Setting New Goals at age 61

Since I was young, I have always been taller and bigger than most of my peers.

I wore Husky clothes from Sears...was undisputed champ at King of the Hill...the anchor in tug of war contests.

I carried a "few extra pounds" most of my youth, then it got out of control.

The last time I weighted less than 200 lbs was summer of 1973 when I was 17.

How do I remember so exactly?

That was the year my Boy Scout Troop went to Philmont Scout Ranch in New Mexico.

We hiked and camped for 10 days in the mountains During that time we hiked at least 72 miles as our chosen trail required.  We ate food that was dehydrated and drank lots of water. By the 5th day of our 10 day adventure, we were used to the altitude and could hike 10-12 miles before noon.

When I got back to Houston, I weighed 197 lbs.

I've tried low carb, no sugar, bran focused diets and plans to try to lose weight. All met with temporary results, but nothing lasting.

Then, 4 years ago, I realized my goal had been wrong all along by focusing on weight.

Finally, Jay Jenkins convinced me that my focus should be health not just weight.

I decided this year to focus on doing what I need to do consistently to improve my health. 

1     Drink a gallon of water daily-  not there yet but getting closer. (My favorite way to do this is Sonic ice in a 44oz cup!)

2     Be more active  during work. (It would be easy to sit in front of a computer all day making phone calls, but I set alarms to remind me to get up and move 2-3 minutes every half hour.)

3     Meal plan along with health snacks

4     Exercise 30 minutes daily as my knees an back allow- primarily stretch band exercise I found on YouTube for morbidly obese  (Can't begin to solve problem until I call it what is is)

5     Prayer and mediation to get my mindset right

6     Accountability to my readers on this blog, family and friends

7      Educating myself on importance on gut health to improve overall health and promote weight loss as by-product

8     Joining the 60 Day Trim Up

As I enter the next 61 years of my life, I want to be healthy again. 

As I heard at Super Saturday....I can...I will...watch me.

That's my desire...drive...destination.

I also pray I can show others of my generation it is NEVER too late to improve our health. Let's work to improve our quality of life; nor just quantity.

Who's next?

Why weight?