A Year Already! Well, Almost.

Although my weight loss journey really kinda sorta maybe began in the Fall of 2012, the real work began nearly one year ago and it still seems like a dream to me that this is really happening.

It was March 2013 when I was officially diagnosed with Diabetes and placed on oral medication to help bring my blood sugars under control. That’s not to say they were completely insane but certainly elevated and worthy of concern. My doctor at the time had me on a couple of different pills to quickly bring my numbers down. I was posting readings of 14 to 16 mmol/L which is a far cry from the range of 4.5 to 6.0 readings I’m getting now. My usual readings are right around 5.1 mmol/L which I’m very happy with.

My doctor eventually was pleased with my weight loss and reduced my daily pill intake which made me happy. I want to avoid insulin if possible just because to me that seems like a warning sign that things aren’t getting better. That’s my uneducated diagnosis any way.

But it was right after my doctor gave me the bad news that the alarms went off in my head. It was time to stop being such a wimp, grow some balls and get serious about changing and improving my life.You might think that going from eating whatever and whenever I wanted to counting calories and downsizing my portions would be a tough thing to do. Let me tell you, you’re right!

I love food. And not the leafy green, low calorie stuff. I like fried foods, fast food, greasy food, bread, butter…basically anything you can think of that isn’t considered healthy, that’s what I liked to eat. I’ve never sat down and calculated what a typical day of calories would have been for the old me when I didn’t try to keep an eye on things but I can imagine I was pushing anywhere from 5000 to 7000 calories in a day without trying. Now I shoot for around 1800 calories a day…give or take.

But it wasn’t just the calories that were an issue. After spending my youth, teens and 20’s being pretty active, that all changed and I found myself spending more time in front of the computer or the TV. I stopped being active and if you’re not doing anything to burn the calories, well, the resulting obese mess I became spoke volumes.

Yes, its been nearly a year since I finally got a clue and decided to get healthy. That isn’t to say I was then or am now expecting to become a GQ model and have six pack abs and a rock hard body. Come on! I’m not living in a fantasy world. After decades of abusing myself, I knew the best case scenario was likely going to be getting into the mid-200’s if I was lucky. I’d still have a flabby stomach and thighs but dropping my weight from 420 pounds to that would be a huge game changer.

So here I am today, 11 months into my determined effort to shape a new and improved version of myself and I think I’ve done a pretty decent job so far.

My current weight sits around 261 pounds. Now it would likely be even lower than that but I’m doing a fair bet of weight lifting and building muscle which adds weight. So I’m happy to break even there. If I’m adding muscle and my weight isn’t going up, then I must still be burning fat. Truth is, I know I am. I can still see my waistline shrinking as I can nearly get into another smaller pair of jeans. Even my watch and my Fitbit bracelet on my wrists can be done up to a tighter spot now. The separation between my thighs continues to grow. Truth be told, I just wish my ass looked better. I wish I had an ass!

I never thought I’d be a gym guy but I really like going. I try to work out five days a week using the treadmill and elliptical machines for cardio and of course the weights for muscle building. I don’t have any work out buddies and stick mainly to myself which is kind of boring but at the same time I can focus on what I’m doing and get the job done without distractions. People at the gym seem friendly although most seem to keep to themselves. We do a lot of head nodding and smiles as greetings. Not a lot of talking. Of course most people wear headphones to listen to music while working up a sweat. I’m no different but will gladly turn the tunes off if anyone wants to chit chat. I can think of a few ladies worth taking the time to converse with.

Golden Boys Again

Canada - 2014 Olympic Gold Medallists

 I love the Olympic games both Summer and Winter. For two weeks I'm glued to the television watching and cheering our Canadian athletes as they do their best to win a medal and represent the country on the world stage.

The past two weeks with the Winter games in Sochi, Russia were no different. It didn't matter whether it was the traditional events like Speed Skating or newer events like Snowboard Cross, I was hoping for the best for our men and women wearing the Maple Leaf.

But I can't lie, my main focus, was hockey. Like nearly the entire country I was glued to my seat watching both the Ladies team and the Men's team try to repeat as Gold Medal Olympic Champions. And I'm proud to say they were both successful.

The women played probably the most exciting game of the entire Olympics with a thrilling come from behind overtime win against the United States. I admit, I was just about ready to head out the door when the girls began mounting their unbelievable comeback and was glad I stuck around to witness the outcome. I've never been a big fan of women's hockey but even I was moved to tears by what transpired that day.

When it came to the Canadian men, I won't say I had my doubts about their talent but they did appear to be struggling somewhat right up until the semi-final against the U.S. and the Final against Sweden. That quickly changed as the team turned back to back clinics in how to shutdown their opponents. From the unbeatable play of goalie Carey Price to the rest of the roster, to a man they played flawless hockey and proved to the world once again that Canada is Hockey. We lay claim to the game for good reason.

