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LInk to: Some more of rich's brief health articles
 

FOOD CHART:  Click here to Skip introduction and go straight to chart
Rich's introduction, to our food tracking

To visit this page you may just have an interest in how we got our health back under control or you may just have a desire for change and are ready to move forward into a new phase of your life that you will never regret, like us.  Hopefully this information will benefit you in some way.

This subtle change was not a diet but a life style change in our eating habits based on good food along with portion size.  Oh yes, size matters when it comes to food.  Once you have reached a certain point, you will feel so good about yourself, and you will want to continue without realizing it.  Please note that this was a slow change, not a radical quick change. 

Example: I just turned 61 years young and I feel like I am 42 years old again.  I have more energy and feel more alert now.  I know that I am mentally and physically stronger now.

I not only lost weight I also brought down my (pre-diabetes) Hemoglobin A1C from 8.5 to 6.0, My blood pressure went from 160/86 to 120/74, My cholesterol went from 247 to 212.  Lets also realize it was not food alone that did this.  I incorporated in my normal routine low impact exercise, like walking, pull cords, and just getting up and moving around a lot more.  In addition I kept records and tracked my efforts for the first 1-1/2 months so I could see some of that positive progress at work.

This was the general state of my well being at the time I began my life changes to healthy living.
1.  Family man.
2.  Worked long hours.
3. Above normal stress level.
4.  Over weight (gradually kept gaining)
5.  General state of health. (I thought it was good if you don't count gout attack's)
6.  Loved to eat good foods and deserts - 2nd helpings the norm.
7.  Favorite beverage, a couple beers. LOL, heard that one before?
I was not physically restricted from doing normal activities like yard work, fishing, hunting, or gardening.  I also kept up with my desk job with no problems.  Now mind you this physically restricted statement is all in the mind of the beholder, not to be compared with reality, like excessive huffing & puffing, grunting & groaning, and associated Ache's & Pains. 

So with all this chatting about physical stuff, lets face it, in reality I was not looking at my insides at all.  Even though my doctor said, three years in a row, that we need to sit down and talk since my lab readings were steadily getting worse.  I was in denial and was too busy with family and work to be bothered by what he wanted to discuss with me.  I did mention stress and gout right?  Did that happen overnight? No.  Did I have it.  Yes.  Is it gone now?  Yes, or should I say under control now.  Did life style change help?  Yes

I was fortunate my doctor was aggressive enough to take the time to talk with me during one of my past physicals.  He shut the door and said, SIT DOWN WE ARE GOING TO TALK!  He was immediately putting me on diabetes, high blood pressure, and cholesterol medications and, wrote the prescriptions for me to fill.  What an eye opener that was for me mentally, chemically, and financially.  Lets just say, I am one lucky son of a gun that I did not have a stoke or a heart attack by now.

What he did not realize was that I don't like medications, period, ever.  This alone was a motivator for me to do something different, especially when you read up on the medications side affects.   I chose to lose weight, eat properly, and exercise in lieu of medications.  Was I fortunate in the fact that the damage was not so severe that I could not reverse it?  Yes again.  I also did this with the help of my wife and partner of 40 years.  Did that help?  Yes.  We did discuss that we could have done this alone but we will admit it was good we had the support of each other.  I hope we can be an inspiration and help provide motivation for you to make a life style change that will lead to a long and healthy life. 

Don't make excuses or let that denial (not a river in France) get to you.    I have a twin brother who I discussed my medical condition with.  His strong recommendation to me at that time was, take the medications.  I asked Why?    He said, quote: I can eat and drink anything I want.  Latest update on brother.  True story, he is recovering from open heart surgery and has been diagnosed with type 2 diabetes.  Oh yes, he was not much overweight and looked healthy on the outside.  Well except for the big scar now.  He is a very vain person.  His overall concern was his life style and what he looked like on the outside, not the inside.

If I had any recommendations to give to you right now it would be to, please start eating properly and exercise.  Equally important is not to let your job take control of your life.  Take time out for you.  Here is an example of a good change happened with me.  I choose to do payroll during lunch because it was convenient.  I changed that time to going for a 20 min. walk, relaxing, and eating my lunch.  Just that one change, which was a  little item at that time, made a major difference in the start of my health and stress level in a positive way.  

Some more brief articles: Check back soon for more informative reading on the following subjects.
(As info is added I will highlight it as a link.)

Gout, what  food triggered it for me and what stopped it) Your going to love this one
Exercise,  Why use Pull cords to exercise with) Cheap investment, high reward
Stress, how I reacted and what I did about it) For now, don't worry about the things you don't have control of.
Goals, Did we set any and what were they) For now, just get started
 

I hope you will enjoy my site and that it helps you in some way.
If you have any questions or would like to contact me I can be reached at sherby@richssite.com

LINK TO: FOOD TRACKING CHART
 

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