Hi people 
I hadn’t shared this yet so:
Here’s how, after my next set of bloods come in as good or better than last time, my diabetes diagnosis will be removed
Start weight 387 at 6’1.5"
(2013-2014). 1. Portion control - dropped significant weight
(2015) 2. Move into eating to survive only - dropped more weight
3. Ass to gym…initial movements as able, typically full body circuits (obviously light weights) - strength went up a bit as intended
<no lifting for about 6 months cause my missus was sick and needed me>
4. Back to gym, started thread “Fat Old Man Shrinking” thread in Over 35 Lifter forum - got (and still get) great input.
5. Tweaked all I could from the pseudo PF “gym.”
Finally changed to a real gym…
Am now using CT’s “Best Damn Workout for Natural Lifters.” Although the schedule has been derailed a few weeks in a row, starting this Monday it should be the consistent 6/week as designed beginning tomorrow.
NOW, a little history about the diabetes stuff:
*was on high doses of opiates for pain = sedentary- gained the weight because of that and because my boredom killer was going out, inevitably to a restaurant where I ate a LOT and frequently.
- dealt with depression, and went thru the wringer with meds for that + associated issues - didn’t help sedentary lifestyle one bit
At one point maybe 5 years ago, I was taking 13 different prescriptions that included stuff for diabetes, cholesterol, and DVT in addition to psychotropic stuff and pain meds.
FAST FORWARD TO Winter 2015:
Was sick to death of taking so many meds that I decided I didn’t want that shit in my system, so started tapering doses with the intent of stopping them entirely.
January 2016 - Joined PF and did what I could with the piss poor equipment available.
July 2016 - said screw it and stopped all meds- went thru hell with withdrawal and symptom management- too stubborn to give up.
Kept lifting and moving as much as possible to ensure my health got straight and for the blood tests to prove it.
Last blood tests (July '17) showed HDL, LDL in healthy range and A1c at 0.1 point in pre-diabetic range (initial DX was at 14, around 2009 and I used insulin for 6 months).
So, no meds taken since July '16, numbers in great range, all because I refused to be Mr fat man or take the meds required because of it. Fixing fat man enabled me to stop the meds, and lifting has kept me from needing them, and now I have a Type II DM and DVT (clotting disorder) DX that are both being removed after bloods come back good in a few months, and dammit they’ll be good because I hit the gym and refuse to ever go back to that frickin mode of existence (not “living”, existing)
Motivational factors included:
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Needing to take care of me before I can take care of my family, wife especially
-
that fat old man in the mirror
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irritation regarding weekly pillbox fills, insurance company BS and overall cost of being that person I was, including cost of the xxxl wardrobe.
-
Realizing how far off I was from the soldier’s health I once had, and how screwed I’d be if I ever needed to fight in battle at home (think foreign invasion)
Summary:
I’ve beat diabetes, cholesterol, DVT and depression/anxiety because I got pissed off and used the gym to fix the causes of those problems.
Who says being stubborn is bad? Being stubborn enough to say “screw taking prescriptions” put my ass back into the gym to fix the causes for which I was taking them.
I promise the $25/month gym membership costs less than all the BS required when morbidly obese like the huge clothing, prescriptions etc., not to mention my tabs at Steak&Shake, where I sometimes had 3 shakes a day.
So yes, I’m still disabled due to chronic pain (RSD) from an injury, but by God I’ll do what I can pain or not!
Best wishes to all and feel free to share this with anyone you may know who is morbidly obese. If they’re not already diabetic, it’ll happen. Easier to prevent than it is to struggle through and out of it!
But, by George even if one already has such conditions, discipline and dedication to fix the “why” of them will work if you commit and stay faithful to your goals. Easy? Hell no, but not one damn thing in life worth achieving is easy.
Viva Les Barbells!
