Painting A Picture:
It was three years ago; I was 22 years old, and I had to be rushed to the hospital. It was my last semester of college; I was in my room and all of a sudden, my left arm went numb. After checking into the ER, they took my blood pressure, and I couldn't believe the monitor 180/118.
"Am I having a heart attack?!?!"
Was all I could fathom to say.
"I can't 100% say no, but we will begin test and see what we can do to get your numbers down."
Were all the nurses could say back. And so, the test began, the IV's, the constant monitoring, until eventually I was stabilized. They transferred me to my primary care cline and my doctor had just told me that it was official, my blood pressure readings had been so bad for the last few years before that incident that I would officially have to begin blood pressure medications. Not only that, but my A1c hemoglobin had become dangerously high, and I would also have to start medication because I was technically prediabetic.
I was devastated, of course because of the diagnoses, but also because I felt like such a failure, here I was a strong, semi active, young man and I had already accumulated a collection of chronic illnesses. It didn't help that I've had a family history and felt like I was falling to generational curses that I just couldn't escape. My health was at a decline, and it was looking like it was time to shape up or ship out!
The Eye of the Tiger:
I was 300lbs at the time of my diagnosis. The next year was spent doing just what the doctor ordered. I exercised every day, I quit drinking anything that wasn't water, and I began to really lock in. That incident put me into shock, and I knew that things HAD to change. You see it's easy to let health get away from you, especially when no one in your family is super health conscious. And, of course, there's the societal pressure to be thin, but there's a way that weight gets away from you.
My whole life I've been big, and my whole life it's been something I've been teased over, and something I've been insecure about, but never until that health scare did, I really feel the NEED to do something. It's so easy to get used to being the "bigger person" it becomes almost a personality trait! I knew that being miseducated about fitness and health my battle would be completely uphill!
Back to Basics:
The ultimate question became what do I even do? Someone who wasn't in shape and had never been! What do I do to all of a sudden get into shape and the answer was honestly simpler than I thought. I can't pretend that I was a stranger to doctor's offices. I had been a sickly child, always in and out. One thing that always caught my attention while waiting on the next diagnosis was the basic health chart. The recommendations that they give to ensure a "healthy lifestyle." 1 hour of exercise a day, portion control, limited screen time, drink lot of water. The things that I had learned to turn my nose up at.
Well, fortunately, those things WORK! Because I had no fitness knowledge and was just an amateur trying to reinvigorate myself, I relied on this basic chart. I exercised daily, even just walking around the house and counting steps, I restricted my drinking to water only, and I began to exert portion control wherever I could. Today after a visit to the familiar doctor's office and I am 56lbs lighter, my blood pressure is 122/78, I'm no longer prediabetic and I'm HAPPY! So, I want to share with you guys how to get in shape when you're not in shape! Welcome to DylDoes Presents: BODIED! Follow along with me and let's see how much change we can make TOGETHER! ONE DAY AT A TIME!