07.01.09
Here’s To My Health
Ah, July… here again. Let me give you the short version of my life since last July:
Last July, I was in a lot of pain. I lived on a steady diet of muscle relaxants and pain killers. I spent my free time lying flat on a concrete floor. On the good days, I whimpered; on the bad days, I cried. I’d been visiting doctors on and off for my back pain for years, and had recently been stepping up the quest. I was seeing a chiropractor several times a month. I didn’t get any better, but I got worse more slowly. Upon reflection, I realized that I had been in pain every day for almost 20 years.
I weighed 275 pounds. I didn’t eat much, but I exercised even less. I began making a real effort to lose some weight, with limited success. It’s hard to exercise when you can’t walk very well.
Finally, in July, a brilliant Urgent Care doctor thought that perhaps after seven years of back pain without any diagnosis, I should have an X-ray. While the X-ray didn’t show anything, it was enough for him to suggest to my regular doc that I have an MRI. So, I had an MRI.
Lo and behold, the MRI revealed a herniated disk (L5-S1) and a dehydrated disk (L4-5). I was prescribed Physical Therapy (and more pills).
Physical Therapy was great for a while. I went twice a week for sessions, and got the home version of the game to play on my own. I showed a touch of improvement, then started sliding downhill again. At this point, I was again reduced to lying on the floor. I had trouble standing, and started falling down somewhat regularly. I would purposely not drink anything, just to have fewer trips to the bathroom.
Finally, my doc thought maybe something was wrong. He suggested steroid injections to my spine. In November, I started two series of injections and my pain was reduced to a manageable level. I could stand up on my own and even walk around. I started getting some actual exercise for the first time in months. I dropped a few more pounds, and actually started to look a little thinner.
My doc suggested that I lose some weight. Thanks for noticing. I got really serious about it though, and got down to 235 pounds by Easter. My goal was to get my back in good enough shape to ride a bike again, and I was willing to do whatever I needed to do to get there. I watched my diet closely and went to the gym three times a week. I worked my way up to swimming a kilometer at a time. I still did my PT exercises four or five times a week.
I started putting on weight again. Not toned, muscular weight, but flab. I started tracking everything I ate, thinking perhaps I was eating more than I realized. Nope… I was averaging about 900 calories a day. (Most estimates said I should be LOSING weight at around 2400 calories a day, almost three times what I was eating.) My diet was very healthy: fruits, veggies, beans, some whole grains, a little meat, almost no dairy. I rarely ate sweets. Heck, I even switched to decaf most of the time. I still drank a couple beers here and there, and I still put half & half in my coffee. Those were the only two concessions I wouldn’t make.
I began to worry about other health issues: diabetes, hypothyroidism, swine flu… OK, I didn’t really worry about swine flu. But I did head back to the doctor for more tests, all of which were negative. The diagnosis? I’m fat. Um, yeah, that’s the part I told you when I came in.
So, here we are, July again. I haven’t lost any weight since Easter, though I’ve been continuously working harder and harder at it. The doctors all believe there’s nothing wrong with me other than I’M FAT. They tell me to watch what I eat and get some exercise. Um, yeah, that’s what I’ve been doing. I dropped 40 pounds, and I still feel like shit ALL THE TIME. But, they won’t listen to a word I say until I get down below 200 pounds. I spent almost $500 in office copays in the last year (and we have REALLY good insurance).
For the entire month of July, I’m going to track every single thing I eat and drink. I’m going to track my exercise. I’m going to track my weight. And I’m going to do it all right here on my blog, so there’s no room for me to cheat. If I don’t drop 10 pounds by August 1, then I will do it again for the month of August, only I’ll do it without meat, dairy, caffeine or alcohol.
I encourage all my faithful readers to comment regularly. Point out my errors. Make some armchair diagnoses. Tell me anything other than YOU’RE FAT.
So, today, Wednesday, July 1, 2009…
Weight: 236 lbs
Exercise: 25 minutes elliptical, 1/2 km swimming, a few light reps on my shoulders
Intake: 1770 calories, 39 grams of fat
What I ate today: 2 pieces of toast, 1 egg white, orange juice, banana, coffee, turkey sausage, green beans, beer and a brownie.
Sara said,
July 1, 2009 at 6:27 pm
Have you explored any food intolerance issues? This is one of the last things most MDs think of, and most of them don’t test or diagnose it properly, and are not equiped to guide patients through an elimination diet. It may not seem like it would have anything to do with back pain, but it absolutely can.
