No, we're not moving from our Highlandville home.
I'm talking about physically moving my fat ass and getting some exercise.
The added activity of gardening and yard work alone isn't going to cut it. I am going to have to get back to walking, bicycling, or doing some form of exercise on a regular basis. I'm back at my fat weight, my blood pressure is slightly elevated, and I really don't want to be on regular medication to bring it down.
Monday I decided to push mow the yard around the house instead of using the riding mower. The nearly 3.5 miles of walking to do that pushed my daily step count over the 14,000 mark.
Yesterday I took a short 2 mile walk and managed just over 12,000 steps total for the day.
There won't be any yard work or walking this morning as it is once again raining in the Ozarks. Watering the plants and tending to the gardens does add quite a few steps to my count. Today it looks like the exercise bike will get some use.
In truth, getting exercise is the easy part of getting back to a healthier me. Diet is where the real struggle is. I'm a firm believer in diet for weight control, exercise for better health, or you can't out exercise a bad diet. For the most part, I eat pretty well; it's just that I eat too damned much.
So I'm back to watching what, when, and how much I'm consuming. Snacking too often is a downside to retirement. Just being around the stuff can be a temptation. Even keeping healthy snacks around isn't the answer if I'm eating too much.
I've been pretty proud of being 60+ years old and not being on any regular medication, so the doctor's threat of lose some weight, lower the bp, or go on medications is a pretty strong motivation. It's just two weeks until my 62nd birthday. It's time to get moving again.
John
Posts to Out of My Hat are just my thoughts on varied subjects from politics, religion, parenting, magic and life in general. Please feel free to comment on or share any of the material found here. Just note the source and, when possible, provide a link to Out of My Hat.
Do you have your A1C checked?
ReplyDeleteUnder 5.7: Non-diabetic
Between 5.7 and 6.4: Prediabetes
Between 6.0 and 6.9: Controlled diabetes
Between 7.0 and 8.9: Uncontrolled diabetes
Over 9.0: Critically high
If you're in the prediabetes range, there are programs you can sign up for that concentrate on what you eat. Every place says 30 minutes of exercise (walking) for 5 days a week. The program I was in said exercise is only 10% of losing weight. 90% is what you eat.
Go to the CDC website. They have a list of participating places. I did mine at a YMCA.
All of my numbers are good.
DeleteThe blood pressure and weight are the only real areas to watch.