Change or face the consequences, the doctor said...

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Nemephosis

Earning my Infrequent Flier miles
Aug 10, 2000
7,711
3
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So, you know, I don't make many threads around here anymore, not that I ever started many. I'm usually a joker and stuff, but if you guys don't mind, I'd like to get serious right now.

So basically I'll make a long story short. A couple weeks ago I noticed my legs were retaining water and when I pressed on them with my fingers, it left indentations. Being that this doesn't usually happen, I booked a doctor's visit, who more or less told me that if I don't do something, I was "setting myself up for a disaster". Doesn't take a genius to figure out what he means. Potential for kidney failure, heart failure, liver failure, diabetes, you name it. My gene pool is already toxic, with cancer and diabetes not just running through the family, but holding hands and gallivanting through it.

So, out goes all the terrible stuff I've been eating/drinking, and in comes the fruit and vegetables. I've always liked this stuff, my problem is I just liked the other stuff better. But I've had to kick the chips and pop/soda/whatever to the curb, and between that and the diuretic he gave me to try to flush the excess water from my system, I've lost 15 pounds. It sounds like a fair amount, but when you consider how much more I want to/have to lose, it's a drop in the bucket. Still, it is a good start.

We all have to go some time, but man, I don't want to die yet. I'll tell you one thing: nothing wakes you up faster than the threat of dire consequences. So please take it from me, the laziest asshole on earth. If you're not taking care of yourself and eating good food, please start. Find fruit and vegetables you like and make those your snacks instead of whatever else. I'm sure that alone will let you drop at least 1o pounds, even if you don't necessarily need it like I do. At the very least, change up what you eat. Don't let it get to the point I did.

So, thanks for letting me vent. Not sure anyone cares, since I've seen how even serious threads get treated sometimes, but whatever. I had to get it out there.
 
We all care to some extent. Else, we wouldn't be here still after all these years.

I'm glad that you are changing your life style for the better. I should do the same, but I don't care. I don't care enough to change how I eat. Like you said, we all die. I'm not afraid of it.

Are you going to start working out and getting all buff? Or are you simply changing the way you eat and maybe take the stairs more often now?
 

Nemephosis

Earning my Infrequent Flier miles
Aug 10, 2000
7,711
3
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see, that's exactly the way I was. I did what I wanted, I didn't care. The problem is you can't do that forever, because even if you aren't gaining a lot of weight, you'll hit a wall some day and it will all catch up. Don't let that happen to you.

I've got to smart small on this. Changing what I eat until it becomes second nature, and I've actually lost a little weight. After that, once my knees can handle it, I want to start walking more. Like you said, stairs instead of elevator. Walking my dog around the block. Work into small stuff.

Getting buff, it's a nice dream, and hey maybe some day I'll do it. I simply can't imagine myself with any kind of muscle definition, heh.

It might make me into a jerk, but whatever gets the motivation out there right? I would do it for spite, to be honest, for all the people who ever made fun of me in school, all the girls that turned me down simply because I look the way I do (never mind the nice guy I like to think I am. They complain they can't find them... hey, we're right where you left us, on the curb.) I would do that just to turn the tables. Like I said, I sound like a jerk, but whatever you need to use as motivation. As long as you get results, right?

This isn't going to be some magical quick fix, but I'll get there. I don't have a (good) choice otherwise.
 
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[GU]elmur_fud

I have balls of Depleted Uranium
Mar 15, 2005
3,148
31
48
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Waco, Texas
mtbp.deviantart.com
What Jackal said.

+

Speaking as a member of a religion that has put an extreme emphasis on diet and health for the past 100+ years, becoming the longest living demographic of people on earth, (religion or not we're clearly doing something correct) you can over do it if you focus on just 1 aspect.

But basic crap we do...
Avoid drugs/alcohol ... these should be treated like medications, they have a system altering effect and unless you need that system altering effect to fix/treat a problem, you're just gonna make one.

Total vegan provides no significant benefit over smart vegetarian.

fruits & grains > vegetables

When possible eat the above raw. But if cooked; steamed > boiled > canned.

Meat and animal by-products should make up the lesser part of your diet. If you can avoid them or use an alternative, do so. All the toxins from pesticides, heavy metals, and hormones we treat our food supply with can be present even in minute amounts in the system animal, be passed to us via ingestion and build up in our systems over time.

Be active outdoors. I don't mean exercise. Just get out there and have fun. I enjoy mountain biking and hiking which are exercise yes, but they are also fun to me. I also swim, jet ski, off-road, urban explore, etc. It's all about being at least minimally active and fresh air.
 

Gir

Offensive mode!
Apr 23, 2000
5,575
5
38
Peking Eend.
Visit site
Just because you have to eat healthy stuff, doesn't make you can't make it more appealing or even mouthwateringly good to eat.

hamburger.jpg


Picture not related to anything I just said.
 

