Yet another blog about weight loss?

I have to admit that when I was encouraged to blog about my weight loss story, I had to ask myself - who would read it? Does the virtual world really need one more blog about weight loss? Truthfully, I don't think it does. You can read a lot of other blogs from fitness and diet experts who know a lot more than me about the topic. On the other hand, if my story can be an encouragement to another ogre (or ogress) out there, maybe it is worth the worth effort. 

So who am I and is there anything that makes my story special? I'm big guy, in his mid-50's, at 6'1”, I weighed over 275 pounds. My pants size was 44” and I wore XXL shirts. Needless to say I didn't have an active physical life and not being much of a cook, I ate terribly. You could say I'm ogre-like: big, heavy, and interested in eating whatever I enjoy, whenever I choose. Sounds like a typical American male, doesn't it? Almost. One thing that makes me different is that after years of gaining weight and failing at diets / exercise regimens, this time I've lost over 25% of my body weight over the past 18 months and kept it off. 

As a result, my life has changed positively in many ways! At the age of 51, I'd been diagnosed with high blood pressure after having a colonoscopy and was nearly sent to the hospital. For the first time in my life I was seeing a medical specialist for a condition that would affect my lifestyle for the rest of my life. My cardiologist ended up prescribing a blend of four medications and told me it was unlikely I would ever be off the meds. I abhorred the idea of taking medications everyday for the rest of my life. I've been very lucky and have enjoyed good health up until then. 

On top of that, over the past few years I'd developed a painful trigger point in my back that felt sometimes like a knife was digging into me. Another doctor told me that while he could prescribe medications for me, weight loss and exercise was the best way to relieve the problem. 

Lastly, my cardiologist also wanted to put me on Lipitor for my cholesterol with the level approaching 200. Ugh. One more drug. 

I'm not getting any younger. My retirement years are just around the corner. Do I want to spend them doing fun things I enjoy or managing my health related issues? Duh - I picked fun stuff. My hope is this blog can be used by other people approaching their senior years (I really hate to think of myself as a “senior”) and who share my desire of enjoying them with a healthy body.

So my story is about how I lost the weight, the things I faced along the way, and the benefits I've enjoyed. I've lost over 65 pounds, take no blood pressure medications and my cholesterol is around 140. My pants size is 36” and I wear large size shirts. The trigger point in my back is rarely felt and when I do, it doesn't even require OTC pain medications. And I'm not done yet.

 If I can do it, you can too. :)