I just noticed that my last post was in December, 2019. Who could have guessed what would follow in the year to come? Throughout 2020, I've been posting plan photos on my Instagram account, but somehow this blog has fallen by the wayside in the midst of that chaotic year.
Anyway, this post has been floating around in my head for a few months now, so here goes:
In September 2020, my hubby began noticing a chest pain every time his heart rate went over 100 (thanks to his Apple watch, which is a veritable bastion of both useful and non-useful information).
This pattern continued until late October, when we finally decided we had better go check it out. (Generally we avoid doctors, no offense intended toward any doctor who might be reading this.) So off to the ER we went.
Long story short... his widow-maker artery was 95% blocked and they inserted a stent. His blood sugars were about 300 when he went in, his blood pressure was high, and his weight was 187. Thus began a hard-sell (by the well-meaning medical establishment) of a whole litany of drugs. Blood pressure meds. Statins. Blood sugar drugs. Anti-platelet drugs. Seriously, it felt like sitting through a timeshare presentation, but with a whole lot of fear thrown in and no free dinner at the end.
We considered this colorful array of pharmaceuticals, and politely said no thank you to all but the anti-platelets so his body could get used to the stent (but only temporarily). Hubby agreed to fully follow THM to see if it would make a difference.
He had been inadvertently following it, of course, when I cooked for him. However, his work requires travel, and therefore he ate many restaurant meals. And he always kept a stash of ice cream sandwiches in our freezer to accompany that which I prepared for him.
We dove in. I taught him the E's, the S's, and the FP's of the plan. I traveled with him and coached him on how to navigate restaurants. On his own, he developed a taste for stevia (which he had previously declared he hated) and now travels with packets of it in his jacket pocket.
The results of this experiment:
- He has dropped 20 pounds
- His blood pressure has normalized
- His blood sugars have dropped down to near-normal readings (slightly high, but manageable)
- Amazing bonus: he has stopped snoring! This is huge! In our 28 years of marital bliss, he has always snored like a jackhammer.
- More energy! (We recently discovered pickleball and we both have the energy for it! Yay! And while I can claim energy for it, I cannot claim athletic acumen and prowess for it, unlike hubby, who can.)
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| Hawaii, February 2020 (Green Sand Beach... my favorite spot in Hawaii, BTW) |
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| Florida, March 2020 20 pounds lighter and a whole lot healthier |