DRT-Maverick

Lover of Earwigs
Dec 4, 1999
3,670
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Reno, NV
Glad you're getting yourself back on the healthy side of life Nem. Sometimes when it comes to your type of conditions it's just better to live an all-out active life so you can actually continue to live happily.
I'm hitting a point too where I've been getting up early and biking, lifting weights and exercising. I'm also setting together a diet plan here soon too. Health is important, and realizing that it's linked to whether or not you'll see tomorrow is a very important correlation that unfortunately many people in the world today don't care to make. It took me tearing my ACL and getting super atrophied to realize how important it is to maintain healthy diet and exercise.

Take care with your diet and hope things continue to turn out well, and if you can, start getting physically active. Start biking or going for little jogs (I like biking because you can cruise and still move at a decent speed and it's low impact. If your knees are bad then biking might be the best choice). The two in combination (diet and physical activity) will make you feel better overall far more than just one or the other would.
 
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Lruce Bee

Transcending to another level
May 3, 2001
1,644
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Sherwood Forest
Your body has a remarkable way of letting you know when things aren't quite right - one look in the mirror is usually all it takes.
Ignorance sometimes gives you a different reflection though.
 

Thrash123

Obey Leash Laws
Jul 19, 1999
4,777
0
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Nowhere to be found.
www.classicwfl.com
I myself haven't had anything serious happen (yet), but I've been trying to adjust my diet bit by bit, and do healthier things. I bike to and from work, which has helped IMMENSELY. I also cut back my portions; I'm no longer eating 5 plates full of stuff at buffet (if I even go to buffet anymore). I've never been a big boy, but I had gained a few pounds when I lost my job a year ago. I went up to a 34" waist (I'm 5'10"). I'm back down to a happy 30" waist, and have much more muscle now thanks to the cycling, and I don't even ride that much. 3 miles total a day, usually.

I still need to quit smoking. That shit is no bueno. However, its a vicious cycle; I have TMJ disorder, and while smoking isn't exactly good for it, it helps reduce muscle tension and stress, which reduces pain.. However, if I DON'T smoke, I'm in a shit-ton more pain that I should be in, and usually have to go back to a liquid diet.

Going the fruit/veggies route is great, though. My suggestion? Hit an area farmer's market when you can. Avoid the crappy stuff at the chain stores. Also, there are some great snack foods that aren't near as bad as regular greasy chips; there is a place in the town across the river that has all sorts of amazing freeze-dried veggie snacks that are seriously awesome. I'm sure your local health-food section at the stores have them. Not all health food is bad tasting, trust me. Same with vegan food; Indian vegan is AWESOME. If I had to choose between, say, a greasy burger and some vegan Indian, I'd take Indian, hands down.
 

Nemephosis

Earning my Infrequent Flier miles
Aug 10, 2000
7,711
3
38
Your body has a remarkable way of letting you know when things aren't quite right - one look in the mirror is usually all it takes.
Ignorance sometimes gives you a different reflection though.

Ignorance... or just seeing the clear signs, and not caring. Not until it hits you that you might just not wake up one day.

It's the fourth day of my eating change. I've got a bag of chips or something, but they're vegetable straws. These things.

veggie-chips.jpg


They're really good, and actually, I've had the bag three days. This is, like... unheard of for me. I usually ate a whole bag of chips on one go, cause I was like that. For me to still have some of these left after three days is huge for me.

Better food, and less of it. I snack on green and red peppers now. I feel really good about this.

Going the fruit/veggies route is great, though. My suggestion? Hit an area farmer's market when you can.

Unfortunate thing about this: My local farmer's market burned down recently! I mean people could still probably set up outside and stuff, as long as the weather is good, but the entire main building was burned down. A lot of people lost a lot of stuff... :(
 
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Twisted Metal

Anfractuous Aluminum
Jul 28, 2001
7,122
3
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39
Long Island, NY
So please take it from me, the laziest asshole on earth. If you're not taking care of yourself and eating good food, please start.

Amen brother. I've been fighting some health issues myself for the past year. All kinds of chest and back jabs/jolts/pains/discomfort, and sudden heart electrical issues. I get these short bursts of heart arrhythmias (not the good kind either). They say they're benign in a structurally normal heart, but there's no guarantee in life, so who knows... Luckily they're infrequent, but they're terrifying when they happen. It's like all the adrenaline in my body gets released at once and I go into "I'M GOING TO DIE" mode.

They want me to see an electrophysiologist (specialized cardiologist dealing with heart rhythm and electrical issues) and possibly have a procedure done where they thread catheters up a vein in your groin and into your heart. They use the catheters to map out the electrical activity in your heart and use small electrical impulses to try to induce the arrhythmia and pinpoint where it's coming from. If found, they can use radiofrequency energy from the catheter to destroy the faulty electrical pathway(s) in the heart. Sounds fun right?

