Second Chances: Blessings from Above (2 Months)

Yesterday was the 60th day since my surgery and my weight (221.2) was down a total of 35.4 pounds. The size 42 pants that I am wearing are starting to fit big and hopefully in the next few weeks, I will be down to a size 40. Tara reports that the famous Dr. Oz from the Oprah show says that the sign of a healthy male is a size 36 waist. Since I last reported to you, I have lost a total of 5 pounds which is about a pound a week. My current goal was to lose a total of 50 pounds by the end of the year so I have about as many weeks as pounds to lose. During the past four weeks, my weight actually went up a pound or two as I started working out more and eating more. In my mind, I wasn't making the positive gains I wanted even though the dietitian told me that my weight loss would slow down to about a pound a week. On a more positive note, my doctor reported back that my Hb1ac was a 6.0 which is at the upper end of the normal range without any medications, so it seems my diabetes is in check and my blood sugars should decrease with every three month checkup.

In addition to everything else I am normally involved with during the past five weeks the Texas gulf coast was hit with hurricane Ike. During that time I was called up to work with special medical needs persons at the evacuee center at the Austin Convention Center and I also worked several shifts at the State Operations Center. I learned a lot about how the state operates during a disaster, plus it tested my resolve and my eating habits during 12 to 15 shifts. Then three weeks ago my supervisor called me and asked if I would travel to Houston to supervise the Medically Dependent Children's Program unit there like the one that I supervise here in Austin. I have been traveling to Houston every other week from Sunday through Wednesday to supervise 15 nurses and case managers. During those times, I tend to eat a bit more and exercise a little less. Plus I found out last week that my dissertation defense is on hold, so that depressed me a little, which meant I put more food in my mouth than needed. This tells me, I still need my group therapy sessions to work on my eating disorder: emotional eating.

Resolved to get back on a track, when I returned from Houston this past Wednesday, I hit the gym even harder than normal. Then this past Friday I decided to step it up even more in my preparation to run in the Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure (5k) (http://www.komenaustin.org/site/PageServer) the first weekend in November and the Step Out: Walk to Fight Diabetes 5k (http://main.diabetes.org/site/TR?pg=personal&fr_id=5429&px=4380465) on the 15th of November. Something happened to me this week, and on Friday I took a class a the gym and I felt so good that in the afternoon after work, I ran a mile and a half. Then on Saturday morning, my fraternity brother, Scott Rasmussen and I ran for two miles, walked a mile and then ran/walked for another mile. After our run he gave me a new Nike Sportsband and so I wanted to see how it worked. On Saturday afternoon I ran for a mile and walked another mile. During my run I lost the receiver to the Sportsband and then we promptly went to the store to purchase another because I felt bad to lose a gift not 12 hours after it was given.

Since today is the Sabbath, we will take it easy and go for a walk this morning with the boys to test out the double stroller that my friends Amy Babbs let us borrow. Since I will be in town this week, I plan on increasing the total amount of exercise I do each day and running a little longer and faster with each of my running sessions. Update: we found the receiver to the Nike Sportsband that I lost on my run yesterday afternoon this morning on our family walk.

I cannot go with out reporting that while I have increased my exercise, Tara has also ramped up both physically and mentally. She has been walking daily with the boys and her friend Kate, and on days that I don't have to teach, we have gone over the the middle school track and run with Phoenix and Zion. Tara's weight is down over 18 pounds since I had my surgery. She also received a 71 on her first test in her Elementary Algebra class in college. She wasn't please with her grade, but I told her now she has a goal to improve upon. Her math classes are getting progressivly more difficult and she is going to have to work harder than she did in the spring semester, but most of all she is sticking with it.

Will report again in 30 days.

Hope all well with all of you in the blogisphere.

Much Love and Respect,

Byron Lynn