Front row seat to my pity party of one!

I am still here ...

I feel like I have been stuck on a roller coaster for the last 2 1/2 weeks.  Up and down and up and down again ... and I'm not the one that had the heart attack.

January 26, 2015 my husband and I were at the office when he said "Honey something isn't right ... I think I need to go to the hospital".  That was at 9:50am ...

Before I go any further ... He's fine now!  They put a stent in and sent him home with in 24 hours!  He is going to be back to his normal self in just a few months.  Today's Echo-Cardiogram (SP?) showed absolutely no damage and he is cleared to resume his normal activity!  Praise the Lord!  He does have to allow for the stent to fully heal.

Now a little bit of back tracking ... Every time that my husband went in to his Dr ... his Dr. would harass my husband that he needs to have the Gastric-Bypass Surgery.  It got to the point that hubby asked him if he gets a kickback for referrals.  So back in November when my husband pulled a groin muscle, hubby was actually looking forward to having his weight taken.  According to his records he went from 355lbs down to 245lbs. 

The doctor was thrilled with the results ... asked him when he had the Gastric-Bypass Surgery and was looking it up in his chart ... well I opened my mouth and said oh no we are "Low-Carb"  The Dr. spun around and started waving his finger at me when I added "High Fat".  I was kind of expecting that reaction based on the blogs I have read ... and I was kinda happy when he ordered blood work done for cholesterol.  And I just kinda shrugged off the lecture about how an optimal diet would be a low-fat plant based diet. 

We got the results ... and it was about what we were expecting:

 

All within normal range, or at least acceptable ... the Dr.'s only response on every test was sugar is a bit high and need to be rechecked in 3-5 months ... it was  110 which was a 1 point drop.  

So back to January 26th ... the Kaiser Clinic is about 2 miles from our office ... so I drove hubby straight there ... They were awesome ... they got us straight in with the Dr. in just moments, the ambulance was called as soon as they saw how he was sweating ... But as they were hooking up the EKG wires ... the Dr. looks at me and says are you still doing HIGH FAT? 

OMG 

Fast Forward ... the Cardiologist comes out to talk to me ... he is telling me how everything went really well ... that there was a total blockage on the right something artery .. then proceeds to tell me that everyone over a certain age has plaque and narrowing arteries and that it was probably a combination of that and his smoking ... and then he proceeds to tell me that he could stand to loose a little bit of weight ... and I smiled and said he had just lost 100 pounds ... and he was impressed and then said well then maybe he should start exercising ... and I told him he does weight resistant training 3-4 times a week.And then he asked is he on a plant based diet?  And of course I said "No we are Low-Carb and Moderate Protein and Fat" (see I thought I learned my lesson).   His words ... "The American Heart Association says the guidelines are a plant based diet. So that is what I'm telling you, you don't want him back here right?"

OMG Did I do this to him?

Then my brother shows up at the hospital ... you know the brother that told me to read the book?  I am so relieved ... he knows what we are doing ... he has done the research ... he will understand ... but he says, Sis I don't know what you are doing but you have got to listen to the Dr. you are gonna kill him"  OMG ... while I'm standing there in total disbelief he goes on to tell me that I've morphed the information in the book in to an unhealthy version of a starvation diet"  I asked him how we have deviated from the advise?  and he says he did not know because he doesn't know what we are doing now but no way it could be healthy we are loosing weight too fast. I said hubby is averaging 2 pounds a week and I'm averaging 1 pound a week ... isn't that what EVERY diet and program says is healthy? My brother actually rolled his eyes and said okay sis ... do it your way ... but I'm telling you ... your husband could die!

Now I don't even want to  talk about the phone calls from my mother ... yep my brother called her and explained apparently in detail how I'm gonna kill my husband ... so she calls to get the name of the book... and lets me know she will be reading the book so she can help me get back on track!  Bless her heart!  Really bless her heart!  it is in the right spot ... But I've shared with her over and over how we are eating ... its simple!!!  It's healthy ... It's real ... she would benefit so much from it ... considering she is DIABETIC and a sugar addict! 

In the meantime we have had 5 doctor's appointments and 2 nutrition classes.   I scheduled a physical with my doctor ... and during the appointment I talked to her about our diet ... and she said "the American Heart Association recommends a Plant Based Diet ... that is what we have to recommend.  Then she pulled up my chart and showed me my weight graft ... in the last 5 years I have gone from 294 lbs to 212 pounds ... and she again said  ... "the American Heart Association recommends a plant based diet!"  And then she said "You've done a great job so far, keep up the great work!"   Now I took it as ... I have to say this ... but I mean this???? And when I shared that ... I was told that I just had wishful thinking.   Oh on a side note ... she did find that I have 2 spots that she believed needed further investigating by dermatology. 

Hubby is really on the fence about our way of eating ... and I can't blame him ... he did just have a heart attack.  During the healthy heart class they really strongly suggested starting everyday with oatmeal and she stressed how important whole grains are for a healthy heart ... and she droned on for ever on how to read a label.   She pointedly asked each person/couple if they were ready to start a plant based diet and did we have any questions about how to read a food label ... I swelled with pride when my hubby looked at her and said "we don't eat food that comes with a label".  The stupid lady started to tell us the dangers of eating fast food and restaurant food.  

So the new comprised way of eating is ... more chicken instead of beef ... and I agreed to try to stomach fish at least once every two weeks.  And I will go lighter on the oil while cooking ... and he promises to stop eating bacon like its candy in-between meals and I promise I will never put butter in his coffee.  And we both agree that there is no way we will become vegetarians! 

When I started this blog I promised myself to keep it positive ... I honestly believe that if you wake up and tell yourself you are going to have a great day ... your chances of having a great day are a lot better than if you wake up saying oh I hope I don't have a shitty day ... and I wanted this blog to be a positive reinforcement.  So this is it ... this was my pity party! 

Oh and by the way ...  I weighed in this morning ... it is Friday after all ... at 212.6 not sure if that is up or down ... I will have to go scan Gwen's blog to see what my official weigh in was.  Either way I'm okay and Hubby is okay!

PS...

OMG 

Here's the hospital's version of a healthy dinner:

I should have taken a picture of the entire tray ... I did not picture the chocolate cake or the cup of applesauce.  This is how we got fat in the first place!