How do I have these issues after 27 years of having a perfectly normal heart? I have no idea, and multiple doctors and cardiologists don't either. It sucks. :(

But anyway, I gotta keep my head up and hope for the best. Here's to a healthy future. :cheers:
 

Zur

surrealistic mad cow
Jul 8, 2002
11,708
8
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For the heart, drop all stimulants. Avoid energy drinks like red bull. Knew a guy that had a slight scare because his heart wasn't regular but it turned out he was drinking too much of the energy stuff.
 

Twisted Metal

Anfractuous Aluminum
Jul 28, 2001
7,122
3
38
39
Long Island, NY
For the heart, drop all stimulants. Avoid energy drinks like red bull. Knew a guy that had a slight scare because his heart wasn't regular but it turned out he was drinking too much of the energy stuff.

Yeah, unfortunately in my case it doesn't seem to be related. I dropped all caffeine over a year ago. Also dropped all soda and fast foods. Been sticking to water, orange juice, V8 fusion, and protein shakes.
 

Zur

surrealistic mad cow
Jul 8, 2002
11,708
8
38
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Yeah, unfortunately in my case it doesn't seem to be related. I dropped all caffeine over a year ago. Also dropped all soda and fast foods. Been sticking to water, orange juice, V8 fusion, and protein shakes.

You may have a specific condition that a doctor needs looking into. Only other thing that I can think of that might give arythmia is MSG which is in quite a bit of processed food.

http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/ency/article/001126.htm
 

theabyss

No One Here Gets Out Alive
Dec 3, 2005
1,669
9
38
East Coast
So, thanks for letting me vent. Not sure anyone cares, since I've seen how even serious threads get treated sometimes, but whatever. I had to get it out there.

Thumbs up, man. Wish you the best. For me it's often a time factor. I eat fast food maybe once or twice every 3 month or so, but usually because I was in a hurry and didn't prepare anything. For a while I used to buy my lunch every day and now that I shop for groceries once a week and prepare everything myself...jeez you wouldn't believe how much money you save. Unfortunately, living healthy is expensive compared to the crap you can buy cheap.
 

Nemephosis

Earning my Infrequent Flier miles
Aug 10, 2000
7,711
3
38
Amen brother. I've been fighting some health issues myself for the past year. All kinds of chest and back jabs/jolts/pains/discomfort, and sudden heart electrical issues. I get these short bursts of heart arrhythmias (not the good kind either). They say they're benign in a structurally normal heart, but there's no guarantee in life, so who knows... Luckily they're infrequent, but they're terrifying when they happen. It's like all the adrenaline in my body gets released at once and I go into "I'M GOING TO DIE" mode.

They want me to see an electrophysiologist (specialized cardiologist dealing with heart rhythm and electrical issues) and possibly have a procedure done where they thread catheters up a vein in your groin and into your heart. They use the catheters to map out the electrical activity in your heart and use small electrical impulses to try to induce the arrhythmia and pinpoint where it's coming from. If found, they can use radiofrequency energy from the catheter to destroy the faulty electrical pathway(s) in the heart. Sounds fun right?

How do I have these issues after 27 years of having a perfectly normal heart? I have no idea, and multiple doctors and cardiologists don't either. It sucks. :(

But anyway, I gotta keep my head up and hope for the best. Here's to a healthy future. :cheers:

Oh man, you ARE going to see this specialist, right? Yikes. Hope you can get it fixed, bro. 27 years, that is definitely way too young for this shit. But disease knows no boundaries, either, it definitely plays dirty. Wishing you all the best. :)
 

Nemephosis

Earning my Infrequent Flier miles
Aug 10, 2000
7,711
3
38
They are pretty godlike, yes. Just a light dusting of salt, and they aren't fried or anything. I only wish my grocery store sold them, but they suck like that.
 

Twisted Metal

Anfractuous Aluminum
Jul 28, 2001
7,122
3
38
39
Long Island, NY
Oh man, you ARE going to see this specialist, right? Yikes. Hope you can get it fixed, bro. 27 years, that is definitely way too young for this shit. But disease knows no boundaries, either, it definitely plays dirty. Wishing you all the best. :)

Yes, I'm seeing him early next month.

eating healthy is easy as shit

I'm a skinny feck, 5'11" 140 lbs fully clothed. I've been trying to gain weight but since I cut out fast food and soda it has been damn near impossible. How do you get 3000+ healthy calories per day? All the highest calorie foods are loaded with saturated fats and excessive sugar. I also ride my bike every day so I have a feeling I'm burning off the calories I'm trying to gain.