age of ignorance

I don’t really like making New Year’s resolutions. For some reason, that mentally seems to set me up for failure. I do, however, see the beginning of a new year as a time for some personal adjustments. Sometimes, that takes the form of personal goals (I seem to do better with “goals” than I do with “resolutions”), sometimes it looks less formal and involves tweaking some lazy life spots, and, sometimes it is a mix of both.

Rarely has that ever been in the form of physical health.  Oh, maybe getting motivated to take a few more walks... or, the time I was going to work up to doing 100 pushups (yeah, that didn't work!), but not much beyond that.

I think, though, as Backside of Forty is almost three-quarters nigh unto fifty, it may be time to start paying this area a bit more attention.

My personal health strategy through the majority of adulthood has been one characterized by the motto "ignorance is bliss".  I look healthy.  I act healthy. I feel healthy.  I must be healthy.  Fortunately, it appears that I have done okay with it.  But, since high blood pressure and high cholesterol runs in my jeans genes (and my jeans seem to be shrinking), maybe it's time to turn in my youthful "Ignorance Club" membership card.

So, in preparation for the new year coming, I did something in mid-December that is VERY unusual for me... I went to the doctor without being near death!  No... I wasn't even sick... imagine that!  And, guess what?  Yep, borderline high blood pressure and borderline high cholesterol.  I partially attribute these issues to some stressful life situations over the past five, or so, years. My life is still very stressful, and, while I can't eliminate much of the stress, I need to focus more on managing it as part of an overall health maintenance strategy.  His recommendation is a low salt, low fat diet (and, of course, come back in 6 weeks).  The good news is that he is not concerned about those moles sprouting on my back! (Isn't aging wonderful?)

He also didn't mention weight, but I think it is approaching "borderline" as well... at least the out-of-the-shower mirror view of the expanding belly bulge suggests that it is.  Many would disagree that I am overweight, and I never really considered myself so, either.  But in researching ideal height/weight ratios, I think I could stand to drop a few pounds... just a few (which tends to positively affect blood pressure and cholesterol).  I viewed myself as underweight when I graduated from high school, and in the 28 years since (has it really been that long?) I have only accumulated an additional 40 pounds.  Not bad, but I'd like to split the difference and drop about 20 of those.  For those of you who have lost weight, it may seem a relatively small goal, but for a guy who, for much of his life could eat anything with very little visible negative effect, it seems like a big one.

To accent this, I recently had the opportunity to complete a day and a half elective course, sponsored by my employer, titled Energy for Life.  The course, developed by the Human Performance Institute, was originally formulated for athletes, but has been adapted to the business world.  It focuses on physical, emotional, mental and spiritual health, and how each area works together to benefit the whole person.  It was a very beneficial course, but it was a lot to absorb in a day and a half.  I plan to go back over the material in the next few months, digest it more thoroughly and start incorporating more of it into daily living.

My initial strategy is a relatively informal one involving some lifestyle tweaks.  I plan to try to eat more sensibly, watching content and portion size (but still living and enjoying eating); snack more (sensible snacks throughout the day, rather than a BIG evening dinner); drink more water; move more; and, monitor more.  I may even purchase a blood pressure cuff and learn to monitor that at home... after all, one of the things I very much dislike about doctors is the "see me in six more weeks" line.  Yeah, I may start going more often than once every seven years, but let's not get ridiculous about it, huh?

While this may not be the most interesting of blog posts, putting it in writing helps me hold myself a little more accountable.  And, who knows, perhaps someone reading this should schedule that much needed physical?  After all, the age of ignorance only lasts so long, I guess.