Big Steve Big C

Tag: weight

  • Long time, no posts

    I’m still here. No posts since December means one thing, there’s not been much to say.

    Health wise, I’m still waiting for my operation to have my Kidney removed. This has been delayed as they have concerns over the state of my lungs and breathing and how well I’d deal with anaesthetic.

    I was given inhalers over Christmas due to breathlessness via telephone consults with my GP and the surgery team wanted me to see a chest specialist to see what’s actually happening.

    I saw him at the start of March and confirmed I have asthma and just 60% lung capacity. It’s possible its related to the tumours in my lungs but unlikely. It’s also possible I’ve had Covid without realising it and that’s damaged my lungs.

    Either way I have strong steroids by tablet and inhaler until the start of April and then they’ll see if I’m ready for surgery.

    The downside of the delay means it’s unlikely I’ll be able to go on my planned Motorbike trip in June, so that will be 3 years without a trip now. Hopefully I can sort something out for later in the year.

    I still have the monthly Immunotherapy and am happy that I now spend less time there as they’ve increased the rate of infusion so I get it over 30 minutes now, rather than 1 hour previously. The downside is that this makes me feel very tired and headachy for a few hours now. But I’d still rather that than spend any more time in hospital than needed.

    The fatigue is still there and some days are better than others but I can still only manage just over half a day working each day. I’ve added a bit more time each day and I finish work and then sleep for 2-3 hours straight after. I still then sleep 8hrs at night too.

    I had a day in the office today for the first time in over 2 years which was strange. It was a nice change and good to see people again. Felt almost normal.

    The final issue on the health side is weight, which I have to reverse. I spent over a year not caring what I ate as I didn’t expect to be around but now I’m planning for things 2,3 and 4 years away. The fatigue and tiredness make exercise really hard and walking and cycling are the only things I can manage currently. Having an e-bike helps with the hills 😅

    I’m ashamed of where I am now weight wise and know it’s not going to change quickly so I’m giving myself until the end of the year to get back to somewhere reasonable.

    In other news we’ve taken advantage of the crazy second hand car prices in the UK (due to long lead times on most new cars). We’ve said goodbye to the Tesla Model 3 Performance.

    It was a lovely car for the 2 years we had it and it was great having supercar performance (0-60 in 3.2 seconds!) in an ordinary 4 door family saloon. I used to frequently tease drivers of fancy German and Italian cars. But common sense has now prevailed and we’ve changed to a Tesla Model Y. It’s a lot more practical, just as clever and cheap to run but also much easier to get in and out of as we’re not sitting inches off the floor any more 😂

    We were able to change cars and even get some money back because of the high trade in on the Model 3.

    It’s not as fast as the Model 3 so my drivers licence should be a bit safer now.

  • A wake up call

    Gotta lose weight. A lot of weight.

    I’ve had the best part of a year doing little activity and suffering chronic fatigue but have eaten as normal.

    I knew I was putting on weight but didn’t care, “Might as well enjoy myself” was my thoughts if I’m not going to be around for long.

    However with recent acceptance comes acknowledging that I cannot continue waiting without exercising. So I stepped on the scales for the first time in 2021…and wish I hadn’t.

    So..

    I’m still in no state to return to bootcamp multiple times a week but walking cycling and gently increasing movement is key.

    If anyone wants to join / help / motivate me you’re more that welcome. A bonus is that losing some weight can only help with the fatigue and tiredness too, win win.

  • Fitness, stamina and weight loss

    2020 has not been a great year for me for general fitness and exercise. What with recovering from a shoulder operation in December, then lockdown stopping boot camp visits (I never really liked the remote/zoom classes), then the surfacing of the cancer I think its fair to say 2020 has been a sedentary year.

    Recent years has seen me battle with weight from losing 8st in 2008 and then slowly putting most of it back on in the following 12 years to ramping up exercise with personal trainers and then boot camp sessions. I’ve always been unfit and overweight but trying to do something about it.

    Being 6’8” tall had always disguised my size and when I was at my heaviest at 330lb people were always surprised when I told them. I’m not proud of hitting that weight.

    From March to Sept this year I didn’t weigh myself at all. Not through a conscious decision but because I was scared to. I knew I wasn’t exercising and was convinced I’d piled the pounds back on and was heavier than ever. In March I was back to 317lbs 😳

    After the antics in September when my cancer was discovered I’d had a period of a few days of eating almost nothing while in hospital and worried. When I got home after that first admission I decided to weigh myself again. I was pleasantly surprised to find I was still at 317. I’d clearly been a bit higher but not that much.

    Worryingly, by the middle of Sept I was down to 310. I wasn’t trying to lose weight but my appetite had gone. Even though for almost 2 weeks I spent a lot of time lying down in bed as this was where pain was most manageable and was barely moving around much, I was still losing weight.

    I joked it was alright as I had a lot spare but I knew this could be an issue if not controlled. I was at 300lbs by the middle of October.

    At the start of October I made a conscious decision to get out and start moving a bit more. Walking was my exercise of choice and my first few walks were slow and only about 0.5 miles. Then 0.8 miles and then a mile.

    I was struggling with stamina, I couldn’t talk while walking and the slightest hill would mean I had to take a breather.

    I decided to trying some help with Nordic walking poles. These helped massively by making me stand up straight, open the chest, use arms and legs to help propel.

    The distance increased to 1.5, then 2 miles over a few days. Great!

    My knees disagreed, I’d tried to do to much to quickly. My physiotherapist told me to focus on a mile and keep to a mile until I could do it comfortably. And then try and get to my normal walking pace.

    Long story short is that now, in mid Nov 2020 I’m walking (without the poles) at my normal pace and can hold a conversation. This weekend I’ve walked 5.5 miles and joints are fine. I’m still finding hills very hard but that will come with time too. It also means I earn my naps now 😴

    As for the weight and appetite, my appetite has now come back. I’m not eating quite as much as before and if I’m honest this is mostly due to me going to bed earlier so I’m not having schnacky snacks. My weight this morning is 294lbs. That’s another 3lbs in 2 weeks. I’m 99% certain this is fine and is due to me not snacking.

    I’m still very overweight but I’m in the strange situation that I have to be very careful how I lose weight. It needs to be intentional and I have to make sure I look after myself.