There is something awful that goes on in my mind and my body when I lose about 20 pounds: it becomes extremely difficult to keep going. This has now happened three times. The only difference this time is I'm putting it out there publicly and crying to buck the trend somehow. Failure was never an option with this journey and it still is not. I just don't know how to break this plateau. And I certainly don't want to gain weight back. So how do I overcome this block? Please, help me.
On another note, what really bothers me a bit is that my blood pressure is much worse now than it was when I started this journey. That seems counter-intuitive and is very frustrating.
Also, I have been suffering from more chest and left arm pain and discomfort of late; it may even be the worst yet. This causes me to worry about my other blood numbers, which, per the doctor, should have improved when I lost over 5% of my body weight. It's a gut-wrenching place to be; I almost feel like I have a disease I can't stop. Believe it or not, chest pains are a psychologically crippling problem that tend to also affect other areas of one's life. I can certainly attest to this. I don't quite know what to do, because I feel better when I take aspirin but I don't want to be "on it" for the rest of my life. Also, the chest pains get worse – there is no doubt they get worse – after my heart has to beat hard from exercise. On those days, I experience feelings of burning and pulling directly over the heart for the rest of the day. The pain is usually gone in the morning, but for the whole day I'm worried about a heart attack and I take aspirin.
I just shouldn't be in this situation as a 24-year-old. What should I do?
I'm sending you a message.
ReplyDeleteMom
I wish there was an easy answer.
ReplyDeleteYou CAN do this. More to the point, you ARE doing this, and in that sense you have already won. What you have done this year -- what you are doing -- represents a victory that cannot be taken away. A good day is a good day; once it's been lived it's there, forever, unable to be retracted (not true for bad days, by the way, which can be forgiven and wiped away).
It may be that it is your lot to deal with some things that are not in any sense "fair." It may be that the success is in dealing with them, not eradicating them. It may be that a health-challenged young man who fears dying young is quite a bit more compassionate and useful than a normal young man.
I do wish, though, there was an easy answer.
Joe,
ReplyDeleteYour brother's answer has a lot of encouragement in it. Go ahead and read it again :)
I know you've done so much looking and trying and figuring things out. So I'm not going to offer much advice. But I do have two things and a few other thoughts.
1) Just as a way to shake things up and give you something different to think about-try only whole foods for a week? It would give you guys some challenge planning and making foods but I think it is pretty neat. Here's a blog that I like (not saying I endorse it as solid knowledge, just interesting) http://www.100daysofrealfood.com/
2) One of my professors (a communication teacher married to a psychologist professor) told us about a diet book that focuses solely on psychology. I haven't read it, and again I'm not saying that it is great. It also is not biblically based and I imagine that some of it may not line up with a biblical mindset. Simply something interesting to explore when you feel like you've hit your plateau or block point. http://www.beckdietsolution.com/
I hope these are two things that may be interesting for you to explore and experiment with. I see a lot of unhealthy people, in clinics and physician's offices and even elementary schools...every week. As futile as this process seems sometime, your tenacity and passion is admirable and awesome. None of us think less of you for your weight. We simply think more of you for your steadfastness in trying and fighting for your health.
Echoing your brother, I do wish there was an easy answer. I have no doubt that God is using, and will use, this for his glory.
Thank you. I don't kid when I say this needs to be printed and framed or something similar.
ReplyDeleteMy comment was in response to Juice. I am now reading Erin's comment.
ReplyDeleteOK, that one needs to be printed and framed also. :) Thank you all for the world class encouragement. And Erin, both of those links are very interesting and I will look into them.
ReplyDelete