What people don't know.

There are a lot of aspects about my life that people do not know. I do keep things private. I don't try and put any of my burdens on anyone else. I feel like there comes a time that you need to tell people what is going on; if not only for the fact that they might interact with you better if they knew the truth. So, instead of my usual professional life post, this one is going to be personal.

Confused yet? Before this goes on in circles I'll get down to the nitty gritty.

For most of my life I have been fat. I've accepted that fact and have lived with it. Until recently the most I've ever weighed was 270 pounds. However, for some reason that number has sky rocketed and I gained a lot of weight in a very short period of time. I can't remember when it was now, but within the past year I had to have a procedure down to check my digestive system. Of course it's nice when your doctor is blunt and notifies you that the worst case scenario is that you might have cancer. Luckily, this procedure produced no concrete results of any serious issues. So, I've been just living life a day at a time and not thinking much of my health.

Although, one of the things that I have been doing off an on is using apps geared towards tracking calories and healthy eating. For months I was using MyFitnessPal, which does work and is a good program. I however didn't find great success with it, which is why I had used it off and on. I have an Android smartphone and it has enabled me to do a lot with being more mindful of what I'm eating and doing. I thought I was doing well.

Within the past 3 months my weight has been rising and I haven't changed much of what I've been doing. A little over a week ago I noticed that the muscles in my legs seemed tight when I did certain movements. I didn't notice anything other than that so I thought nothing of it. I went to a Professional Development Networking event and didn't get home until late. I thought my shoes were fitting a little funny and then I looked down and saw that my feet were swollen. My legs also felt different. As I was changing to get ready for bed I noticed that not only my feet but my legs (calves) were swollen too. They were so swollen that it felt as if they may burst. It was late and I was very tired. I decided that I will just elevate my feet and go to bed. The next day I woke up and made a doctors appointment. At the doctor's I was advised to drink more water, sit with my legs elevated above my heart as much as possible, and make sure I wasn't standing or sitting for too long. The doctor also wanted to run blood tests. I have had blood tests done multiple times over the past 3 months and almost wanted to argue that point. Because I have never had symptoms like this before, I went ahead with the scheduled blood work. At this visit I was shocked that my weight had drastically rose to 303lbs. I've never weighed that much before and it was not a great feeling seeing that on the scale.

My other blood test results had indicated that I had slightly high levels of liver enzymes. My doctor has been monitoring that. After the blood tests I had done on Monday I received a call from my doctor's office stating that my liver enzyme levels were still high and they were scheduling an ultrasound to check my liver. I will be having this done this coming week. My last doctor's appointment before this most current one, I did speak to my doctor about my weight. We discussed what a normal day for me is like. She was very understanding. She stated that I wasn't eating enough food, which has always been an issue for me. I don't eat breakfast, ever. I eat lunch and then dinner. Maybe having a snack between meals and after. So, I decided I would go back to MyFitnessPal. I lasted only a few days as I was searching for a new app that I could be more dedicated to. I luckily found Noom. I basically just use MyFitnessPal to track my progress and Noom for everything else. It's been wonderful. I will tell you all about it, if you want...or even if you don't. I'm excited about it. It may be a silly "gadget" to you, but I need it. Since I started using Noom I've lost 8.4lbs! I've just been eating food too. Sure, the food choices are a bit different now, but this is a whole lifestyle change. Until I know anything about why my liver enzyme levels are high, I'm doing what I can do be healthy and benefit myself. [During all of this my phone was having issues so I had to send it to get fixed. I recently bought myself a tablet and am using that until my phone is returned to me. It's not as mobile, not small enough to fit in my pocket, so it's a little more cumbersome. I think I will do even better when I have my phone back in hand!]

So there you have it: I'm not 100% healthy, but I'm working on getting there - one step at a time. [This is a bit all over the place, my apologies.] 






So in short: I have been eating more food. I have been losing weight. I still have to wait and see what the ultrasound discovers. I'm putting this out there because you can laugh and get annoyed with my gadgets all your want, however I need them. I need something to keep me motivated and excited. Sure, losing my phone has made it a bit more noticeable because I am using my tablet for my tracking purposes, but I don't care. I need to do this for me.