While Norway lives and breathes Cross-Country Skiing and the Netherlands dominates Speed Skating, the rest of the world knows that Canada is a hockey nation. And while we may have moments when we falter because we can't play our best players, when we do dress our top team, we are unbeatable and damn proud of that fact.

Hello Again, I'm Not Dead

I wasn't lying on my last blog posting when I said I might be away for a bit. A month and a half since my last posting but you haven't missed a whole lot. Okay, that's not entirely true but certainly nothing earth shattering.

As planned, I spent Christmas in Florida with my brother and his family. I dragged my parents along with me as well to make it a real family Christmas. The first one in many years where we've all been together.

The "Unconditional Surrender" statue in downtown Sarasota, Florida.

I won't bore you with all of the details. Suffice it to say everyone got lots of presents from Santa and we ate way too much good food. It was a great three weeks in the Sunshine State.

Well, it wasn't entirely without incidence. My poor mother after just recovering from a broken ankle last Autumn, missed a step coming down the stairs and fell again two days before Christmas. Despite her intense pain she didn't let us take her to the hospital until Boxing Day where she was diagnosed with a bad sprain and pulled ligaments but no break. Of course anyone who's had an injury like this knows, sometimes you're better off just to break it. So as it turns out, mom spent most of the vacation on the couch resting although I did drag her out a few times shopping where she could ride the electric scooters around Walmart and Target and near the end of the trip she could walk a little better.

Of course mom's injury meant she wasn't able to go to Tampa to see the Montreal Canadiens play the Lightning. So in her place went my sister-in-laws sister along with my dad, brother and sis-in-law of course. We had a terrific time and Montreal won which was a bonus

Red-shouldered Hawk in Myakka River State Park.

During the trip I got a bit of sun which was nice but the one thing I did a lot  of was shop. I spent over $1200 on mostly new clothes. Having lost all my weight my old wardrobe was no good to me. All of my old clothes were several sizes too large. I had a good time shopping.

Weight loss and body changes continue to happen.

So how did my weight loss go while on vacation? Well, as expected I gained some weight because to be completely honest, I ate like a pig. I fully expected to come home and find I'd gained 30 pounds. But when I stepped on the scale after getting back I had only gained about 14 pounds. And I'm happy to say that within a week I had dropped every pound and was back to my pre-vacation weight. I think the main reason I didn't gain more likely had to do with the fact that most mornings I would go for a good long walk and do a couple laps of a local lake. Probably about 3 miles each time.

I did get a couple opportunities to practice my photography hobby as well. I took my camera on my walk one day and got some shots of some of the local water birds like Blue Herons, Ibis, Egrets and others. Another day dad and I loaded mom into the truck our way to Myakka River State Park near Sarasota. Here I got some nice photos of lots of Alligators and was lucky enough to spot a couple of Red-shouldered Hawks.

Ibis in Flight.

It was a good trip but I was not pleased at all to return home. While away there was a brutal ice storm. The tree damage was minimal but there had to be anywhere from two to six inches of ice in the driveway. I was three days chipping it clear and shovelling the heavy ice onto the yard. And if that isn't bad enough, I just got it cleared in time as we've had several snow storms since then and have more snow on the ground than I can recall in recent memory.

Oh, and to make matters worse, the temperatures have been bitterly cold. One night at work I was sitting in my car when all of a sudden my back window exploded. The heat inside and the minus 30 temps outside didn't agree with the tempered glass. That was a fun night.

So as you can see, it has been a somewhat interesting period since my last posting but life is funny that way. Never a dull moment.

Another Year Goes Bye Bye

Tis The Season
Originally uploaded by *Bundy*

Another holiday season has crept up on us quicker than usual. It still feels like just yesterday I was sitting in front of a campfire next to the lake swatting mosquitoes and swapping stories with friends and family.

Alas, that is not the case and Christmas lights on the houses, freezing cold temperatures and snow on the ground are a clear indication that Santa and his reindeer will be embarking on their annual journey very soon.

This also means another year has almost been completed and what a year it has been.

It seems only appropriate to take a moment to reflect on the year that has flown by in the blink of an eye.

I think we can all agree that 2013 has been interesting and quite a successful year for me personally. No I didn't get a big raise or change jobs although I won't lie, both of those things sound pretty good to me but in this economy, any year where I'm not standing in line waiting to be fed, out looking for a job or waiting for a government assistance cheque to arrive is a good one in my books. Sure things could always be better but they can also be a lot worse as well.

I could sit here and reminisce about all of the big news stories from 2013 but I'm sure others will delve into those things in greater detail. Certainly in Canada the big stories of the year were Toronto Mayor Rob Ford's admission of crack use and the Canadian Senate scandal. Both of those stories will continue into 2014 no doubt.

In sports I'm happy to see my Montreal Canadiens playing and competing much better this season. It has been a pleasant surprise. I wish I could have said the same for the Toronto Blue Jays who reached a level of disappointment usually only attained by the Leafs and Raptors. But as they say, there's always next year. My own golf game was equally depressing in 2013. I was tempted to call the cops to help me locate my missing golf swing but instead I just continued to struggle and work on my foul language vocabulary.

