At
the urging of my primary care physician, I joined a 4-month wellness and
nutrition group he and a licensed dietitian in his practice were conducting.
They had been leading them since the fall of 2009. I was willing but skeptical –
nothing I’d tried over the past 50+ years of my adulthood ever worked (or
worked for very long). I was mostly a “couch-potato” with issues relating to
high blood pressure, cholesterol, and glycemic index. I was pre-diabetic and my
BMI was at the upper range of the “obese” segment.
The
results were transformative. Over the ensuing 12 months, I lost almost 20% of
my body weight – about 35 lbs. – and 8 inches in my waist. I’m also healthier
and in better shape by far than in decades, if not ‘ever’. I Nordic-walk at
least 20 miles per week at a sustained 15 min/mile pace. I also do
strength/resistance exercises at the gym twice a week. A year later, I did the Boston
Marathon Jimmy Fund Walk – all 26.2 miles – in about 7 hours.
I sleep like a
babe and my mood is generally ‘happy’ in the sense of being content. My diet
now emphasizes fruits, veggies and other nutritionally “dense” foods. At my
annual physical in the spring of 2011, my doctor informed me all my test
results were normal. Oh, and I should mention I turned 70 in 2011. I guess
results like those would allow the experience that produced them to qualify as
“transformative”.
So,
why a blog? Well, I seem to have a lot to say about these experiences and the
changes I’ve made. Second, my observations appear to be well received by
others. Lastly, despite having achieved the successes I have, I’ve discovered
the need to ‘pay it forward’. I hope you find something of value here.
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