Baselines and Motivations · 28 August 2012
Day 1: August 27, 2012
This day is not really the first day. As a matter of fact, it is somewhere in the second week or more of eating differently and running a fair amount. It is merely the day I put the stick in the ground and say I am going to make a change. I am going to become healthier. I am going to become a runner.
Two things that I wanted to do today were to give a baseline and some reasoning.
I am not really that concerned about my weight, but a couple weeks ago (08/16/2012), I was the heaviest I have been in a quite a few years at 168 pounds. Naturally, it was right about the time of my physical. Today and the past couple days, I have been at 162.7 pounds (according to the Wii Fit). I am not sure what will happen to my weight in the next year as I eat, exercise, and write, but I do hope to get rid of some of what the book, Flat Belly Diet, calls visceral or internal fat. Hopefully, this will also translate into getting out of 34 inch waist pants.
The other baseline number is not a hard number. I have been able to run about 15 to 20 minutes at a stretch so far. I am not so concerned about how far I run, but I do want to know how long I can keep up a sustained effort. That 15 minutes or so is a good start and much better than I have been able to muster when I have started all those times before. Part of that is because I have been trying to run and done so a few times this summer. This time I was not so out of shape that running down the block made me tired. I am thankful for that.
Even though I just gave a few baseline numbers, I really do not care that much about weight or waist size. What I really care about is health and that relates to how long I can run. I have always been concerned about health, but this time something is different. This time I am running toward something instead of away.
I have tried to guide my life with the words, “For God has not given us the spirit of fear, but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind.” (2 Timothy 1:7 KJV) When I make decisions, I try to make them with logic or other guidance rather than out of fear. After all, God does not push us to act based on fear. After looking at my reasons for wanting to get healthier, I realized that each time I tried to change my eating habits, I was acting out of fear. I was trying to run away from diabetes and heart disease instead of running toward health. That is why I am more confident that I can change this time and be more healthy. I am motivated instead of afraid.
I really have been afraid of diabetes and heart disease. Both my parents have diabetes as did at least one of my grandparents. My dad has had two heart attacks. And one of my cousins who was only 18 months older than I, died with clogged arteries when we were in our early thirties. I was devastated when I learned about his arteries because Danny was always such an active person. He seemed healthy. That was why I started getting physicals each year when I was in my early thirties and even had a heart stress test. But I never really wanted to be healthy just to be healthy.
After the heart stress test, I did not worry so much about my heart. I knew that we all have two parents. Even though both our dads had had heart attacks, we were related on our moms’ side of the family. So while I still had reason for concern, I was not as worried about heart attacks since my dad’s doctor told him after his second heart attack that he could quit smoking or die. I was not nor will I ever be a smoker.
I was and still am afraid of diabetes. I know that being overweight is a contributing factor (if not the contributing factor) for getting type II diabetes so I have always been conscious of my weight and health. But like I said, I was always trying to run away from diabetes. I will do pretty much anything to stay away from pills or shots. After all, I should be able to be healthy with diet and exercise.
The difference of going toward health instead of away from disease might seem too subtle to really matter, but it matters to me. I cannot live my life in fear. It would be going against how I believe God wants me to live my life. It is the same with my writing. I cannot be afraid I might lose a few readers because I write a little about God. I must write what I feel I am supposed to write. Critics and naysayers will always be around to try and drag us down. And if they do, we deserve to fail because we let others dictate our lives. We let fear rule. I for one cannot live that way. I choose to eat right and exercise because I want to be the best me I can be.
In a year or two or however long it takes for me to decide I have written enough about becoming a healthy runner, I plan on looking back on this day and the stick in the ground. It will not really matter whether I have lost any weight or shrunken my waist, but at least I will know I did something for my health. And as I read my ramblings, I will remember I did it all for the right reasons. I really am not afraid for my health. I really do look forward to becoming healthier than I am today.
© 2012 Michael T. Miyoshi
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| The Healthy Conspiracy | Nagging Doubts |
Aside from diet and exercise, there are some herbs that are very befcineial for Blood Pressure. The most popular ones are Fish Oil, Hawthorn Berries, L-Arginine, C12 Peptides (from milk protein casein), Bonito Peptides, and Garlic.As far as Blood Sugar, you can try one of several herbs but if you have full-out Diabetes, you should check with a naturopath or other natural doctor. The reason is because when you’re dealing with something as severe as Diabetes, then too much support can be just as bad or worse than too little support. I can give you a few ideas of where to start looking, but a doctor is your better choice. Good luck!
— Ucok · Sep 16, 04:36 PM ·