The world lost some pretty great and interesting people this year. Among those that left us were Nelson Mandela, Musician Lou Reed, Actor James Gandolfini, Canadian actor Cory Monteith, Annette Funicello, Roger Ebert, Margaret Thatcher, Jonathan Winters, David Frost and Tom Clancy just to name a few.

My own family had some issues this year with both my parents having visits to the hospital but fortunately they appear to have recovered nicely.

The rest of my family is doing well so I'm pretty blessed in that department.

By far the most enjoyable event of 2013 for me was my continued efforts to improve my health. In a little over a year I've lost 155 pounds through exercise and changes to my eating habits. Basically I'm getting off my ass a lot more and shoving food down my throat a lot less which seems to be working to this point.

I'm hitting the gym up to five times a week since joining a little over a month ago and I'm noticing a change to my appearance as my muscles which were ignored for so long start to bounce back into shape.

The best part for me is regaining my life and eliminating the aches and pains I struggled with on a daily basis. It's amazing the things that thin and healthy people take for granted that obese people struggle with every day. I'm happy to say a lot of those issues have been eliminated for me finally. Every day is a challenge but after years of failing, I now know that I have it in me to succeed.

I could go on and bore you to sleep (if I haven't already) but I wanted to make this quick. I'm going to be very busy over the next several weeks and likely won't be updating my blog again until later in January.

Most importantly I just wanted to say thanks to everyone who has supported me over the last year and been so encouraging. From the people I talked to almost daily to old acquaintances I've passed in the street, every compliment and congratulation has meant a great deal and has been very much appreciated.

My hope is that all of you have a Merry Christmas and a Safe and Happy New Year. See you in 2014!

Bravo Presqu'ile Park

Back in July of 2012 I wrote a letter to the local newspaper and also posted the same letter on my blog regarding changes within Presqu'ile Provincial Park and some areas that I felt needed to be addressed. As someone who has camped and visited the park every year of my entire 45 years of existence, I've witnessed a lot of changes within the park. Some of those changes I agree with and some I have taken issue with. As always, it's only my opinion but of course through conversations with other park users I've come to learn that my concerns and ideas were being shared by plenty of other paying customers.

Today I'm not going to delve into all of those concerns again. The last time I wrote about it I was happy to receive some feedback from what I can only assume were park staff or individuals close to the day to day operations of the park. I didn't necessarily agree with what they had to say but I appreciated their input and respected their ideas and thoughts. That's the great thing about this country, everyone is entitled to their opinion and I don't have a problem with someone taking a stand on the opposite side of the fence as me provided they do so with class.

What I wanted to do today was thank the person or management at Presqu'ile who finally listened to not only me but the many other campers who have made suggestions over recent years and addressed the one issue that has been a thorn in the side of so many of us.

After finishing another camping season at Thanksgiving I finally made a trip back into the park in early November and was thrilled to see that work had begun on resurfacing the main road into and across the front of the High Bluff camping area. This road had been a constant source of complaints mainly because of the dusty conditions in the summer time.

High Bluff campground road.

It was a common site between May and October to see campers having to close the windows on their trailers, covering their food and even walking across the road to sit in order to avoid the disgusting dust that blew into their campsites after each vehicle passed by. Sadly the dust would be less if the vehicles were traveling at the posted speed limit but that's a rare occurrence indeed. It was a health hazard for senior citizens and small children and just a dusty annoyance overall.

Entrance to High Bluff campground.

This past weekend I returned to the park to enjoy a peaceful walk and hoped to spot some wildlife. The deer were scarce as usual but upon completing my walk I took a drive into the camping area and was blown away by what I found. The park had finally paved the road across the front of the Bluff. It was a thing of beauty and I know the regular campers who won't return until the new season begins will be thrilled to see the road they've been begging to be fixed for so long has finally been given the attention it sorely needed.

The difference between the old road and the newly paved road is huge and on I'm sure I speak for all campers when I say "Thank You" to Ontario Parks and Presqu'ile Park Management in particular for seeing to it that this upgrade happened.

West end of High Bluff road where pavement begins.

Some will argue that the newly paved surface will only cause problems with speeding vehicles but of course as any regular visitor to the park will tell you, speeding cars and trucks have been a problem on weekends along that stretch of road long before pavement was put down. I just hope the Park Wardens make a concerted effort to crack down on this problem next summer because the kids will love riding their bikes, scooters and roller blades on this smooth new surface and we'd all hate to see something tragic happen.

The entrance to the park has also been resurfaced and widened at the front gate which should help to alleviate congestion when campers stop to register at the office.

Once again, Bravo Presqu'ile! I look forward to seeing what upgrades you have in store for us next. Might I suggest a new trailer dumping station? (hint hint)