just an update

i've gotta be honest. my initial reaction to the last couple of weeks was that this crash diet thing is more difficult than i remember! i've lost about 7 pounds, but feel like i've been doing more. then i realized the real reason: the workouts are killing me because i'm in such pathetic shape! on sunday, darrin and i took advantage of the near 70 degree weather to get in a late season bike ride. it was a simple 20 miles. but i worked really hard to average just a little over 16mph. granted, it was fairly hilly, and the 20-30mph wind gusts were relentless, but i just had no power whatsoever. it was all i could do to keep 13mph on a flat 2-mile stretch into the wind. it was encouraging, though, that at the summit of the climbs, i recovered well and was able to get back up to "speed" in an acceptable time. i was going to run last nite, but it poured all evening and then thunderstorms moved in later. i thought it best to stay in, to avoid another confrontation with nature!
but i will say that i do notice a difference already. it feels good to be on a healthier diet, both physically and mentally. i've come to realize, though, that the company i work for is obsessed with food. practically every day shortly after noon, i get an email stating that there is left over food from some meeting or event that has taken place earlier in the morning. within seconds of that email hitting my inbox, my phone rings with the numbers 5521 on the display. that's danny's extension. he's our web developer, and he always knows where to scam some free feast. yesterday was no exception. it was just before 1:00. danny actually called me before i got the email. he must be getting inside information from someone. i took the trip downstairs with him to see what was there. sometimes there's a fruit tray or something like that. and whaddya know? sure enough, orange juice and a nice tray with grapes, honeydew, and good stuff like that. oh, and a big chocolate cake. two of them actually. i resisted, though, and stuck to fruit and a cup of juice. i felt good about it afterwards. danny understood and was impressed at my self control. but he still managed to gulp down a big honkin' piece of cake and some chips. and yeah - i was a little jealous...
i do want to thank everyone for their support and encouragement. the little community that has evolved here is filled with such inspirational people. i'll continue to draw alot of energy and motivation from all of you!

a new perspective

for what seems like forever now, i've been trying unsuccessfully to motivate myself to get back into some semblance of good physical condition. i just haven't been able to get into that groove where eating right is natural and workouts are anticipated and enjoyable. i was in that groove for a couple of years, but have really tanked in the crapper since the beginning of 2004. since then, i've been searching for something to push me over the edge.
which brings me to now...
as i noted earlier, i was in gainesville, florida last week to undergo some additional testing in my quest to donate a kidney to my sister. i met with the transplant coordinator early in the morning. she informed me that i am a perfect 6-antigen match with my sister. even with siblings, this is unusual, occurring only 25% of the time. this great news, as not only does evidence suggests a higher success rate, but also in that she will be allowed a lesser dosage of the antirejection medication afterward. i talked to several transplant recipients while i was there, and they all complained of the side effects of the antirejection medicine. after my meeting with the coordinator, it was off to the testing.

first up: blood work. several filled vials, a cotton ball and a bandaid later, and i was finished. i'd have to wait a few hours for the results...

next up: EKG. i've never had one of these before. after 9 probes and a couple of shaved spots on my previously hairy chest later - the results were good. check!

next: ultrasound. i've never had one of these either. my wife has. that's how we found out we had twins so many years ago. good news this time: i'm not pregnant. whew! more good news: i do actually have two kidneys. apparently, there have been potential donors who, until this test, did not know that they were born with only one kidney. check!

next up: CT scan. this one was new for me too. they had to start an IV (ANOTHER first for me...), as they were going to do the dye test also. they ran one scan, then injected the dye. waited a few minutes, then ran another scan. i was in and out in 30 minutes, and the IV wasn't as bad as i'd feared. and the results? perfectly normal. check!

next: meeting with the surgical team. i learned all about the laproscopic technique, recovery time, how my one remaing kidney will enlarge and have about 80% of the capacity of the two that i have currently, but that's more than enough. cool. they also took my blood pressure, and had the results of my blood tests.
blood pressure: 120/80. check!
cholesterol: they didn't actually tell me the number, but they said it was OK. Check!
fasting blood sugar: 109. uh oh. this is very high. pre-diabetic, actually. anything over 100 raises a Big.Red.Flag.

next up a chest X-ray. not a problem. check!

finally, a psychological evaluation. they asked me questions like do you think your life expectancy will change as a result of your donation? and do you think you will be perceived differently by others as a result of your donation? i guess i did ok, because they didn't admit me! check!

in the end, everything was fine except for my blood sugar level. this will need to come down before the transplant.

SO, here's the plan. since everyone obviously wants to do this procedure as soon as possible, i convinced the transplant coordinator to go ahead and schedule the surgery with the stipulation that i will have my blood sugar under control by that time. the transplant is scheduled for december 27th. sometime by the beginning of december, i need to take a glucose tolerance test to verify that the level is under 100. in order to do this, basically, i need to lose some weight. the doctors think that losing about 15 pounds will do it. so here's my goal:

lose 20 pounds by december 2nd.

then take the glucose tolerance test on december 6th and pass with room to spare. i've lost weight like this before and i'll do it again. here's the stats so far:

weight as of october 27th: 214.5 (eek! holy s#%&)
weight as of today: 212

obviously, i've really been watching what i eat. no halloween candy! i ran saturday, monday, and again last nite. it's time to get serious.
i have no doubt i'll achieve this goal. not only will that allow me to get through this procedure, but also to finally lose the weight i've been so wanting to lose. it's amazing what the proper motivation will do for you.