So on the health front, I now weigh around 235, which is a pretty good pace for the month.  And since moving to Texas, my psoriasis is practically gone.  The dry patches are gone, but you can still see a little reddish discoloration in the skin - I think that will go away in a few months.  I guess getting some sun, warmer weather, hanging out by the pool, and losing some weight all helped.  Imagine that!

But with good new comes bad... it appears I now have gout.  I woke up the other day with a sharp pain and swelling in my right foot.  At first I thought I stubbed my toe, but the pain was more near the arch of my foot.  And for some reason, the first thing I thought of was gout, even tho I had no idea what it was.  I just remember it from an episode of the Smurfs when Papa Smurf was whining about the pain.

So after a little internet research, it sounded exactly like the symptoms I had, and the "causes" fit perfectly too.  I'm overweight.  I had been eating a lot of rich foods (especially meat and seafood) - my last meal was Mrs. Fly's pot roast.  I had been sipping wine most of the day practically every day.  It's just something about the warmer and sunnier weather that makes you want to reach for an alcoholic beverage.  Like when was the last time you sat by a pool and didn't get a drink?  Also, I hadn't really been keeping hydrated the last few days so I could see how crap could get stuck in my body with no way of getting out.

So here's the cliff notes of a conversation I had with a friend:
Me: I have gout.
Him: You should go see a doctor.
Me: I don't see the doctor unless I have a limb falling off.
...
Him: My father got gout from eating rich foods on a cruise.
Me: So what happened to him?
Him: He died 6 months later.

Umm...  Doh?

Well, apparently his dad was old(er) and lived an unhealthy lifestyle - drinking, smoking, etc.  But Mrs. Fly is going to put me on a vegetarian diet for a few days until I get better - salads, veggies, chicken, etc.  You know all the crap a meat-eater like me only eats for roughage.  And then maybe longer term, go on more balanced diet - like the South Beach, where you have whole grains, fruits and less fat.

Altho I'm not really digging how the size of that Meat wedge in the chart is so tiny.  WTF?!?  I'm pretty sure my "Meat fish and alternatives" is like 65% of the pie right now (probably explains the gout).  I don't eat grains and I don't eat much dairy.  That meat wedge looks like it's only 12.5%!!!  Hmm... I may have to reconsider...

In before someone says, "you're a mess, dude."