Tweet
Hello,
I'm very familiar with the Atkins approach, and have been doing it on and off for a couple of years. Well, it's not about me this time. It's about my dad, and I'll explain.
Last summer my dad was diagnosed with ESRD (End Stage Renal Disease), which meant he had only a very short while before requiring dialysis. Well, 5 months and a proactive (for kidney transplant purposes) heart bypass surgery later, my dad recently began his dialysis earlier last month.
I know my dad, and I know what dialysis does to people's quality of life. He would not last long on dialysis, if it were a permanent fixture in his life. I also knew what had to be done. The good Lord willing, I will giving my dad one of my kidneys this summer. It took awhile for my dad to relent to his son giving up a kidney. I would repeatedly reassure him with, "Dad, you need a kidney, and I've got a spare." and "Kidney transplants are not the big deal they were 20 years ago. They are so routine these days." Eventually, he accepted. His "screening" process starts next month, and we have been extremely proactive in minimizing the possibility of him being "disqualified" from consideration. We proactively scheduled a triple bypass procedure, which he underwent in November with 100% success (we were told this heart issue would almost certainly DQ him from transplant consideration), and under the direction of his nephrologist, we have premptively gotten scheduled his transplant screening appointment in February. Upon his successful completion of this, the committee will begin screening the donor, which would be me.
With all that said, I've had to make some very drastic lifestyle changes, to help ensure I qualify healthwise. I was, on average, a halfpack/day smoker. I've given that up. I'm hoping to get my blood pressure back down to a better range. Although not morbidly obese, I do have a bit of extra weight I'm carrying (I'm a 6'3"/285 lb male), and that has led me to this forum.
My goal is to get my BMI back to the < 30 range, and to do that I must get my weight down between 230-235. Specifically, my goal is to drop 50 lbs while at the same time, optimizing my lab readings (BP, cholesterol, etc..).
I've used the Atkins approach before, with great results. However, this time I've accepted my need to embrace it as a lifestyle change, and not a short term fix. And so, after spending the holidays with my parents, I leave today for home. When I get there, I will be going straight to the grocery store for an Atkins-friendly shopping, and will begin my program tomorrow morning alongside a very rigorous exercise (cardio and free-weights) routine with a gym membership I've been paying on for 8 months, yet have rarely used. I also would like to join the Boot Camp that commences later on this month, as I will be in the Induction phase for an extended period of time.
This forum, with all of its insight and experiences, is invaluable.
Mike
I'm very familiar with the Atkins approach, and have been doing it on and off for a couple of years. Well, it's not about me this time. It's about my dad, and I'll explain.
Last summer my dad was diagnosed with ESRD (End Stage Renal Disease), which meant he had only a very short while before requiring dialysis. Well, 5 months and a proactive (for kidney transplant purposes) heart bypass surgery later, my dad recently began his dialysis earlier last month.
I know my dad, and I know what dialysis does to people's quality of life. He would not last long on dialysis, if it were a permanent fixture in his life. I also knew what had to be done. The good Lord willing, I will giving my dad one of my kidneys this summer. It took awhile for my dad to relent to his son giving up a kidney. I would repeatedly reassure him with, "Dad, you need a kidney, and I've got a spare." and "Kidney transplants are not the big deal they were 20 years ago. They are so routine these days." Eventually, he accepted. His "screening" process starts next month, and we have been extremely proactive in minimizing the possibility of him being "disqualified" from consideration. We proactively scheduled a triple bypass procedure, which he underwent in November with 100% success (we were told this heart issue would almost certainly DQ him from transplant consideration), and under the direction of his nephrologist, we have premptively gotten scheduled his transplant screening appointment in February. Upon his successful completion of this, the committee will begin screening the donor, which would be me.
With all that said, I've had to make some very drastic lifestyle changes, to help ensure I qualify healthwise. I was, on average, a halfpack/day smoker. I've given that up. I'm hoping to get my blood pressure back down to a better range. Although not morbidly obese, I do have a bit of extra weight I'm carrying (I'm a 6'3"/285 lb male), and that has led me to this forum.
My goal is to get my BMI back to the < 30 range, and to do that I must get my weight down between 230-235. Specifically, my goal is to drop 50 lbs while at the same time, optimizing my lab readings (BP, cholesterol, etc..).
I've used the Atkins approach before, with great results. However, this time I've accepted my need to embrace it as a lifestyle change, and not a short term fix. And so, after spending the holidays with my parents, I leave today for home. When I get there, I will be going straight to the grocery store for an Atkins-friendly shopping, and will begin my program tomorrow morning alongside a very rigorous exercise (cardio and free-weights) routine with a gym membership I've been paying on for 8 months, yet have rarely used. I also would like to join the Boot Camp that commences later on this month, as I will be in the Induction phase for an extended period of time.
This forum, with all of its insight and experiences, is invaluable.
Mike
but after reading your post Wow.........you are source of inspiration already!!!! congratulations on your decision to help your dad and to adopt this WOL for yourself and for him.
Comment