As I was doing my morning walk this morning I was thinking
about what I have learned over the last 32 months of my journey to better
health and fitness. I know what I am about to say is going to rub some of you
the wrong way, but I hope it will make you do some thinking about your own
journey.
When I started my journey I was like everyone else I was
looking at the finish line that golden weight goal and also the golden rule of
the BMI numbers. But I have come to understand that they are just that numbers,
and now I use them as reference and nothing else. What is most important and
what is my goal now is the bottom line:
·
Are my lab results all in the healthy range for
me and my age? (This is the most important of all)
·
Am I eating a balanced diet? (The most important
thing here is it a diet that is suited for me, and the way to know that is with
your lab results and your blood pressure, and your physical health)
·
Am I exercising enough to keep myself healthy
and fit? (The key here is am I doing the exercise that is best suited for me at
my age and my capability)
·
Am I able to keep a stable weight? (This means
that my weight is stable and I am not fluctuating, more than what is normal
from day to day)
·
Am I keeping my blood pressure within a safe
range that keeps me healthy?
·
Am I able to handle the stress in my life? (I
have found that as long as I exercise most days of the week, I eat correctly,
and I get enough sleep nightly; that my stress is well under control.
·
Am I socializing with friends and family as much
as I should? (This is very important for overall health, fitness, and mental
health)
If you eat a healthy balanced diet and you keep your intake
at the correct level for you and you exercise your body will seek and level out
at a weight that is correct for your body make up. Will this level be your goal weight or within
the BMI chart range? (Who Knows?) I have come to realize that I do not need to
worry about that, all I need to know I is answered by a yes of the seven
questions above. As my doctor even said the BMI calculation is
just a reference and it is incorrect for more people that it is correct for.
Also we have some engraved ideas in our head of what we should really weight
and at least for me it was close to what I am weighing now. The rule that I was
given by one of my first doctors was, if you were healthy and fit at 21 and 22
years old that is a fairly good reference point of what your weight should be. As
we age we lose muscle and that muscle is normally replaced with fat cells. So
we need to stay active and move a lot and it is a good idea to do some weight
training exercises. I do not wish to be some hulk but adding muscle does mean
that you burn fat easier and that you have more strength and better fitness.
So what I have learned is simple and complicated at the same
time: Eat a balanced diet that your body
needs, control your portions, exercise most days of the week, give yourself
time to recover from the exercises, know your numbers of your lab results, know
and monitor your blood pressure, socialize with friend and family, sleep at
least 7 hours a night, and keep your life as free of stress as is possible.