My stepmom had numerous health problems for years and years and she tried EVERYTHING. About 2 years ago she was finally dianosed with Celiac which means NO gluten, not even a tiny bit. That type of diet takes a lot of research since gluten shows up in the oddest of places, not just wheat products. However, read the testimonials of people who have done it and it is SOOOO worth it.
Celiac is a disease – diagnosis is a blood test and if you have insurance you should be able ask for it.
Food intolerances are not as easy to pinpoint since you have to use an elimination diet, and that would be best done under the guide of a registered dietician (beware the “nutritionist”) or by doing your own research and doing it yourself. I’d recommend starting with wheat. And stay off the processed food as much as possible.
Now, as a personal trainer I have to say that I am not at all surprised that you gained flab weight eating 900 calories a day. It is true that in order to lose weight you have to expend more calories than you take in, but there is a threshold, and by not eating enough you are working against your body’s processes.
LAST WORD OF ADVICE (for now):
I have been researching food, nutrition and agriculture politics for over a year now and it has completely changed the way I eat and the way I think about food. Most people only consider what they are getting too much of (too much fat, too much sugar, too many calories). Your body needs nutrients. Fat, protein, carbs, vitamins, minerals and enzymes. Foods in nature contain all of these things in certain ratios and combinations that nutrition scientists do not completely understand yet (remember that the first vitamin was discovered only 100 years ago). Foods that have been processed have often had stuff taken out, other stuff put back in, some stuff damaged so we cannot metabolize it properly, and some stuff that we probably should just not be ingesting at all. Bottom line: It’s not that we’re getting too much (fat/sugar/calories/etc.), it’s that we’re getting most of it from processed foods, and we’re not getting enough of, or the right combinations of the nutrients we need. We’re replacing them with inferior things. This does not allow our bodies to function properly, leading to pain, weight gain, disease, etc. Don’t ever be fooled by food package claims – even the “Nutrition Facts” panel is 90% politics. Nature has always made perfect food and has never needed us to improve on it. But hey, nobody can make a million dollars with that kind of attitude, right?
I’m a little embarassed that this ‘comment’ is a blog post in itself, but I could go on and on about this stuff… Hope it’s at least informative, if not helpful for you.
Kimsky said,
July 1, 2009 at 9:39 pm
First off, you lost 40 lbs last year. That kicks ass!
Second, a slightly off kilter idea. There is a book called the Eat Right for Your Type Diet. The theory is that different blood types respond best (or worst) to different foods. Its worked for me and everyone I know short term, because, invariably, their (and my) fav foods are on the ‘don’t eat this ever’ list. Still, you seem to be motivated and have something like will power …
Third, and maybe really crazy… NFL football players do this ‘light day – heavy day’ thing where they alternate high and low calorie counts on alternating days hoping to keep their metabolism burning at the ‘high’ day speed even on the low days.
Finally, have you tried a nutritionist to see what they think about WHAT you’re eating instead of just the calorie count.
Best of luck, man, to you and yours. I miss you
K
Krishna said,
July 2, 2009 at 1:10 pm
I’ve heard about the blood type diet too. Took a look at mine a few years ago, and while it’s not something I’d follow religiously, it seemed that the foods that it recommended were all the foods that I prefer to eat anyway. Might be a good idea to pull that one out again.
good luck, Andy. I’ve been through these thoughts before, but not with the back pain. I’m glad you’re feeling better and wish you continued improvement.
(Stupid calorie counting. I’ve always thought there was something in there that sounded like a bit of hooey, and your experience just supports that theory. Calories are defined as the amount of energy required to raise one kg of water by 1 degree Celsius. Given that nutrition isn’t an exact science, and that metabolism varies from hour to hour, from person to person, it doesn’t make sense that there should be a static correlation between calories and weight. Now, I don’t have any answers for you, just questions. But I’m interested in learning what you find out about yourself in this process.)
Sounds like you have a crazy month lined up for August. It might be a good idea to look into the “blood type” thing first. I recall that some blood types were supposed to eat meat nearly every day, while others should only eat meat on occasion. If that diet is to be believed, and you’re the type that needs to eat a lot of meat, you could be setting yourself up for a challenge.
Scott Wooldridge said,
July 8, 2009 at 12:59 pm
Hey Andy, best of luck, you’ve been working hard at this and deserve more success. What you’ve done so far is impressive. Your discipline puts me to shame! The swimming is great exercise and even if the pounds aren’t coming off you should keep it up. It *will* help your back issues.