Current History

A little recent history of where I was to where I am today.

2002-04 - sick, high blood pressure, cholesterol, etc. Tried the carbohydrates addicts diet and lost 75 pounds and went from 280 to 205. Doc pleaded with me to switch to a low fat diet because my numbers were still bad. I was also hypothyroidism and anemic. I started taking iron supplements which is not good for the bowels to say the least. I had to increase my fiber intake.

2004-05 - Gained back 35 pounds with very bad numbers. I decided to change my diet, life style, and started running again. I was still too sick and always tired.

2006-08: Ran in my first 5k in April of 2006 and logged a time around 30 minutes. Then, inch by inch I was running 3 miles a day and moved up to 6-8 miles a day. My times also started to get better. In the fall of 06, I ran a time of 24:37. Then, the next spring I ran in late April 21:41. During this time, I dropped down to 190 pounds and started eating so much better by cutting out the sugar and the grease. It is not easy to wean yourself off this stuff but slowly but surely I was able to. I also try to eat an all natural diet that is high in fiber and low in fat.

Feb 2007: My numbers were all normal. Hooray! I finally got my health back. My iron is still low so I still take iron supplements.

July 2007: Ran in the 4th of July race in Culpeper, VA and logged a time of 20:29 which was my personal best as an adult.

Aug 2007: I underwent hernia surgery because I hurt myself moving a large desk with a friend from my second floor.

Nov 2007: My wife and I became IBOs of Quixtar, Inc (www.quixtar.com).

Nov. 2007: I was diagnosed with severe aortic regurgitation which required open heart surgery. My doc told me to continue running and I did. I jogged in a race in early Dec in a time of 20:49 and placed 5th. I took it easy that day and I was surprised of my time and effort.

Jan 22, 2007: I underwent open heart surgery. The surgery was a success and entered cardiac rehab at 4 weeks through 12 weeks of recovery.

May 2008: Ran my first 5K after surgery in a time of 24:37 and placed 19th. I came in 3rd in my age division of 30-39.

June 7, 2008: Ran in 2nd 5K in a time of 21:14 and placed 5th overall and 2nd in my 30-39 age division.

Two 5Ks in two weeks

I have run two 5Ks since open heart surgery now. The first being at the Delaplane Strawberry Festival where I logged in a time of 24:37 and came in 19th. I placed three in the 30-39 age division.

This was a huge accomplishment for me since I had open heart surgery to replace a heart valve on January 22 of this year. I will blog on this experience in a little while.

Then, I came back and ran a 5K on Saturday at the Boys and Girls Club in Manassass, VA. I came in 5th and logged a time of 21:14. I place second in my age division 30-39. My best time as an adult is 20:29 last year at the Culpeper, VA 4th of July race. This is within reach it appears even with just having open heart surgery. This was before I knew that I needed heart surgery.

This is two 5Ks in a few weeks. I am starting to feel a lot better and my strength is slowly coming back. I still need to build up some stamina, endurance, and speed.

I joined the Fauquier Running Club (www.fauquierrunners.com) recently with my 7 year old son. He has been wanting to run for a few years and I have been hesitant about letting him run because of his age. He is able to do two miles without a sweat. I go back and forth on this but decided that good exercise habits are fostered when you are young. Some people disagree with me and told me I should not let him run until he is 10. He ran the two races with me with the first one being in 30:39 and the second one in 30:14. He came in first in his age division last Saturday and was the first youth to cross the finish line. I am so proud of him. He is dedicated himself to running and this is his sport right now along with being a Wolf Cub.

I am a fan of Nutrilite (www.nutrilite.com) and I do sell their products off of my site - http://kmorneau.qhealthzone.com/. I take DoubleX vitamins everyday. These vitamins are great and have helped me a lot in maintaining my blood pressure and cholesterol. My energy levels are great with these vitamins. Nutrilite is a great product line with the best of nature with the best of science. These vitamins are so much better for you than the off the shelf variety you get in your pharmacy. These products are truly amazing and are organic from certified organic farms. Nutrilite controls the farms to the packaging of these products. I will share more of what I take but do not want to far away from sharing my story with you.

RealAge

Check out http://www.realage.com/. This site is pack full of good ideas and tips for you on your quest for good nutrition. I took the RealAge test myself and learned a lot of tips to become younger. This is a great site and one that I regularly read as part of my quest to stay healthy.

Start of our Journey

In 2002, I was a mess. I had high blood pressure, high cholesterol,
high triglycerides, high hdl, high blood pressure, etc. I was also
about 280 pounds. I was sick a lot. Before we moved to where we are
today, I decided to try the Carbohydrates Addicts diet. I lost about 70
pounds from that diet and was down to around 205. But, my numbers were
not getting much better. I started to change my diet after the carbo
addicts diet with advice from my doctor to go with a low fat diet
instead. Well, I gained weight to about 240 pounds and was still a mess
but not as bad as it was. During all of this, I was diagnosed with
hypthyroidism so I started getting thyroid replacement therapy which
contributed to my health improvement but did not solve all my health
problems.



Then, in 2005 I decided to start running. I woke up one day and just
decided to take control back of my life. This began my journey to get
my health and fitness back. I also radically changed my diet. I will
talk about my learnings and struggles with health and fitness. It was
not an easy road. I had to learn quite a few virtues along the way to
get where I am today.



I am not a medical doctor and all the information expressed in this
blog our my own experiences. Maybe it will help you. Maybe it will not.
If I am able to convince some of you to take control of your health and
fitness, then I have done my job with this blog. Enjoy and lets begin
our journey together as I relive my experiences over the last 7 years.