YES!! I said it, (53) FIFTY-THREE POUNDS!!!

I have not been able to shake the conversation I had with my pal Deb while I was visiting in NYC.  She firmly believes I have a severe form of sleep apnea and is worried it may kill me one day.

According to the woolcock.org.au website, “Obstructive Sleep Apnea (OSA) is a sleep-related breathing disorder and is typically characterized by periods of upper airway collapse lasting at least 10 seconds during sleep.  The prevalence of sleep apnea is approximately 12% of women and 17% of men, but the range is between 2% and 50% of men and 2% and 23% of women depending on sampling and methods of measurement.

Signs and symptoms often include loud snoring, breathing pauses and choking during sleep, daytime sleepiness and problems concentrating.

Common risk factors for OSA include increasing age, being male, being overweight or obese and having a family history of OSA. There is a growing body of evidence that OSA is an independent risk factor for high blood pressure, heart disease, stroke and abnormal glucose metabolism including diabetes. Although some progress has been made in understanding the causes and consequences of OSA, many patients remain undiagnosed. There is still a great deal to learn about the long-term effects of the disease on our health.”

Back in Los Angeles

Now that I am home in Los Angeles, I am going to spend the next few months learning about sleep apnea, what causes it, what cures it and natural approaches to treatment so I can avoid, if at all possible, the CPAP machine. I have nothing against the CPAP machine person and not ruling it out for myself or anyone else who feels this is a viable option. I need to try other things first.

Feeling Always ready to Fall Asleep

You know how once something is brought to your attention you start to notice things with a new light? Well, that has been my situation.  I’ve noticed how constantly tired I am even after thinking I got a good eight hours of sleep. Also, I notice myself falling into very vivid dreams at any time of the day.

Taking first steps

 I am not going to pretend that I am going to be able to afford to purchase a CPAP machine but I am going to research what my alternatives are.

Step one is losing weight. My goal has been to get down to a tight an toned 175 lbs. I am at 228, I took a photo on my scale when I arrived back home. I will use that photo as my featured photo for this article so I can continue to keep myself accountable to you, readers, and push myself to work harder to lose the 53 lbs. I need to lose to meet this goal.   

Portion Control

If I am being totally honest, I recognized when I was visiting my sister how much more food I eat by comparison.  After my sister Lady D’s health scare recently, she has turned her health around, She looks healthier, slimmer and she is laughing and smiling more. She made a serious change to her diet and it has helped.   

Limiting processed foods

I do recall a sad moment during my vacation, in retrospect when we just finished what was a very delicious and nutritious dinner. The portion size was visibly smaller than the mounds of food I usually cook for myself. That wasn’t the problem. I was all set for a week and a have of pizzas and Stromboli and as many Tastykakes as I could manage. I had a mini panic attack because I think my body was craving sugar and I was losing it at the thought of going all night without anything sweet.  My sister’s boyfriend was kind enough to drive me to the local Giant supermarket where I loaded up on 10 boxes of Tastykakes! My favorite is the Tastykake Chocolate Peanut Butter Kandy Kakes. Trust me, they are so delicious if you ever had them, you know why my body craved them.  They were and are truly one of Philadelphia’s treasures. But I digress….

Back to Reality

In retrospect, I see I did my sister a disservice for flooding her home with tastykakes to satisfy my diabetic cravings without a thought for her health journey. Sorry, Lady D!!

Now that I am home and my traveling is done, for now, I need to pull out the meal prep containers. I want to downsize my eating by cooking and reducing what I eat with some portion-controlled containers of home-made healthy meals. This will allow me to make something nutritious and avoid frying as much as possible. I recognize if I cook as I go, I reach for oil first then end up frying larger portions of food than I need.  Since tomorrow is Friday, I am going to spend the weekend going through my refrigerator and seeing how many meals I can prep.  I also may need to invest in a gallon sized pitcher to increase my water intake.

I will report back next week how that went, if only to keep me accountable to you, readers, which may motivate me to stay on track.  Weight loss is not easy but it can be done! Since my health is involved, forgive me but I will be using this blog to help keep me honest!

Keep your fingers crossed! I may need to dig deep to lose the 53… yes, 53 lbs. I plan to lose as soon as possible to cut the sleep apnea in its tracks! It won’t be my only point of attack but it will be the most challenging.   Given the excess weight, sleep Apnea and diabetes are all interconnected, getting this weight off may be the best health transforming activity I can engage in.