Recently, my uncle Frank passed away from liver cancer. Many of you are aware that my grandmother’s death was the wake-up call I needed in order to lose 100 pounds. Uncle Frank was Grandma’s son. He struggled with diabetes before succumbing to liver cancer. He was a wonderful man who will be missed by all who knew him.
Some people argue that their family genes make them fat. My early life was spent eating too much and not taking care of myself. I thought, “There’s no point in eating right since being fat runs in the family”.
Whether that statement is true or not, you should be aware of what exactly your family genes are passing on to you. More importantly, you should examine how you can defeat any obstacles to a long and healthy life.
Both sides of my family have diabetes, high blood pressure and heart disease. This did not stop me from eating everything I wanted as a child. I don’t know what kind of long-term damage I may have done to my body by being morbidly obese. What I do know is I had plenty of medical red flags along the way.
- I was tested with high cholesterol as a child. When my obese pediatrician told me I needed to eat better, I scoffed.
- As a teenager, I discovered I had gallstones. Gallstones are generally suffered by older people who had a lifetime of poor eating habits. They caused excruciating pain late at night.
- A year later, I had emergency gall bladder surgery. Even after I recovered from gallbladder surgery, I returned to my poor diet.
Eventually, I realized that I was eating my way to an early grave. After years of living as a fat girl, I decided it was time to start a healthier life.
That decision was one of the best decisions of my life.
Sometimes, I wonder what my life would be like today if I hadn’t lost 100 pounds. Would I be diabetic? Would I be riding a scooter because I can’t walk? Would I even have been able to have children?
Now that I have found the strength to take responsibility for my own health, perhaps I will live long enough to enjoy it. Perhaps I can defeat the family history of diabetes, high blood pressure, and heart disease. To spend more time with my family.
No matter what swims in your own gene pool, you have a choice. You can choose to gamble on your health and possibly your life, or you can choose to defeat any obstacles to a long and healthy life.
Have you had any medical red flags? If so, how has it changed your eating habits?
3 thoughts on “Don’t Eat Your Way to the Grave”
So true. We need to understand what’s in our family genes but not have a defeatist attitude about what that means for us. I’m sorry for your loss – I know that must be very hard.
Thanks, Diane. Uncle Frank was a man of few words but big impact. I think many people believe that their weight is their destiny, which makes it that much harder to change.
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