Wonderful news for dreams to come true....

by John Meeker , West End of Lake Erie, Saturday, December 31, 2011, 08:36 (4710 days ago) @ Byron

Bodies 'at rest' tend to get less likely to get started again, as the decades roll on. In our memory and minds the 'machinery' is just as good as ever, until...well, ya don't want to experience that involuntary 'until'.

However, the fix isn't nearly as difficult as we perceive. Catching up on modern nutritional science is as near as a book like this: Ride Your Way Leanby Selelne Yeager. Page 84 to 121 -- read it about ten times: I have and I'm still trying absorb the info and apply it. The book is oriented to dedicated biking, but even the most casual Need to Exerciser & Lose Weight Guy can turn a cheap Craig's List mountain bike and this info into a smaller belt size -- and I am NO demon of self-discipline, either.

Anyway, about five years or so ago, I was laying in hospital bed waiting to see if I got to keep a leg, had uncontrolled diabetes, a 46 inch waist, 260 lbs, and had thought I was in OK shape, just a bit out of shape, y'know? After all I'd been a runner and hunter and worked physically, y'know? Well, things went South with the replacement artery -- second replacement one didn't take -- MRSA infections. I died: not enough to be buried, but enough to cause a bit of alarm in the ICU. [PS - yes there is an eternity and God, but I can't really describe how I came back knowing that, just trust me on this.]

Up to that point, I'd just figured I'd live to a ripe old age and pretty much be 'just a little bit out of shape but good as ever'.

Well, I didn't start a heroic diet and exercise program, but I rode a cheap beater bike about a 1/2 hour in the morning and a half hour after work -- say four or five miles twice a day. Also, walked the dogs every couple of days for a good hour. And I began to watch what I ate -- more than just observing large quantities on the fork going into my mouth. Did I fail? Yup -- several times, and no guarantee of success, ever.

There's been ups and downs, but no real heroics and monkish-starvation self denial. Just slow and gradual change in metabolism and condition. A change, I will add, that must be maintained, 'cause a quick five-ten pound gain can be about a week or two away, without attention to the daily routine. Self-maintenance?

Anyway, what I want to convey is that the process of keeping disease and doctors away is not some heroic assault upon the Adipose Mountains. The little book I posted is not for everyone, not is the exercise I chose possible or appropriate in all places and climes. However, there are parallels that one can seek and implement and tailor to your own life. The thing to keep in mind is: "It's possible for ME!"

All of you here are, by nature, self-motivating people. With appropriate tools and knowledge, maybe someday you will say to y'r wife, "Hey Mart', don't buy me anymore pant sizes over a 36." Now, I scale from 178 to 182, depending on...me. It's not impossible: there is knowledge and a path to achieve and keep the goal. The means and science get better every couple of years, but I REALLY wish there a damn pill I could take to do the same thing: ;~`) But, did I mention -- creative exercise is great for your mental and spiritual outlook as well, so I guess I won't give it up just yet, even if there were there a 'prescription'. Call it self-meditation, if you will.

All Best and 'Appy Noo Year.