Self Destruction!

“Today, more than 95% of all chronic disease is caused by food choice, toxic food ingredients, nutritional deficiencies and lack of physical exercise.”~ Mike Adams

I read that quote and it hits home like a ton of bricks.  The healthiest times of my life were those times when I was dedicated to eating right and being physically active... and now the opposite is true.  I find myself dealing with a laundry list of diseases and disorders and as someone with a decent amount of knowledge in fitness and nutrition. As well as a great understanding of the role of physical activity in the prevention of disease, yet I still find myself with self destructive life style... in the form of diet and inactivity.  It's funny though, not many people would think of FOOD as an addiction, especially not as a harmful one but I definitely think that it is.  As, some people would use illegal drugs/Rx medications/alcohol to "self medicate" others use food.  These are often called "comfort foods" and can become very harmful to those that abuse them as others would drugs and alcohol.  It's undeniable that weight gain and obesity is harmful to ones health, causing many known issues, such as hypertension, diabetes, and depression just to name a few.  What I have found to be the worst part of this is that, it's a viscous cycle. I'll eat because I am upset about my health and this will in turn make me gain weight and worsen my health more, then equalling MORE EATING... and on and on.  NOT GOOD!  So, I have a goal to not only correct my issue of weight but also solve the root problems behind my weight gain and also work holistically towards healthy my health issues.   

More diagnoses... and treatments

Well, again it's been some time since my last post.  Progress in my weight and health has been slow, but thankfully I got an answer for what was causing the vast amount of pain and overwhelming fatigue that I have been experiencing...  doctors diagnosed me with Fibromyalgia.  If you're not totally aware of what this is, you're not alone.  Simple description would be that it is a disease that causes full-body muscle pain and fatigue and a lot of other symptoms... it kind of feels like having the flu, with out the stomach issues.  If you want to know more then google it, there is a lot of information out there but doctors are not totally sure of what causes it.  So, they've got me on medications and I am happy to say that I am feeling better than I have in 2 years.  Therefore, at this point I will be TRULY able to focus on my weight loss and determining the ways to overcome the weight gains that often accompanies these diseases.  I'll blog again soon.

Melvin Williams, PhD

“Human energy systems are governed by the same laws of physics that rule all energy transformations. No substantial evidence is available to disprove the caloric theory. It is still the physical basis for bodyweight control.”    Burn more calories than you take in and you lose weight. Seems pretty simple, right?  

Or now...

I was hoping to start to get myself on track but with a combination of the holidays and getting much more sick I found myself regressing... significantly.  I'm up to 253 lbs now which puts my BMI at 37.4, this is beyond what I consider acceptable.  That qualifies me under "severe obesity"... which is just crazy.   My daily pain levels are consistently about 6.5 out of 10 with 8/10 being the worst days and I can not even rate the fatigue.  I've surpassed being frustrated, and am tired of making any excuses.  So, I have do what I can to find the answers and it's very important that I figure out what is wrong with me whether it be through conventional doctors or through holistic medicine.  I have a Rheumatology appointment this week to do a follow up on some test and I also have a Urology appointment to determine what is going on with my kidneys.  Hopefully we will find something out.  As for my diet, I am trying to reduce a lot of carbs especially sugar (as I said previously) and up my intake of vegetables and lean protein.  As for now I am going to stick to cardio and work in some weights as I am able too.  I will post back again soon after some further research and results from medical appointments.

Researching

So, this weekend between going to the longest consecutive veterans day celebration, college and pro football games and a Ducks Unlimited banquet, I did some research on nutritional  recommendations.  I found a lot of mention of the adverse effects of Gluten on the immune system, causing increase in organ-specific anti-bodies, like those that attack the thyroid.  Therefore, when it comes to nutrition I am going to start to reduce the amount of gluten I take in, as much as possible.  I expect weight loss results from this because it will also reduce my carbohydrate intake and my body will achieve ketosis and burn more fat.  This of course is great, but one thing I'll be looking for after 4-6 weeks is whether or not I am feeling any better, symptom-wise.  Research studies have shown that after 3 to 6 months of gluten-free dieting organ-specific anti-bodies vanish and hashimoto's symptoms as well as gastro-intestinal issues that many of us also deal with can be reduced. (http://thyroid.about.com/cs/latestresearch/a/celiac.htm)  As for my work-out, I am going to be quite a bit of cardio, mostly on the elliptical trainer.  I had abdominal surgery a year ago and spinal surgery in June '10 so I am still at a point that I have to be careful and slowly phase myself back into the tough total body, high-impact workouts.

My stats right now are 5'9" and 235lbs. I also have body measurements that i'll put up later.  My BMI is 34.7, though I am a muscular guy naturally this is not very accurate, it rates me as obese.  I use BMI only due to the fact that it is easy to calculate and it is a easy way to measure progress.  I will also attempt to get a body fat % later this week.

Starting now!

  Life is full of obstacles. Some times these obstacles can become overwhelming and seem to consume your every thought.  One of the most consuming things that a person can experience is to suffer from a disease.  “Your lifestyle - how you live, eat, emote, and think - determines your health. To prevent disease, you may have to change how you live.” -Brian Carter


 To give some background about myself, I am 29 years old and am an Infantryman in the US Army.  All my life I  have had issues with controlling my weight and bouts of serious fatigue and muscle pain, some times worse than others.  Most of the time I thought of these as normal, and thought maybe I was lazy when the fatigue slowed me down.  Then about 2 years ago I started to feel more fatigue and more muscle and joint pain, along with multiple other symptoms to include a gain of 30lbs in only 2 months.  These symptoms progressed slowly over that first year.  Then while I was deployed in Afghanistan on combat operations I started to become very ill, I felt as if I had an ever lasting flu. I was in complete slow motion and the pain radiated through every square inch of my body.  One day I was hurt and taken to our medical outpost where I had blood taken, after the 6 weeks it took to get results I was told that I was "hypothyroid" with a TSH level of 86.  I was immediately prescribed synthroid and prepped to be MEDIVAC'd (evacuated for medical reasons) from Afghanistan to Germany.  After further tests I was also found to have very highly elevated anti-body levels.  Once, I was stabilized I was sent home.  For a year I have been trying to get this under control and have had great difficultly with Army medical and have never even been sent to an actual Endocrinologist.  It took 8 months to get my TSH levels within range and I am now on 120mg daily of Armour Thyroid. Only problem is, I am still suffering from the fatigue and muscle pain and have had no success with my doctor in finding the reason why I am still ill.  I have found that it is common for one to suffer from more than just one auto-immune disease.  Being I am having little to no success with my doctor I have taken it into my own hands to research auto-immune diseases and take steps to defeat them.  


 I know how hard losing weight can be when suffering from this disease. Whether it be from the slower metabolism, the water retention, or even just because the fatigue, pain and mental fog cause you to not want to do anything.  Trust me I know!  Being I am pursuing a degree in Exercise Physiology, I find a great interest in the roles that physical activity can play in rehabilitation and prevention of disease.  So, what I am wanting to do with this blog is to experiment with different types of exercise and nutrition and attempt to find ways to reduce the symptoms and loss weight and help others that are trying to find this information as well.