macortiz

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I'm now a member at Madison Athletic Club in Madison Heights, MI (not too far from home). 29.95 per month, I only had to pay the first two months and that was it. The gal who took me around gym, Jenny, was awesome. She didn't sell me, she gave me a tour. The facility is awesome. And it's so clean, which was something I asked her about when I called the gym. Turns out we both used to go to a place on the other side of town. She though it was dirty, I picked up an infection there.

The wally-ball room was awesome, and I'm hoping to drag some friends there and have some fun. It's been years since I've played. Anyways, they have a room for classes. There was all the standard equipment for bands, step, floor, etc. Then all this stuff hanging from a steel structure. TRX Suspension Training. Duuuuuuuuuude!

The spin room...I actually got loud and squealed a little. I know it's going to kick my butt...but...I was super excited over spin classes.

Anyways, I explained to Jenny what was coming around the corner for me and she got excited FOR me. She took me back to her office and showed me a picture of her. She's lost 90 pounds over the last year or so. She offered to be my cheerleader, and told the trainer I'll be having a session with on Tuesday I was her new BFF. I laughed the whole time.

I get ten free sessions with the trainer unitl the 14th of January. Then sessions are $45.00 each. He's kinda hot. I could wing it. He was like the goal I scored!!

Today I also did some financial soul searching, realizing as much as I like the products my doctors office offers (and I have been buying), pocket book wise it's become rediculous. The diet they have me on is with the supplments (shakes, etc) and vegetables. Well, factoring in what the supplements cost and just food groceries, it's almost $200.00 a week. Why has it taken me almost three months to figure this out? Because I stopped going through the drive-thru every day, "where" my money was going just moved. So I decided I can still follow the plan purchasing my products elsewhere. And I did just that.

I whipped out my Blackberry and did a search for nutrition stores in or near my town. As fate would have it there is a little nutrion shop in downtown Royal Oak. Two minutes from my house! It's an old store, tiny, lots of character and products. I found a protein shake mix with numbers that practically match the ones I got from the doctors office. Then I found a gentleman and asked for help, explaining I would be having gastric bypass soon (optimism!), and what I'm looking for. You know, we spent 15 minutes going through all these meal bars looking at labels for caloric, sugar, and protein content. I have this to say: Shame on all those companies stuffing all that sugar into their "health' products.

After the clerk left me to my own devices in an aisle a lady with a shopping buggy rolled my way. I had nowhere to go. She was a talker, that's for sure. While I was checking out the vegan jerky, she asked me a few questions...I mean, she all but asked why I was in the store...seeing as everyone else in the store was substantially smaller than myself. She was selling. Her stuff. From some gal in Detroit who isn't licensed in anything. The disappointment that washed over her face as it came out I see a doctor, I take vitamins, and I choose to follow his direction.

Wow.

I didn't care. I bought shake mix and protein bars (50 servings in all) for 68.00 (1.36 per serving). I was quite pleased.

All in all, a productive day for me. Can't wait for tomorrow!

Overweight. Plump. Thick. Round. Well nourished (that was my favorite). Obese. Morbidly obese. Obese with co-morbidities.

Fat.

My mom had gastric bypass three years ago. It's no secret I was mad at her for doing so. I thought gastric bypass was a cop-out, an easy out for losing weight. Mom said it hurt her I would think that way, and I told her this: I just didn't 'get' why she made that choice. Although I didn't then, I completely get it now.

Since I was about twenty I have been lunking around 350 pounds (give or take), or about two hundred pounds more than my body was created to carry. To give you a greater idea of what that feels like, tie ten twenty-pound bags of potatoes to yourself and take a walk around the block. Can't do that? Walk down the driveway. Still can't do that? Walk around the living room. Sit in a chair, then get up. If you tie five more of those ten pound bags to yourself in addition to the first twenty, you'll have a really good idea of what I'm facing should I continue to ignore the obvious.

My cholesterol is borderline, the doctor would like it lower. I have borderline high blood pressure. Simply put, it bounces around, but not enough to necessitate medication. I'm a prime candidate for diabetes because I carry all of my weight around my middle. My risk for various cancers has increased. My doctor said I have more vitamin deficiencies than anyone else he's treated (my weight loss doctor). I have bi-lateral chondromylatia (the bottom of my kneecaps grind because the cartilidge has worn down). I discovered I had this after I got out of high school, but the added weight had progressed the condition substantially. I have the early onset of arthritis in both knees, and they're out of alignment. I have a tear in my left knee. I've dislocated and broken my left arm because I fell and "all" of me landed on the shoulder. There are two bulging disks at L4 and L5. My legs go numb starting at the thighs when I stand for more than a few minutes. I have a thinning issue with my hair.

I have one friend I hang out with here in Michigan...one. She's one of two people outside of my family who does not make me uncomfortable when we go out. Even though it's been well over a year since we've been able to sit in a booth like normal people. I drive an SUV because I can't fit into a little car. The last time I was able to wear a pair of jeans was the summer of 2009. When I went on vacation in October and November I had to ask for a seatbelt extender on the plane. I'm back to shopping in the men's section at Kmart for shirts because I can't find something long enough off the rack, or I have to buy clothes in a specialty shop...which costs twice as much...and even then finding things that fit a tall fat person is incredibly difficult. I haven't been asked out on a real date in four years. And trust me, I know others are embarrassed to be around me. Which I think is shallow, but I guess I "get" that too.

So for all my thin friends who think my personality is great enough to overshadow my weight issues, it's not.

This a miserable place for me to be in. Going out doesn't happen, I typically go straight home from work and not leave the house. Even going to church gets difficult some days. And those who know me well know a relationship with God is super important to me. I'm embarrassed to be around my friends, or meet customers through work, or get involved in other activities because I'm very well aware my toes disappeared quite some time ago.

I've built a new team of doctors around me, and those doctors who have experience with medical weight loss - well, their experience spans twenty years. The same amount of time I've been overweight. For the past year and a half I've researched surgical weight loss options. Through tons of information from my mom, Matthew (my little brother), guidance from my doctor and nutritionist I have decided to have gastric bypass surgery.

And I'm excited!

I've found a new gym. The staff knows why I've joined, what is coming up, and what some of my goals are. The first question out of the trainer's mouth was, "Do your family and friends support you? Do you have a support system? Who are they?" Nobody else in the gym world has asked me this, and it was a deal clincher. I have a consultation with the surgeon on January 12th. Sometime after this I expect to get a surgery date. My hope is to have it scheduled before the end of March.

So here it begins, my journey on a new chapter of my life. I hope you'll enjoy reading about it through my blog as much as I'm going to enjoy embarking on it.

Peace from the "D" (that's Detroit, for those of you who aren't familiar with mid-west slang).