My 2008 New Year’s resolution: final report!

Last year, for the first time, I not only made a New Year’s resolution but also published it here on 3 January 2008.

I did so because I thought reporting on my efforts to fulfill this particular resolution might inspire others to fulfill theirs.  In fact I was pleased to learn that my quarterly reports throughout the year inspired many of you to stick with your resolution.

Accordingly, here’s an excerpt from that original article, followed by my final report:

I have always been blessed with good health – especially since I began swimming competitively at age 9. Therefore, I’ve never felt the need to join the madding crowd of yo-yo dieters making New Year’s resolutions to lose weight.

But that all changed recently when my doctor summoned me for a consultation on the results of my latest physical exam. In short, she informed me that I was fat and needed to lose weight … 40 pounds to be exact.

Far more troubling, however, is the self-delusion that allowed me to gain 40 pounds (up to 210) and still think that I was every bit as fit as I was when I weighed 170.

Meanwhile, my cholesterol is now over 300 and I’m presenting all of the early-stage symptoms of kidney and heart problems that took my Mummy’s life at the unforgivably young age of 64.

Never mind all of the nagging middle-age pains this extra weight has caused, which I kept chalking up to after-workout burn. And to top it all off, I’m going blind….

Therefore, I have resolved to lose all 40 pounds by this time next year.

Finally, I had my first prostate exam. I was so traumatized, however, that I can’t even imagine having another one for at least another 10 years! (But seriously guys, if you’re over 40, I urge you to discuss the importance of prostate exams with your doctor.)

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FINAL REPORT

And I was doing so well….

On March 28 (when I published my 1st Quarter Report), I weighed 203, which was down from 210 in January. On June 27 (when I published my 2nd Quarter Report), I weighed 192. Not bad, but this meant that I was 2 pounds short of my mid-year goal of losing 20 pounds. On September 27 (when I published my 3rd Quarter Report), I weighed 189, which, frankly, was a miracle considering the binge eating I reveled in at two family weddings over the summer.

Today I tipped the scale at 190.  No doubt my progress this quarter was foiled by a Thanksgiving binge that made my mid-summer gluttony seem positively abstemious.  And even though a few people remarked that I was “looking too thin” when I got down to 179 in early-November, their remarks had nothing to do with my failure to stay on track to weigh-in at my stated goal of 170 today….

(Incidentally, since I’ve always exercised regularly and eaten very healthy foods, my weight loss is due almost entirely to portion control; i.e., I still eat the same things only in smaller amounts – except when I fall off the wagon as indicated.)

In March, my total cholesterol was 270 (LDL: 190, HDL: 64), which was down from 325 in January. In June, it was 223 (LDL: 133, HDL: 77). In September it was 241(LDL: 144, HDL: 69).

Today my total cholesterol is 257 (LDL: 172; HDL: 66).  Of course, this confirms my doctor’s assertion of a positive correlation between weight and cholesterol levels.  Although, she remains convinced that I have a genetic predisposition to increased cholesterol production – especially, alas, of the LDL (bad variety).

In March, my blood pressure was 125/70, which was down from 135/80 in January. And it has remained essentially the same ever since.

This concludes my final report. And where I shall do my best to avoid the Oprah syndrome (i.e., by ballooning back up to 210), I shall never make another New Year’s resolution or publish details about my health again.

Now, how did you do?

NOTE: We are suffering a pandemic of obesity (and related complications) worldwide. Therefore, I urge you to commit to annual physical exams – complete with tests for kidney disease, HIV and other STDs. And this applies especially to black men in Africa and the Caribbean where there seems to be a cultural belief that one visits the doctor only for emergency care.

After all, I am a living example of the fact that, despite daily exercise and a healthy diet, we are all vulnerable to that silent killer – CHOLESTEROL.