Chris Johnson’s Visit to the HealthPlex

On Friday, January 15th we met for lunch in western hills with Chris Johnson and his friend Tab. It is the first time that I had ever met him and I was very excited. He was a very nice person and he and Tab both tried to tell me that I would do fine. They said to just tell my story from my heart. I guess that is what I did.

After I told my story at the Western Hills Healthplex a lot of people told me that I did a good job. But I really couldn’t remember what I said. I was so nervous. On the 16th we had to be at Fairfield by 8 O’ clock to speak at nine. It was a little easier this time. We had a microphone so I didn’t have to talk so loud. My oldest son his wife and our grandson was their to hear me tell my story and for support. We left Fairfield at about 11:30 for Anderson.

We had to speak at Anderson at 1:30. I had to speak a little louder at Anderson because they didn’t have a microphone. It was a very good experience for me and although I was nervous I’m ready to do it again. It was nice to be able to hear Chris speak at all three Healthplexes and I learned a lot. After each speaking engagement we had a mini healthfair and I had a table set up so that people could ask questions or make comments. There was a good turn out at all three healthplexes.

I want to thank everyone for their support not only at this event but all of the way thru my weight loss journey. I would also like to urge you to make comments on my blog. Ask questions or give suggestions. If I don’t know the answer to your questions I have the experts at the healthplex that will help me.

Lessons Learned

I learned a few things the hard way over the past couple of weeks. On Christmas morning I got up, took a shower and went in to take my medicine. I started feeling faint so I called for Clarence and by the time he got to me I had passed out. He called 911 and they sent an ambulance and took me to the hospital. We spent Christmas day in the hospital. After several test and hours later they determined that I had a low sodium level.

I have been watching my salt intake ever since I started eating healthy because it makes me retain water. I thought that there was enough salt in the foods that I ate without adding extra. The doctor told me that since I started eating healthy I wasn’t eating a lot of process foods and that is where the salt is added. I just never thought about that. I learned a lesson and wanted to pass it along.

Lesson #2 is drink plenty of water. I thought that I was drinking plenty of water. Yesterday I had a follow up appointment with my family doctor. I passed out in her office and went to the hospital again. This time after being there all day they found out that I was dehydrated. Now Clarence is making sure that I have something to drink on my table at all times.

Chris Johnson is Coming to Town

Chris will be speaking at all three healthplexes and I will also be telling my story. I will be telling my story first and he will be on after me. I’m glad that I’m first because he would be a hard act to follow. I have never met him but I have talked to him on the phone. I‘m very excited and can’t hardly wait to meet him. If you have been following my blog you know that Chris Johnson’s book “On Target Living” is what turn my life around. I think one of the things in his book that helped me is he said take baby steps. Don’t give up everything all at once. He also has a target with the best foods in the center and they get worse as you get away from the center. Eating the right kind of food, and exercise goes together.

I will be very nervous when it is my turn to speak because I’m not used to speaking in front of an audience but I hope that everyone shows up. I need all of the support that I can get. We will be at Western Hills Healthplex on Jan. 15th at 4:00 pm, at Fairfield Healthplex on Jan. 16th at 9:00 am and at Anderson Healthplex on Jan, 16th at 1:00 pm.

Update on clothing size

It has been a long time since I changed my clothing size. I checked back in the blog and it was July 27th when I got into a size 14 slacks and I weighed 208.4 lbs. At that time I reset my goal. I wanted to get below 200 lbs and I wanted to get down to a size 12 slacks. It has been almost five months and I’m now down to that size 12 and I weigh 191 lbs. I want to be in the 180s by the end of the year. It is hard to lose weight over the holidays.

Why I Write The Blog

Almost a year ago I was ask to write a blog to tell my story. I agreed to do it because I thought that it would help others that are overweight like I am. I wanted to let them know that there is hope for them. Since I started the blog I have talked to a lot of people that have started losing weight after reading my story. I always said that if I could help just one person it would be worth doing. I was very happy to hear from so many. I have had some comments on the blog itself and I encourage people to feel free to make comments and ask questions. If I don’t have the answers I will find someone that does.

Eating over the Thanksgiving Holiday

The Thanksgiving holiday is one of the worst holidays for people that are trying to lose weight. I was invited to a friend's house for Thanksgiving but I had a very bad cold and had to cancel. Clarence went out and bought what we needed for dinner and we ate at home. We had turkey breast, dressing, cranberry sauce, gravy and pumpkin pie with sugar free whipped cream on top. This was a real treat for me and as I said you need to treat yourself once in a while. I didn’t overeat. I watched my portion sizes and I actually lost weight over the holiday. I’m now 193.8 pounds which is the lowest that I have been so far. That’s 136.2 pounds that I have lost!

My Accident

I tripped and fell at the mall on Wednesday the 11th of November. I hit my head and was knocked out. I was taken to the hospital and after a CT scan and some blood tests they determined that I was ok. When we got home I had a lot of pain in my side when I took deep breathes. We figured that I had a cracked or badly bruised rib. We went to the doctor yesterday and she said that my rib wasn’t broken. The last time we seen the doctor was two months ago and I have lost 13 lbs since then, according to the doctor's scale. With the sore ribs I haven't been able to go to the Healthplex but I still lost 1 lb. I was afraid that I would gain weight. I stayed with my lifestyle eating habits. You notice I didn’t say my diet. It is a lifestyle. The doctor said I could start back to exercising so today we are going to start back in the pool.