The Story

Three months ago, I walked into my providers office to get some medicine to deal with the “junk” I had gotten after the holidays. Unbeknownst to me, it would be a visit that changed my health journey. When the nurse took my blood pressure, it was 188/102. What? My blood pressure has never been that high. As a matter of fact, my pressure has always been low. It literally rocked my world and led me to where I am today.

As I wrote in last week’s blog, my mother died fullsizeoutput_3c5dprematurely, two of my uncles passed prematurely, and my father battled high blood pressure and cancer in his lifetime. Many of my family members have struggled with morbid obesity in their lifetimes and, for the last 18 months, my brother has been navigating health challenges.

After learning about my high blood pressure, I left the doctor’s office in a mix of emotions. I wasn’t sure what I was going to do, but knew I had to do something. In addition to the high blood pressure, I knew that my weight was creeping back up to the heaviest I’ve ever been. This was not acceptable! At that moment, I promised myself and my wife that it was time to focus on getting healthy again.

Changing my behaviors has not been an easy or fun journey, but each and every day I have put one foot in front of the other to make better health choices. Today I am happy to announce that I have lost over 30 pounds and, most importantly, all my numbers are almost all back to normal. Hallelujah!

What I’ve Learned And What You Can Learn

There is no secret sauce or magic potion that has made this happen. I’m not taking any supplements or shots and I haven’t been smoking anything to help in this process. Like so many other people in the world, I started using the new Weight Watchers app to help bring accountability in my eating.

My learning is two-fold. First, it is all about mindset and behavior change. You, and only you, can make it happen. No one can force it on you or make it happen for you. You have to do it.

Second, it has once again been confirmed in my mind that the healthcare Dont-Be-Yourself-But-Be-Your-Bestself-Quote-Mouse-Pad system is built for business and not for the care of people. If I would have listened to the system, I would be taking lots of medicine and still be a high-risk consumer. Why wouldn’t the system want to be proactive and to actually guide my health journey? It’s the difference between healthcare (one word) and health care (two words).

What I Will Do And What You Can Do

Here is my request of each of you: be the best you! Love yourself first, so you can love those around you. Place a high priority on taking care of yourself, so you can be there for those who you love. The feature picture of this blog shows each and every one of you why I am on this journey. They are my life, my loves, and my reason for living. Find your motivation for living and start your journey.

Who gives a sh** about you? Well, for starters, I do. I will walk this journey with you and we can walk this journey together.

GO BE YOUR BEST SELF TODAY!


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