It seems a little late to be discussing New Year's resolutions, but I wonder how many of our readers made the obligatory pledge to lose weight and exercise this year, and how many have already slipped back into their old habits.
Believe me, I understand firsthand just how difficult it is to make a commitment like that. But this year, I want to encourage our readers to make that commitment and stick with it. My "New Year's resolution" came in about March last year. It changed my life for the better, and it all began with a cold.
Like most folks, I ignored my sniffles until it evolved into a wheezy cough and finally dragged myself to the clinic when I couldn't shake it off. One X-ray later, we were discussing whether I had pneumonia and should get an MRI to check out a wispy area on my lung.
All that from a cold? I begged off and went to see my family doctor, who in turn sent me to a pulmonologist. Like most folks, I Googled up the worst-case scenarios and went to the specialist expecting the worst.
In a nutshell, he told me this: You don't have pneumonia. You don't have something worse. That wispy area? That's fat; the X-ray couldn't completely penetrate it. Your breathing problems? Your belly has gotten so big that it's pushing up on your lungs, making it difficult to draw in a complete breath.
OK, I wasn't expecting that. I've got to admit I left the doctor's office feeling a little shell-shocked. There were some other aspects to that visit, and some more tests, but the fact of the matter is I had become my body's worst enemy.
Specifically, my habits had become my body's worst enemy. I exercised little, if any. I spent most of the day at a desk. My eating habits were, to put it mildly, atrocious. Something had to change, and that something was me.
I remember the pulmonologist had turned to Dana and made it clear that I couldn't get myself into shape without a support system. He was completely correct. I haven't been able to accomplish any of the goals I set and met in the past nine months without her.
I also made two life-changing decisions. First, this was going to be a lifestyle change, not a diet. I've come to the conclusion over the past year that there are certain things a 55-year-old male in a mostly sedentary lifestyle cannot eat. I also decided that I would exercise at least five days a week. I'm now up to six.
I thought the exercise would be the hardest part, and in the beginning it was. My biggest accomplishment most days was walking up and down the sidewalk in front of work. I mixed in some late-night trips to the track at Lake Hamilton High School, and eventually got my stationary bike out of storage and started using it. When it broke, I got another.
In nine months, I've gone from being out of breath walking up and down the sidewalk to riding 8 miles on a stationary bike for 30 minutes. I initially set a goal of losing 50 pounds by the end of the year. On Friday, I hit the 62-pound mark.
I've had many people ask me how I did it. I wish I had an easy fix to offer, some special dieting secret, some secret exercise. But there isn't one, at least not for me.
I can offer a couple of simple rules. Rule No. 1: You've got to learn to be careful about what you eat. Discuss your eating habits with your doctor and go to see a dietician or a nutritionist if necessary.
Rule No. 2: Get moving. Get off the couch and out of the chair. Again, visit a doctor and find out if it is safe to start an exercise program. There are many, many resources in this community, from gyms to personal trainers. Your level of motivation will vary from everyone else and some people need more motivation, or less, than others.
For me, the key was consistency and knowing my limitations. You cannot exercise if you hurt all the time, and you won't lose weight if you don't watch what you eat on a consistent basis.
I have noticed one thing over the past year, and it's the closest I'll come to lecturing anyone. We eat terribly in this country. For the abundance of resources at hand, we eat too much salt, too much fat, and absolutely worthless amounts of sugar.
Be smart with your choices when you eat out. Yes, you can lose weight even by eating out. You just have to make well-informed decisions about your meals.
If you need to, I hope you choose to take a similar journey this year, in an educated, well-planned way. I hope you are successful at it. Your life may depend on it.
Editorial on 01/11/2015