30 minutes on the treadmill=

a huge workout for me! I’m so out of shape right now, but that 30 minutes felt so amazing, I have to keep going. I want to be around for my husband and my family and my wonderful friends who love me. It’s going to be a long road, but I’m determined to change for good- I have to, my health is at stake! I’m actually glad I got diagnosed with high blood pressure because it was a huge reality check for me, and I needed that desperately. I know I can make it go away if I start exercising and lose enough weight and just generally get healthy. Thanks for all your encouraging comments- I love you all!!!

Wake-up call

So I had a pretty interesting evening yesterday. I went to Kaiser Urgent Care because I’ve been having pain in my side for a few days now and I’ve also been having a problem with a little bit of blood in my spit in the mornings for about a month now. They took my blood pressure and said, "Wow, that’s way too high for a 28-year old!" So, being worried about it, they took it again, and lo and behold, high again. So I ended up having to do all these blood tests and urine test and all that, PLUS they put me on an I.V. in the exam room and gave me morphine for my pain (of which I had hardly any to begin with). They really gave me that because my blood pressure wasn’t coming down and I wasn’t able to calm myself down enough, apparently, to get it to come down, so they gave me a Clonidine (BP pill) and I had to lie there on a bed for about an hour and a half with the I.V. in and freaking out, thinking I was going to die and thinking the worst. Thank God Jake was there, because if I’d been alone, it would’ve been worse.

So I’ve been officially diagnosed with hypertension, and I am now on a blood pressure med for possibly my whole life. If that wasn’t a wakeup call, I don’t know what is! I definitely needed that kick in the ass. They didn’t find a cause for the blood, but they did give me an antibiotic, so if that doesn’t clear it up, I have an appointment with my doctor in a couple of weeks anyway so we can figure it out then. I’m really hoping all this is taken care of by the antibiotics, though. So really pray for me (if you pray), otherwise keep me in your thoughts that I can start to change my lifestyle and get these problems under control.

The exercise catch-22

I have never been one for regular exercise. I did go through a workout kick in high school, and as a result, I looked pretty darn good then. However, being married and not having to impress anyone (although that is a horrible attitude to have in a marriage) has resulted in my gaining upwards of 100 pounds of extra weight. Yikes!!

The problem with being this heavy is that I never have the energy to get up and work out. But when I do get up and drag myself to the treadmill, I always feel a lot better afterward. It's definitely a catch-22.

I also started weight watchers again after about 6 years. I'll admit I've done some fad diets in the past, but I figure the least I can do is give it the old college try and see where it gets me. The low-carb diet was just too much for me. I think if I were to try that again, I'd have to go meatless because I was eating so much meat that it just backlogged my system and I had some big digestive problems.

I have an appointment with my doctor (who also happens to be my father-in-law's doctor) on April 7th, so pray that the physical results aren't too dire. I'm going to do my best until then to live as healthily as possible. It's not easy. My husband does not eat healthy or exercise, so there's really no motivation from that source, but he is still encouraging when I need him to be, even if he's not doing it with me.

I'm determined to turn my health around for good, and I could use all the support and encouragement I can get, so please leave comments for me- I'd really appreciate it!

How to piss off credit card companies...

Go read this article that I found on this website authored by a guy simply known as "Maddox". He has some other equally funny articles, and although they are a bit crude, you'll laugh your ass off...

http://www.thebestpageintheuniverse.net/c.cgi?u=junk_the_junk

I found this guy when Jake and I were at Barnes and Noble and found this book called "The Alphabet of Manliness". The cover caught my eye right away- a Conan-looking guy punching a gorilla in the face. I'm never one to pass up hilarity like that; I'm definitely not a girly girl by any means. If you know me at all, you'll agree. I think I actually like this guy more than Jake does, which shouldn't be the case, as he writes a lot of "guy" stuff, but I do.

Anyway, please read it, you won't regret it. Or maybe you will. Don't say I didn't warn you. Oh yeah, and there is a little bit of language, but if you can handle that, then jump right in...