Sleep Apnea

I have been diagnosed with "severe obstructive sleep apnea." This means that I don't get enough air when I sleep because the throat is too closed off.

I will soon have to go to get an air pump w/mask fitted and tested to see if it helps. It would be worn during sleep, and forces air through, keeping the passage ways open. It doesn't help everybody. If that doesn't work, other options include nose surgery, and throat surgery. In the nose, they can fix the deviated septum, and reduce the membranes. In the throat, they would remove the tonsils and uvula and part of the soft pallet. Losing weight can also help somewhat, and I'm working on that.

The effects of sleep apnea are poor quality sleep with repeated waking during the night (to breath), loud snoring (see, it's not really my fault!), and in really severe cases even death (very rarely!). Secondary effects, due to lack of quality sleep, include fatigue, nodding off, inability to think or focus, loss of motivation, increase in weight, irritability. It might also exlpain why I rarely remember dreams -- I might not be getting sufficient REM sleep to have many dreams!

So I'm really excited about being treated for this. It means a more intelligent, more productive me! Dreams would be nice too...

Week 0: 250 pounds

Need to lose weight. I'm not terribly self-conscious about being fat, but I recognize that it's not healthy. It can also be expensive and frustrating when buying clothes!

I am determined to do something about it. No, I'm not looking for advice (but thank you anyway).

My starting weight (today) is 250 pounds. My goal is to be down to 200 pounds by one year from now. (my ideal weight is supposedly 180 pounds, but I'll settle for where I was 10 years ago).

I'm not crash-dieting. I'll be replacing most soda with water, and replacing fast food with diet shakes or healthy homemade food for lunch. The only way to lose weight is to consume fewer calories than you burn, and by dropping sodas and fast food, I'll be dropping between 750 and 1000 calories per day.