so i donated blood a few times in the past because although i am heavily tattooed and pierced, i was terrified of needles. when i was a kid i had to held down by several adults. when i got older i sucked it up but i still cried, even for a finger prick, till about 19 or 20.... i just feel like if i can still function perfectly without it, and someone else is literally going to DIE without it, why not share? it was the best (and safest)excuse to put a needle in my arm to get over my fear.
no one ever commented on my blood pressure, and i honestly didnt know what it was supposed to be anyways. all i knew was at my yearly physicals the Dr never said it was high or creeping up so i wasnt concerned. my whole life ive been big and i had grown to accept it. i was still stylish and cute and smart and mostly confident so i didnt see a reason to lose weight if it wasnt affecting my health. i was under the impression you CAN be fat and healthy. and you can have no actual signs, but not forever. eventually it will catch up to you. i had said for a while, i would 'worry about my weight when it affected my health" like i said, i was always big. but i had put on my last 20lbs in the 2 years id been in florida and that really sent me over.
so anyways, im at the blood bank, everythings all normal and the ladys taking my blood pressure and she writes it down (128/84) and says "oh, its getting up there!" and took the cuff off, wrote it down, carried on like it was no big deal. i, on the other hand, was like WHAT? what do u mean its 'getting up there'?? like its SUPPOSED to be?! so when i got home i googled my blood pressure and found out it was in just about in the pre-hypertension range. this means you dont need medication or anything yet- but youre on your way. i knew damn well if i changed nothing, nothing would change. my blood pressure and weight would continue to rise. no, i was not about to keel over and die- but the news that i was even on my way was nothing i wanted to hear! FUCK THAT. i read more about what high blood pressure means. what heart disease is. statistics. FUCK THAT. i was NOT going to deal with all that bullshit so i can eat pizza and sit on my ass! i am not going to be the one my family has to worry about in a hurricane because i might run out of heart medicine. FUCK THAT. i was deff not going to DIE in my 50s. or get diabetes. or any of the obesity related diseases. FUCK THAT! No, I wasn't close to death yet- but my blood pressure was going nowhere but UP. I had no plan to change my habits... If I didn't make ow now high blood pressure and everything that comes with it was my fate.
the next day i went on a diet. my appointment was on dec 29th. new years was right around the corner so naturally it was easy to find inspiration on the internet. a friend posted a story about her sisters weightloss success with sparkpeople.com so i made a profile. started tracking my calories and workouts. looked for recipes. researched and researched. eventually i got into zumba and kayaking and insanity and jogging. my first 5k was 49 minutes. my fastest now is 36 minutes. i eventually decided to stop eating fish again (i had started about a year prior or so after a few years of vegetarian/veganism). i eventually decided to stop eating cheese and eggs and any animals. i gave in after losing 100lbs when my aunt offered to get me a gym membership. i lost 100lbs without a gym membership, running around the block and doing insanity and zumba and fitness videos on youtube or netflix. i bought a little baby trampoline to jump on, a bike, skates. i just wanted to stay active! now i used the jawbone UP band to track my calories and sleep. i eat mostly organic. i run races for fun. im drinking fresh juice and shakeology. im completely off of every anxiety, depression, and sleep medication that i was on for 12 years.
ALL because someone confirmed I was on my way to getting sick. and i realized it was my FAULT. i was embarrassed. i was your stereotypical 23 year old fat person with damn high blood pressure!! FUCK THAT! the good news, however, is it WASNT too late. and its almost NEVER too late. I DID THIS TO MYSELF. but i can UNDO it as well. so i made the decision to undo the damage. it is AMAZING what you can do if you just DECIDE youre GOING TO.
so i had been meaning to donate because i havent in about 6 mons. last time i did, my blood pressure was lower but not remarkable. today i went to the gym and had some free time before nuerofeedback so i finally went. i feel like i OWE it to them to make a donation and save some lives. after all, in aa sense, they saved mine.
normally i do the quick normal little 20 minute donation. today i did a platelet donation for the first time. it takes an hour. but they give u headphones and u put a movie on netflix, i watched FARMAGGEDON. if you want to get pissed the fuck off about the FDA watch that movie lol this donation did not feel any different, it just takes longer. fortunately the staff at the community blood centers of florida- hollywood location- are AWESOME. i even got surprised with a code to redeem a $10 giftcard to a store! score! anyways, you should donate blood if you can. people are literally DYING because theres not enough of something we have more than enough of. its like people dying of hunger with all this food in the world. if you could drop off groceries to a starving kid, wouldnt you? of course! you save the life of a kid whos about to DIE without it. if youre a blood donor it doesnt go on your license. so if youre one of those people who believe they let you die if it says you donate, dont worry about donating blood affecting your care at an accident. platelets are only good for 5-9 days. so literally within the next week someone is going to get my cells put in their body and live just a little bit longer. for all i have gotten out of this, its the LEAST i can do. plus its a great way to get a free blood pressure & cholesterol screening as well as an HIV test! (u can call in for cholesterol results, and they call u if u have hiv or aids because they obv test it before use).
gosh, can i get distracted. SO the donation and experience was great, but the absolute BEST part was my blood pressure reading! 103/64!!!!!!!! the lady pricking me told me thats GREAT. i looked at a chart when i got home and it says normal blood pressure is between 101/66 and 130/85. i started at 128/84...... literally JUSSSSST before the high normal range.... just before trouble. now my blood pressure is 103/64?! that is like "LOW NORMAL" which is considered normal for ATHLETES and CHILDREN. i practically have the blood pressure of an athlete or child! are you fucking kidding me?! i went from a 23 year old with the blood pressure of a fat middle aged man to a 24 year old athlete! what the hell!!!!! believe it or not, i am actually at a loss for words as to how i feel. fucking crazy!
if you dont think you can do it PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE let this be the proof! YOU CAN DO IT. i swear to god i ate a large pizza, by myself, within hours, at least once a week. the rest of the week was spaghetti and mac and cheese and fries and onion rings and tortillas with velveeta.... along with a lot of vegetables and zero fruit and barely any protein other than processed cheese. i NEVER exercised. not for fun. i walked on the beach, sometimes... slowly. but for the scenery, not the workout. i took a nap every single day, even if i slept 12 hours. i was moody and angry and broke. being "skinny" didnt change that. but becoming POWERFUL did. the most amazing part of losing weight naturally is that its ALL because of you. there is an ENORMOUS sense of pride that comes along with conquering that demon! i NEVER thought i could do it. and i DID and i feel like the fucking PRESIDENT!! today i reposted a pic on instagram with a pic of Beyonce and lyrics from her song "ego" it says "IVE GOT EVERY REASON TO FEEL LIKE IM THAT BITCH" and as cocky as it is, I DO! today someone (who obviously doesnt know me in real life) accused me of FAKING my results with photoshop. I was PISSED at first. but i got over it when i realized that its a compliment. my transformation is so crazy that people who didnt see it with their own eyes dont believe its real. how flattering.
im not trying to make u feel like you suck and im awesome. im trying to make u feel like I WAS YOU, OR WORSE. so if i can lose over 100lbs you can meet whatever goals you have!! there is NO excuse! excuses are for LOSERS! your body can do it if your mind decides to! i am so overwhelmed with the amount of people i know getting fit right now. i dont know if most of their changes have anything at all to do with me or not, but i dont really care. whatever movement is going on my world is AMAZING. its like literally every day i get a new email or message from someone dying to change their lives. i dont always have the answers, and its become a little overwhelming to keep up and give thorough answers all the time, but thats what this is for. to make up for that. :)