Healthy

At 41, I decided I had to live healthier. I wasn't really happy about that decision. I mean, really, who can be happy about giving up all of the food they love? I went to the Cheesecake Factory twice this summer and ate- salads! I really didn't mind too much- weird! I love Cheesecake. It is probably my favorite dessert, and I passed it up.

I stopped smoking in February. Surprisingly, that was not hard, but I was never a heavy smoker. I have had a few cigarettes since then, but usually only after I have been drinking alcohol. It makes me feel so bad that there is no danger of falling off the wagon. I don't enjoy smoking any longer.

I don't drink much anymore either. That has pretty much been the case since my oldest son was born. You just can't drink and be a good parent. I learned that the hard way from my father. I only drink socially, and I rarely have the time to be social in that way anymore.

It seems like a sin to have a refrigerator in the garage with a ton of beer in it that never is consumed... I feel an urgent need to check the freshness date on the 2 mixed cases of beer I have.

I don't drink. I don't smoke, and I don't eat anything you set in front of me anymore. That sounds like a terrible existence.

My doctor has been telling me my cholesterol was too high for a couple of years. He told me I should take better care of myself, or he was going to prescribe pills to lower my cholesterol. I decided I was not taking any of that medicine like Lipitor. I don't need any more gas than I already have, and kidney failure does not sound pleasant.

In the future it seems as if we may have exercise in the form of a pill. Didn't we have that before in speed? That didn't work out so well, did it?

I think I have a personal goal of not taking any medicine for as long as possible. I don't count vitamins and fiber pills as medicine, those are dietary supplements. The doctor/pharmaceutical company coalition bothers me, and the speed with which the FDA approves drugs makes me wonder if adequate precautions are in place. I guess that my overall good health means that I have the luxury of being able to doubt the reliability of drugs.

I am eating better. I eat fruits and vegetables, grilled chicken and stick to better, lower fat choices. If we go out to dinner, I eat big salads.

I used to be in pretty good shape, but weren't we all in better shape at one time? In college I lifted weights and got to be pretty strong. After I became a teacher, I decided to get into martial arts because I had always wanted to try it, but never had the time and money. I really loved martial arts, but it made me aggressive. It only makes sense, training for combat should make you aggressive. But the worst part was it was terribly expensive. So after Amy and I began replenishing the population, I found that could no longer afford that hobby. Babies are expensive too, and family comes first.

Now, I have begun to exercise more. The hardest thing about this healthy thing is establishing a new pattern of eating, good exercising behaviors and setting attainable goals. I began by running in the morning with my dog. Nothing major, just a mile every morning before work. I would like to be able to run much further than that, but it is a start. I have set a pattern that I hope to add to later on.

My major problem was that without someone telling me what to do, like a trainer or something, I had a difficult time setting goals. In college working out was easy. My roommate would yell at me and publicly question my manhood while I struggled with large weights. Now my dog gives me a miserable look if I don’t run in the morning. It used to be that rage was my motivator. Now it is guilt.

In June I found a website called 100 pushups. The idea of the website is that if you follow their routine, that after 6 weeks you would be able to do 100 push ups. It took me a tad longer that 6 weeks, but I can now do 100 pushups in one set. I just need to keep it up.

Just for fun, I have begun to dust off all of my body builder poses and perform a routine for the family unit. It really annoys them when they are trying to watch TV!

Somehow, I am still not in shape. My shape is looking better. I am better. Stronger. Faster. But I weigh more now than I did in February. So I am not completely happy with my current condition, and I will be adding more to my routine. Supposedly, you can get six pack abs in 6 minutes on your couch. And you can easily build up to running a 5k using a program similar to the 100 pushups site.

Maybe I will clean out my garage and hang up the heavy bag. Clean out the garage! Ha! That was funny…

Whatever I do, it needs to be cheap, at home, and something that doesn't take too long.
Daddy doesn’t get much alone time. Maybe I will modify a disposable camera and make a cheap taser. Electrical impulses do contract all of the muscles at once. Three zaps a day and I should be in awesome shape in no time.

The other day I said, "to hell with it," and ate two pieces of cheesecake. Being healthy is not nearly as much fun as it looks in the media.