06/23 @ 214

I lost 2.5 lbs last week. I was pretty good. I'm running a lot more now about 5.2 miles in an hour 4 times a week. My eating has been pretty good as well. I'm going to need to buy more clothes. When I run, I set little goals in my head: Can I reach 20:00 at 5.5 MPH 2.0 incline? etc.

So my next immediate weight lost goal is to get to 210 lbs so that I can buy some new pants and some shirts. I think I could do that over the Fourth of July weekend.

Current Weight: 214

06/16 @ 216.5, LDL good, HDL needs work.

I managed to lose 1 lb last week. An amazing feat considering that my Mom came to visit, we ate out a lot (Root down restaurant, breakfast, ice cream, etc). It's not too bad. I'm still under my target weight.

Current Weight: 216.5


I went to my cardiologist last week and I got a lipid panel done. The above busy chart represents my Total lipids, LDL (Lousy), HDL (good), and triglyserides, plus my targets for each. I have two goals, To lower my LDL levels to less than 70 and to raise my HDL to over 60. I've managed to lower my LDL's, but I have to raise my HDL to 60. I did increase it from 43 to 50 in 6 months, but it has to be higher.

According to this article on the Mayo Clinic website. I should be able to raise my HDL 1 mg/Dl for every 6 lbs of weight lost. So if I have 40 lbs to lose (216.5-175 = 41.5), I should increase my HDL to about 56 ( 41/6 = ~6 mg/Dl , 50 + 6=56). It's not 60, but it'll be close. My next lipid panel will be in December.

Lipid Panel: Tot: 123, LDL: 63, HDL: 50, Tri: 55

On Edit: When I did my last lipid panels in December, I weight 240 lbs and my HDL was 43. I weighted 217 when I got my lipids done and my HDL was 50..

So for 23 lbs of weight lost translated to 7 points in HDL lost.. So if I continue on that track and assuming the same weight/HDL percentage, 40 lbs weight lost would translate to about 12 poins. So my HDL could get up to 62 if I reach my ideal weight of 175 lbs.

06/02/2009 @ 220

It's been one year since I've started tracking my weight and I've lost 60 lbs in one year.

I have 31 lbs to go to get to not being overweight (189) and 45 to go to my ideal/target weight of 185 lbs.

My 38 inch pants are loose, and I wonder if I get every get to a 32 inch waist with 32 inch inseam. Is this goal doable?

Current Weight: 220 lbs

Weight Loss: Much better

This week, I felt much better, I lost 3 lbs over the week and I felt like I did much better.

It's nice when you get on the scale on the first time you read it it says 228.5, but then you check it again and it says 229. It's like you're cheating for next week. I'm almost out of the obese range (>227). The BMI measure what your ideal weight should be it's simple your weight divided by your height. The BMI categories are:

• obesity > 30
• overweight = 25 - 29.9
• normal = 18.5 - 24.9.

So for me:

• obesity > 227 lbs
  
• overweight = 189 - 227 lbs
  
• normal = 175 lbs (23.1)

I've adjusted my goal weight, It's still 1.5 lbs a week, but I've matched it to this week's weight. I'm still on track for my goals. So maybe next week, i won't be obese anymore. :)

Weight: 229 lbs

Weight check in.

I gained some weight this week. I was really bad in snacking too much. I think my meals were pretty good, but I ate too many healthy cookies, fruit, and extra plate of food at dinner.

One good thing is I haven't increased my belt size.

Current Weight: 245lbs

Weight Check in

I weighted myself this morning, the first time in about a month. I gained 2 lbs since December mostly over the holiday. I need to recommit myself to my goal.

My immediate goal is to get down to 227. This is possible by the middle of March if I'm really good.

I think I'm eating more at home at night. Last night, I had two servers of chili on spinach and some chocolate black beans brownies. I should have cut that in half. I'm doing good during the day, but that extra bit of fruit or that brownie or piece of chocolate is just too much.

