KarlZ

2011 was a year of change and by the time I reached New Year’s Eve and started work on my resolutions I was quite shocked. I have better measurements for January 2012 so I’ll use those numbers:

• I weigh 10 pounds less today than I did the day I graduated from high school. (was 161 pounds 34 years ago… am ~151 pounds now)
• I’ve ridden my bicycle over 100 miles in January (in Denver) but only driven my Prius 80 miles.
• I rode my bicycle 24 days in January. I was in my Prius 2 days.
• My total cholesterol dropped from 242 to 191 in 5 weeks in 2011.
• I became a vegan.
• I worked out at least 4 days a week (in addition to riding my bicycle) in January.

Why Do I Write This?

This week I’m in Houston for the first time since my move to Denver. I ran into numerous people that were shocked at how I looked. I got responses such as, “Are you OK?”, “Have you been sick?”, “You’ve lost so much weight!” That is what causes me to write about all these changes finally.

So here is a chronological perspective of the changes…

June – High Cholesterol – 239

I had some tests done in June and my cholesterol continued to be high at 239. The tests also indicated there was some plaque buildup… That’s something more serious… So now I must start to decrease it. I embarked on a new diet that eliminated all red meat from my diet. No cheese, no dairy, no beef, no pork, etc.

Early August – Forks Over Knives

My wife was flipping through the movies one night and came across one called “Forks Over Knives”. It was a movie about eating healthier, namely being vegetarian. It was quite an interesting moving. (More later…)

Mid-August – Job Change and Move to Denver

In mid-August I accepted a job with LMKR in Denver. After less than two weeks I was headed up to Denver with a U-Haul truck and my Prius on a trailer in tow. My wife and I agreed to get an apartment for a year so we could find where we wanted to live and have time to search. So I got an apartment 1 block from the office in the last week of August.

Visit My Parents

In addition to being in a great climate… my parents still live on the west slope of Colorado. I am now able to visit them more…

Early September – We Find a Place in Denver

Although our plan was to wait for a while, Lael and I found a place over the Labor Day weekend. So now I’m back working to terminate the lease as soon as possible.

Late September – Still High Cholesterol – 242

After eating healthy for 90 days and exercising a great deal (riding probably 100+ miles per week) from late August I was hopeful that my cholesterol would go down… Much to my disappointment it was 242! Up 3 points.

Early October – Overseas Travel Causes Parasite

Shortly after my cholesterol test I took a trip overseas. During that trip I managed to get a parasite that really upset my digestive track. I got some pretty good medical attention, but did not really get enough medication. After reaching a low point of 147 before I started to reverse it. I got the medication to help treat this on 10 October.

Mid-October – I Begin Vegan Diet

The next day, after reading “Preventing and Reversing Heart Disease” I decided to become vegan…. yes, vegan. For those like me (earlier in 2011) vegan is a strict vegetarian – that is, no animal protein – no eggs, not dairy. Additionally, no added oils. Those that know how much I enjoy a filet mignon are probably in shock… I was.

Late October – Sale of Houston Home

The last weekend of October I traveled down to Houston to help load up our belongings so they could be moved up to Denver. It seemed strange to move out of that home after we had put so much effort into making it such a nice place to live. Of course, I guess that’s why it sold so quickly (2 offers in the first 5 days).

Early November – Move Into New Home

So while I had the Denver place for several weeks, I really didn’t have much to put into there. It was really a snowy night of 1 November that the moving van arrived and most items were moved in. It was SO nice to have a sofa to sit on again. (The only seating in my apartment was my weight bench.)

While I had a TV in my home, I didn’t get any cable service. My TV was limited to Pandora for music and NetFlix for movies… but no regular TV channels. This was really great… I used to watch several hours of TV each day… But that dropped to zero. That’s a good thing because I needed to use that time for other things.

But the best thing about no TV was that I’ve been doing a lot more reading.

Late November – Lower Cholesterol – 191

So back in early October I had arranged to have a physical. I’d not had one for 3 years. During that physical they ran a full panel on my cholesterol. The results were much better than the past with my total cholesterol being 191! And that was after being a vegan for only 5 weeks!

More Cultural Events

Lael and I have been many more cultural events. We have visited the Denver Arts Museum, we saw Lion King among other events.

New Year’s Eve – What Resolutions?

So this was a really odd year. I was talking with my wife about my New Year’s Resolutions. The usual suspects are lose weight, keep in touch, and save money. I find it interesting that eat right and exercise get rolled into a single category of lose weight.

When I really started to write things down I realized that I got a head start on my resolutions in 2011. I’d clearly lost weight. I was now more in touch with my parents and other friends in Denver. On the save money side… ok… There’s one I can write down. I do drive a lot less. I think I’ve only filled up 3 times since I moved to Colorado.

Summary

So when you see me… I’ve not been ill (except for the parasite that was only a week or two). I’ve been eating right and exercising more. I’m feeling great!