Posted by Michael_needs_sleep on September 19, 2008 at 16:29:38:In Reply to: somnoplasty posted by sfnative on September 16, 2008 at 10:57:45:
Can't say that battling is the right word. You just have to commit to what for some people can be a major change in lifestyle and just do it.I lost about 30lbs of fat, gained about 10 lbs of muscle since late March. I wasn't massively overweight, but certainly had a gut going and a lot to lose. My neck was almost 18", which we've all been told does increase the apnea.
I can't say for certain just what the improvement was in my AHI #'s. I WAS at 90+ events per hour. I do feel though that there was at least a little improvement in terms of the apnea. I'm certainly still severe, but hey. Anything helps!
Even if the weight loss only helps the numbers slightly, the adrenaline and endorphins that are released during my morning workout gives me much more energy throughout the day. Again, I'm still severely affected by sleep deprivation. But it's just one more notable improvement. Plus until you actually clean it up for real, you just don’t even realize how much a poor diet compounds the impact of sleep deprivation on your body, mind AND emotions.
I don't mean to get off on a rant here. But it CAN be done. No battling needed. You'll get addicted to the cleaner diet and the way you look/feel. You'll crave water instead of soda. You'll learn to actually LIKE diet sodas! I'm a Mt. Dew freak... but I gladly gave it up to try to improve my health. Not easy of course. But it CAN be done.
For me, what helped a LOT was to rationalize it. Okay. The brownie that I LOVE will only give me what... 45 seconds of pleasure? Then it's gone. So really now. Was that 45 seconds worth gaining more weight and putting your health at risk further??? No. Once that brownie gets swallowed, it's gone. It certainly doesn't make the rest of your day better. Tomorrow you won't know you didn't have that brownie. So really now Michael, why??
Believe it or not, just that little rationalization brought reality back everytime. Not only that, but I also forced myself to realize that before I put that &%^$ in my mouth, that all the hard work I've done to that point was thrown away for 45 seconds of taste.
Anyway, like I said. Even if it only helped the actual apnea a little (and I think it did), it's all the other benefits your body gets that helps lessen the impact of sleep deprivation.
You just have to make a solid choice to do it. Not to try, but to truly do it. You're worth it.
Michael