My Motivating Moment

ClockCloseMy initial awakening to the realization that I needed to do something differently in my lifestyle came when I realized I had increased the waist size of my trousers for the third time in three years. My first moment of decision about changing my lifestyle to improve my overall health came when I realized I needed to lose weight. My new rule was to eat nothing between smaller-portioned meals. No snacks. No desserts. I got back down to my ideal weight in about three months, but I knew that a change needed to be put into place for the rest of my life.

As time went on, I saw the significance of exercise in maintaining my ideal weight and in getting my heart as strong as possible. I started jogging. After that point, I thought I was doing everything needed to be in good shape.

I did not realize that attacking the aging process was a lot more than just getting in good physical shape and trimming down. I realized that eating the right foods was the cornerstone of our plan. I had read about marathon runners who were trim and very active but who died of a heart attack in the middle of the run. I had heard about people in their forties who appeared healthy but suddenly had a heart attack with no warning at all. I was operating on arteries in patients who were not obese, who played golf and tennis frequently, who I would have agreed were doing what they should to beat the aging process. I sewed bypass grafts around the blockages in their arteries but never realized I needed to tell the patients what foods to never eat again to keep more plaque from forming.

Finally, it occurred to me that the foods they were eating were the culprits. Even though many patients were doing two of the three parts of the “Prescription for Life” plan, they were leaving out a crucial segment that was nullifying the other two. All three strategies are tightly knit together. In “Prescription for Life” I present them in a different order than I came across them because I feel eating the right food is the place to start. It is essential to conquer this one from the get-go.

I began this journey when I was forty-two. But, I wish I had started sooner. Now, I want to share with all ages how to prevent damage to the arteries that ages us. It’s not about living longer, although you will add chronological years to your life span. It’s much more important than adding x number of years to your life. It’s about the quality of your life. I want quality. I want you to have that same quality. I want those over seventy to know the secret, the same as I want to share it with all the baby boomers. I want to tell young people in their twenties and thirties to realize that the sooner you begin the journey, the smoother the sailing.

It doesn’t matter what your chronological age may happen to be. Money can’t buy a younger life. It’s not for sale. But you can have it…for free.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

“Clock” photo courtesy of stockimages at www.freedigitalphotos.net