide Open 2012

Postby LauraA » Thu Mar 01, 2012 7:26 am

It looks like you are doing great! I'll bet your numbers will change very quickly, especially blood pressure. I'm with you MWL and keeping it very simple. The keeping it simple was the part that I didn't really "get" in the past. I also seem to be gluten free, though I didn't really plan it that way. I definitely need to stay away from wheat. My brother was visiting once, and he eats McDougall style. He was here for a couple of nights, and bought some Ezekiel English muffins. He only ate two, and as soon as he left I finished off the package!! Crazy! Anyway, keep up the good work. Take care, LauraA
PS Oh, and I would never forget a meal or be too busy for a meal! I can't imagine!!
Take care, LauraA

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Re: Geo - Eye's Wide Open 2012

Postby geo » Thu Mar 01, 2012 7:52 am

Thanks LauraA! I'm definitely trying to maximize changes with what I'm doing and I'm looking forward to the journey. I know what I write probably sounds a bit too analytical for most folks but I know if I don't keep it this way with all the details I'll lose sight of the goals :?

I don't usually forget meals, but this week has been just incredibly busy...I feel like I've got phones growing out of each ear :D

Hopefully today will die down some and give me a break. On the other hand being busy also keeps me from thinking about food and getting hungry, so I can't complain too much.

I appreciate your comments and hopefully some folks will chime in here from time to time... just saw your latest post and it looks like your on your way to success as well :-D Seems like you've gathered a good crowd in just a few days!

Take care and drop by anytime!

geo :D
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Re: Geo - Eye's Wide Open 2012

Postby geo » Fri Mar 02, 2012 6:23 am

Day 2

B: multi-grain hot cereal with blueberries
2 cups herbal tea
S: banana
L: Mex veggies w/salsa (corn as starch)
apple
S: banana
D: 2 baked potatoes and mixed veggies

Feel good today. No hunger (in fact went to bed feeling a bit stuffed). Work finally let up enough for me to catch my breadth. I've decided I will start doing a weekly weigh-in on Mondays (I still weigh myself everyday out of curiosity's sake, but I'm trying to break that habit as it simply doesn't help to see little to no change on a daily basis). I think I'll start recording my BP numbers once a week as well.

Reading: Just have a bit more on DrM's material to go through and have a few dozen video's to watch. Saw a couple DrG's video's...he's quite a character! Starting to read the Pleasure Trap as well. I have so many books to read and never enough time :duh:

Exercise: Still working out my details. It seems like I'm procrastinating on starting exercise, but in the MWL book, DrM recommends that if you have heart disease you should first eat a few days of his diet before starting an exercise program. Gives your body a break to adjust to change. I think going through a week of MWL is enough of a break so I will start my program on Monday :-)

geo :shock:
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Re: Geo - Eye's Wide Open 2012

Postby geo » Sat Mar 03, 2012 5:31 am

Day 3

B: oatmeal with blue berries
L: steamed brown rice and steamed Chinese Veggies - yes actually went out to lunch and had a perfect McD meal :-)
D: Mex veggies with salsa over brown rice.

Given my Trig's are so high, I think I will start limiting my fruit intake to 1-2 servings. Read that in one of DrM's Hot Topics, too many fruits can keep trig's high.

Seems like it takes about 45 mins before I feel that full feeling from eating. Probably from over eating for so many years. None the less no hunger! Today was a good day (aren't all fridays :D )

Goal setting:
I was re-reading Jefff's optimal BMI thread and for fun plugged my numbers into a BMI calculator to cover a BMI of 18.5 to 21.9. That came out to 138 to 161 pounds. The 161 sounds reasonable and would take me back to about 9th grade, but 138 at 6' sounds rediculous for me... but we'll see. I've not made up my mind about my ultimate wt goal yet or even if I want one. For now its all about reversing my numbers (aka disease). And reading DrM's material on CVD, diabetes and kidny disease it most definitely sounds doable :)
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Re: Geo - Eye's Wide Open 2012

Postby Dissolution » Sat Mar 03, 2012 7:45 am

Congratulations on discovering this way of eating. Looks like you are starting off very well. I predict great success for you!

I tend to use date sugar in my oatmeal, although the healthier alternative I use sometimes is just to mash a banana into the oatmeal.

I was 5'10" and 300 Lbs when I started. I pretty much just picked a number as my goal weight. I have no idea if that's where I'll end up or not. The important thing I have realized is that I can get as thin as I want to with this lifestyle.

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Re: Geo - Eye's Wide Open 2012

Postby geo » Sat Mar 03, 2012 10:25 am

Hey dissolution! Thanks for the comments. I know the road is long, but where else do we have to go? :lol:

I just read a few pages of your journal and its amazing! All the ups and downs but it seems as if the good times are what matter most. Just keep chugging along and we'll both get there :D
geo

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Re: Geo - Eye's Wide Open 2012

Postby lydia » Sat Mar 03, 2012 10:28 am

I see a new star McDougaller in our future!!!! Good luck and enjoy the ride. You have so much to gain from this!!!!
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Re: Geo - Eye's Wide Open 2012

Postby geo » Sat Mar 03, 2012 12:30 pm

Hi Lydia! Thanks so much for the kind words. The future is what we make of it :)
geo

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Re: Geo - Eye's Wide Open 2012

Postby geo » Sun Mar 04, 2012 6:18 am

Day 4

B: got caught up in some chores and never got around to it
L: baked potato and sweet potato with a pound of stirfry veggies...was hungry since I missed breakfast lol
D: 2 cups rice and mixed veggies
S: black plum

Not a bad day. Was out and about shopping for food. Its really amazing how little I need to spend to eat this way. So far the lack of a lot of variety doesn't bother me at all. It takes me less than 10 mins to "cook" a meal so its easy to have something filling if I feel the urge. Its a bit more trouble when I go to work.I have to make sure I take enough so I won't be tempted with the junk food there. Got me a big cooler bag that you can freeze and keeps my food cold till I can nuke them at work.

I visited a link someone posted in another thread from the NIH about Metabolic Syndrome. It said if you have 3 or more of about 6-7 symptoms they listed then you have it. <sigh> I had every symptom they mentioned. The recommendation though was a low-fat diet, weight loss and exercise...I think I'm more than covered for that with MWL :-D I showed my wife the link and she spent quite some time reading it. I think shes beginning to understand what I'm trying to do here :-)
geo

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Some Random Thoughts on Successful McDougalling
geo
 
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Re: Geo - Eye's Wide Open 2012

Postby geo » Mon Mar 05, 2012 6:27 am

Day 5

B: hot multi-grain cereal with flax
L: rice with mixed veggies
D: 2 large baked potatoes with mixed veggies and salsa

Really feeling stuffed after dinner. Definitely ate too much lol. And no snacks today, seems like I really wasn't interested in them today. It does seem as if my stomach is not liking the volume so much anymore. I just need to be careful that I don't lower the volume too much and end up getting hungry...bad things happen when I'm ravenous...

Exercise: I've really felt no drop in energy since starting this woe, but then I can't say that I have a lot more energy either. I am trying to walk a bit more to become accustomed to it. I start my exercise program tomorrow, so I'll see how I really feel then. I suspect I'll be wiped out so I will do it in the evening after work.

Reading: I picked up this fascinating book on how to examine the science and evidence to be critically objective. "Smart Health Choices". http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK63638/
Its from the NIH and is a free pdf download. Jeff recommends it :) It goes on my to do reading list for now lol...I'm so backed up right now in new material. I should post a list here on what I have in store for the next few months...
geo

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Some Random Thoughts on Successful McDougalling
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