Health Benefits:

We always hear about health benefits of not being overweight.  So we try to lose weight by jogging or eating fat-free foods or dieting for a few days, and eventually we give it all up because it seems like too much work for a little bit of benefit that is not apparent to us.  I know that because that is how I was.  After ending up in the hospital, I decided to follow the regimen and my health actually improved significantly.

I recently applied for life insurance, and the doctor who did my physical exam commented, “You are essentially a healthy person with only one problem, Type 1 Diabetes.  Most people your age have a long list of health issues.”

In the interest of showing you tangible benefits of losing weight, I have decided to share some of my medical data in this blog.  In the table below, “before” and “after” numbers speak for themselves.

	Before	Normal	After
Weight	255 lbs	--	187 lbs
Blood Pressure	125/85	120/80	110/65
Cholesterol	238	<200	179
Cholesterol (non-HDL)	169	--	93
HDL (good Cholesterol)	69	>40	86
LDL (bad cholesterol)	144	<100	81
Triglycerides	123	<150	62

It is significant to note that the above results were achieved without taking any drugs, whether prescription or over-the-counter type.  After being diagnosed as a diabetic, I was asked to start taking statin drugs for lowering cholesterol and a daily dose of baby aspirin.  I refused because I am averse to taking any kind of drugs.  However, I do take shots of insulin, which in my opinion is a pharmaceutical but not a drug.  I do have to take insulin because my pancreas does not produce any, at least for now.