So, for my first blog post here on SG I've decided to share something of a more personal nature about myself. Oh sure, you can tell from my profile and likes here that I'm not shy about sharing about the things I like (comics, movies, TV, general geekdom stuff) but I find it difficult to share much about myself. Hell, my profile picture is not even of myself (but Donatello geeking out while sitting in front of the Bat-computer is kind of accurate 😜). I find that actions speak louder than words, and that a picture is worth a thousand words, so instead of trying to explain what I want to share today, I'll post the below picture.
This picture is of me at different (yet recent) points of my life. The one on the left is of myself at a local convention from April of 2015, and the ones on the right are from last week. In January of this year I found out the hard way that I have type 2 diabetes (I'll leave out the detail), and it was a wake up call that I needed to change a few things in my life.
I started going to a local gym (or more accurately a strength conditioning centre) that has trainers that actually care about you and making you healthier, not just some big chain that takes your money and then could care less if you show up. It just so happens that one of my best friends is the business manager of said gym, so maybe my opinion of it is slightly biased. But as you can see from the above picture, they deliver the results that they promise. I've been going three times a week now since February of this year. They write programs designed to give you the results that you are looking for and encourage you to push your limits. It's probably the most comfortable gym environment I've ever been in. They don't just tell you to load up as much weight as possible and just lift until you hurt, they understand that everyone is different and that each program they give you is tailored to what you can do and to how to improve yourself.
I also changed a LOT of my diet, which is to say that I have been eating a lot less fast food and no more sugary drinks (not just soda pop, but no fruit juice either) and lot more vegetables. I went to a diabetes clinic and they flat out told me that I can eat as many vegetables as I want, since the fibre in them helps get rid of excess sugars in your blood. They also said eating balanced meals everyday at every meal is also very important. So now I pretty much have a salad and some other veggie with every meal. Except breakfast. I refuse to have salad with breakfast. Unless it is of the fruit kind.
These changes that I've made have helped me to lose approximately 60 pounds of unwanted weight in less than a year. And I don't plan on stopping doing anything different anytime soon. When people who haven't seen me in a while ask how I feel after losing the weight, my response is usually just one word. Better. My bad knee has not been bothering me as much, my back hasn't been sore in a while, and I have been sleeping better. Do I still have problems in my life ?? Yes, but I'm working on those as well. I'm finding that making changes in your life takes time for you to see the results. Patience, my young padawans. You may not see the results as fast as you want them to come but if you keep to your path and the changes you want to make for the better in your life, you will see results in time. Life happens. I've come to realize that I can't control what will happen to me, but I can control myself and how I react to life's curveballs. That's all for now. Oh crap, I'm late for the gym.