Monday Cat Blogging

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I'm back!

FitnessManswers Friday

Control

I'm 52. I wasn't suppose to get this old. Didn't plan on it. Didn't expect it. They say that young people believe that they are immortal; but really, the delusion is that one will always be young...in one's prime...always. Growing old is something that happens to other people. We don't prepare ourselves for a body going past 30, 40, past 50. Until, one day, there comes a realization while looking in the mirror of "my God! What the hell happened?"

Then the little breakdowns begin. Parts of the body hurt for no particular reason. Hair whitens and thins while other hair grows like weeds in other places. The belly expands and droops. Jowls appear. Wrinkles. On and on, yadda, yadda. Friends start developing illnesses. Diabetes. Heart disease. Stroke. The dreaded cancer. They start dying and, day by day, that sweet little delusion of it happening to other people starts to erode with every chest twinge and headache. A steady slide to body failure which seems to be beyond control.

Or is it?

Back in my youth there were many things out of control in my life. I was probably crazy. In fact, I'm sure of it. The craziness was most likely fueled by an abundance of drugs but the result was a vast destruction of many years along with the heartbreaks of anybody unfortunate to be close to me at the time. Yet, for some inexplicable reason, I grew tired of the chaos and made a decision to regain control of my life. I quit drugs. I got a job. I went to school and finished. I stopped blaming circumstance and took responsibility for my life.

It worked. I like myself. I like my life. I regained my self respect along with my sanity. It wasn't easy and it was not at all quick.

I think I can do the same with this body that I've walked around in for over half a century. Gain control. Choose the path I want. Change.

Change? Too late?

No. I refuse to accept that.

In a couple of weeks I turn 53. My goal, my path for the next year, is to make the changes on my body that I have made in my brain.

Finally fit by 54.

FitnessManswers - Friday

Monday Cat Blogging

FitnessManswers Friday - Eating Out

Going Out to Eat

Probably the best way to make sure that you are eating a healthy meal is to prepare it yourself and eat it at home. Still....in the real world....that's not always possible. You find yourself away from home. You decide you would like to have a bit of a social life and go out with friends. You want to go on a date. Whatever; there are times when eating at home is just not available and you will be visiting whatever fine dinning establishment you enjoy.

Nothing wrong with that...provided you remember a few key points:

1. Restaurants try to make their food as tasty as possible. This means adding flavor like salt, sugar, FATS, and all kinds of chemical enhancements. Keep in mind that, no matter what you eat, you will probably go way over your daily allotment of calories, sodium, and fat. That's why it's not a good idea to eat out very often.

2. Restaurants provide whopping sized portions. People instinctively like to eat at places where they feel they are getting their money's worth....whether it's actually a value or not. This is evident in fast food places where you can "supersize" an order for an extra buck to get a few pennies more of fries. Don't throw out the idea of portion control just because you're eating out, it's probably more important than ever. Ask for a doggie bag. One thing I often do is order from the senior menu; the choices are generally smaller with portions, which I suppose is based on the assumption that old people don't need as much food.

3. Drink water. Not having a big glass, or two, or three of fizzy sugar water can cut your calorie count for a meal in half. Give up soda pop...your pancreas will thank you.

All in all...it's good to go out and enjoy life and eating good food is one of life's biggest joys. Make it a treat though, instead of a lifestyle.

Monday Cat Blogging

Introspection

Sometimes...I like to just stop....sit....think about what it's all about. Here's what I pondered upon.

I started this blog over three years ago. At the time, I had passed my 50th birthday and was profoundly unhappy with the shape my body had taken over the last few years. I was very overweight and out of shape. I did not do any real activity. I ate all the wrong type of foods to excess. I smoked. I was a wreck. I felt sick all the time. I was dying...faster than I realized.

Since that time, though I've never reached the stated goal of this blog title through starting and stopping countless times, I've passed that uncomfortable point of awareness about my own health. I know I have to exercise. I know I have to watch what I eat. I know what the consequences are of not taking care of myself. I can't go back to that blissful ignorance and rationalization that I can always take care of things tomorrow.

Except...I will take care of things....tomorrow.

The body I want, the health I crave, the life I need....all start on Monday. Things will never be the same.

and neither will I

Monday Cat Blogging

Home Work

Home Work from Jay Sheer on Vimeo.

I went to the YMCA today and it was packed full of people. So I decided to go back home and do my upper body there instead.

Cat Blogging Monday

 

Yard Work

Yard Work from Jay Sheer on Vimeo.

What's more boring than watching grass grow? Why...watching somebody cut that grass.

Balloons

Balloons from Jay Sheer on Vimeo.

I don't care what anybody thinks...hot air balloons are cool.

FitnessManswers

Home Made Protein Bars

Before Photos

I finally got around to having the before photos I had taken developed into actual photographs. Having them on my computer is one thing but there is just something about having real, tangible, glossy prints that makes it all a bit more real.

And boy...was it ever a reality check.

I'm seriously considering taping one of these photos to my fridge and another on my exercise bench to remind myself why I am doing this in the first place.

Monday Cat Blogging

FitnessManswers