My New Year’s Resolution, like so many years, was to get in shape and do a better job of taking care of myself. I’ve made some changes over the years but never made a real consistent change in lifestyle. In January I was determined to do better. Then came March and April when I didn’t do much of anything and still ate pretty much what I wanted.
My goals for the New Me:
- Egoscue for my posture 6 days a week;
- yoga, walking, or other exercise 4 to 5 days a week;
- continue to cut out white flour, white sugar, salt (the 3 white powders), no hydrogenated oils and no high fructose corn syrup (Corn Refiner’s Association ads notwithstanding, I still prefer to cut out HFCS).
In late March after my yearly physical my doctor called with my cholesterol numbers and said it was time to get serious. Something about turning 40 must have sunk in because I have done very well since then. I started back up in April – mainly focusing on diet at that time. I cut back sat fat to under 17 grams every day. I’ve gone over only 3 or 4 times since then, and only once over 25 grams. I have also done very well at cutting out all hydrogenated oils, HFCS, and white flour. Sodium level has been good, nothing added on top of what comes in the food. And I haven’t eaten frozen meals since then.
Then in May I started working on the physical side. I started out just working 5 days a week. I got a new bicycle and then started the C25K program to learn how to jog. I started out slow and didn’t think I’d ever be able to jog for more than a minute or two. But I kept going. I also started doing some yoga once in awhile. In June I got real active at SparkPeople. It’s where I learned about C25K and got encouragement each week as I made more progress. I also found new workouts and more information on things I could change in my diet (like adding ground flax).
In June I rode 36 miles on the bike, and did that again in July, with shorter rides spread out in there. In July I jogged for 30 minutes with no stopping. So far I run about an 11 minute mile which is still jogging (a 10 min/mile is often considered running). I have kept that up and last week I ran 3.2 miles in 35 minutes. A 5K is 3.1 miles so I’m all set for the 5K runs I have coming up in the next few weeks.
I worked on my pushups and did 73 within a 15 minute period week before last. I have signed up to run in a 3 mile run this Friday, then a 6K on the 5th and a 5K on the 12th. I’m considering an 8K on the 19th and I have my eyes on a 10K on Thanksgiving Day.
While the runs/races are fun (jogging or cycling) the real accomplishment is that I have stuck with this for 4 months and it’s become a real part of my day now. I’ll have to make some adjustments as the weather gets colder, and the shorter days are already changing my schedule some, but I’m enjoying it and like being active. I’m half-way to my next physical and it will be interesting to see what the numbers say next time.