Current Weight: 242.5

My Heart Attack

Wednesday night, I had a heart attack.

I woke up a little after midnight with discomfort in my should and I was sweating a lot. I thought I slept on my shoulder wrong, so I took some Tylenol and a shower and tried to sleep. I also had a heighten sense of smell and could smell my body odor. I also tried to stretch a bit. I then tried to sleep again, but I was in too much discomfort. I went downstairs and looked for a card in my wallet that described a heart attack symptoms.

I realized I had two of the four and decided to call 911. I found some aspirin and chewed them and told my wife and then waited for the paramedics.

I wound up in the emergency room at the hospital. They gave me nitro and that didn't help. They gave me more aspirin and that didn't help.

They rolled me into a x-ray room and they gave me morphin, so I don't remember much of the night. Eventually, they decided to give me an angioplasty and a stent in my heart.

Tuesday Weight Check-in: really surprised

I'm really surprised by my results this week. I'm down 2 pounds. I have stopped writing things down and I haven't taken oil in a while. I've been very depressed at work, but I've kept on walking to and from work and I've been eating salads for lunch.

I also have been planning on trying the Paleo Diet for two weeks to see what the effect is.

I have a doctor's appointment on Thursday to talk about my test results. I went last week for a lipid screen, so I'll know what my score is.

Weight: 260 lbs (home scale)

Tuesday Morning Check in

I lost about 3 lbs last week, even with the birthday party on Saturday for my twins (one year old) and my niece (3 years old). I had some cupcakes, but I don't think I was overboard.

One things I notice by taking the oil daily is that I have less of a craving for breads. I don't feel the need to include it in every meal.

When I run on the treadmill, I set little mini goals to reach: 'Can i reach the 0.50 mark without stopping', 'Can I make it to 8:00 without stopping?'. My ultimate goal is 170lbs, but my mini goals are:

• Lose 12 lbs before our Family reunion in August (6 weeks from now). Goal is 260lbs
• Lower my waist size to less than 40 inches. (This indicates a factor for heart problems).
• Get down to 220 by December 31, 2008/ BMI < 30, so that I would be considered to be overweight instead of obese. (52 lbs in 28 weeks)
  

Tim Russert died last week. I felt akin to him for several reasons, he died of a heart attack and he was from Buffalo. He had a calcium blockage in the left anterior descending coronary artery which I have as well. It adds energy to my wanting to lost weight and get healthy.

My brother who is two years younger than I called last night and we talked a little about our tests. I'm glad I could talk to him.

Tomorrow I have my Stress test at the Boulder Center for Sports Medicine. I'm anxious to talk to my doctor about all of the results.

I had the best Father's day moment on Sunday. My son Jon, is a brute and very physical but after a full day playing and late in the afternoon, he crawled up on me and fell asleep in my arms. That was really nice.

Weight: 272 lbs (home scale)

Calcium Score Results

My Calcium Score came back from the screening.

Region	Calcium Score (Agatston)	Volume (mm3)
Left Main	0	0
Right Coronary Artery	4	6
Left Anterior Descending	101	107
Circumflex	6	9
Posterior Descending Artery	0	0
Other 1	0	0
Other 2	0	0
Other 3	0	0
Total	111	122

My Total Calcium Score is: 111

What this means is that for a 101-400 scoring range. I have definite, at least moderate atherosclerotic plaque.

My risk of is mild coronary artery disease highly likely with significant narrowing possible.

I need time to digest this result.

first day of new diet

I'm starting my first day on my new diet. I'm trying the Shangri-La Diet. My current weight is 280 and I have to do something.

This morning I had a bagel and cream cheese and some coffee. I walked to work. I'm suppose to drink a table spoon of oil after an hour of non-eating. It's gross, but not as bad and I thought it would be.

I went to the doctor's last week, so these measurements are based on that.

Current weight: 280 lb
BMI: TBD
BP: 140/80