The Weight Loss

On December 12th, Jason and I decided, on the advise of our doctor, to lose some weight. We, like most bears, love food and enjoy it to excess. Jason's blood pressure went up last fall to a dangerous level and the doctor had put him on pills to try to get it back down. I have type two diabetes and sleep apnia and had to wear a CPAP machine when I went to bed. We both KNEW we were overweight, but didn't worry too much about it. It was actually Jason who kicked me in the arse and said, let's do something about our weight.

Our doctor suggested "Simply For Life (SFL)", which is a very successful diet program, so we went to visit them and signed up. Aaron, our advisor, is a young well-built guy who used to be in the same shape we were, but changed his life with SFL. He was very friendly and encouraging.

The diet was much harder for Jason than me because he isn't a vegetable eater. He's a meat and potatoes (and gravy) guy who loves his chocolate and sweets. I, on the other hand like most foods. We had to eliminate potatoes, corn and peas totally from our diet. We can have lots of other veggies, meat, fish, poultry. Eggbeaters, brown rice and whole wheat pasta are staples. But you get lots of snacks, mid-morning, afternoon and even a small bad of smart-popcorn for a tv snack.

It's been just over three months, and I'm happy to report that so far, I have lost just over 51 pounds and Jason almost 47, and we feel great! Jason is off the blood pressure pills and the doctor has reduced the number of pills I take for the diabetes daily. Oh, and the CPAP machine has been put away. I don't stop breathing in my sleep anymore. I only have to lose 18 more pounds to reach my goal. I've dropped 4 inches off my waist size and have had to dig out the skinny clothes again. I'm glad I kept some of them. But I hope, this will be the last time I have to diet and we can maintain it after we reach our goals.

It's amazing now how little food it takes fill us and how much more energy we have. We're getting there... wish us luck.