Last week one of the blog comments came from someone who said that reading my blog is like reading my autobiography in weekly installments. And it\u2019s true. Being able to write the blogs gives my readers a window on my life behind the words. I think a lot of people assume that writers live lives of quiet contemplation far removed from the joys and vicissitudes of everyday life.<\/p>\n
During the time I\u2019ve been writing these weekly pieces Bill and I have been living our lives. We lost a son-in-law to cancer. This year Bill and I both lost siblings to flu-related health issues. (Message: Get your flu shots.) We\u2019ve celebrated the birth of our first great grandchild along with graduations, gymnastic tournament wins, and bowling tournament wins\u2014and defeats, too. There have been weddings and divorces. We\u2019ve lost a pet and found her again, thanks to the magic of the Internet. We lost pets who crossed the Rainbow Bridge and my readers have grieved with us.<\/p>\n
I\u2019ve also shared some of our ongoing health issues because, at times, there\u2019s just no easy way to grow old gracefully. (My father always claimed that eating honey would do it, but he also told me that coffee would stunt my growth. It turns out neither one of those things is true.)<\/p>\n
In April almost three years ago now, Bill and I went to see our personal physician who told us if we didn\u2019t start exercising, we were done for, and that Bill\u2019s next stop would be in a wheel chair. At the time Bill weighed 290 pounds and I weighed 265. His shirt size was 3X and my pant size was 26. Yes, the doctor allowed, we both needed to lose weight, but we were probably too old to make that happen.<\/p>\n
We went home and put our shoulders to the wheel. We both started walking, aiming for 10,000 steps a day. In order to keep myself honest, I reported all of this information in my blog. I figured if I fell off the wagon, my readers would provide the necessary kicks in the butt. We also hired a personal trainer.<\/p>\n
We changed our way of eating, dropping from three meals a day to two. Breakfast is generally two eggs, a single piece of Dave\u2019s Killer Bread toast with butter and honey (out of deference to my father), along with a glass of milk, and coffee. (By the way, this week my grandson had a health discussion where addictions to drugs, opioids, alcohol, and coffee were all discussed as though they were all on the same plane. (Had I not been too busy drinking my third cup of the coffee of the day, I would have flown to the school on my broom and given that woman a piece of my mind!) Occasionally we splurge on a bowl of Snoqualmie Falls oatmeal, barely cooked so it\u2019s still chewy. Or else we have a hunk of salmon and creamed cheese also with toast and milk. I think the toast and milk give us enough carbs that we don\u2019t feel carb-deprived and we don\u2019t feel hungry, either.<\/p>\n
Dinner time is now right around five. Eating early is better for us. My consumption of Tums is almost non-existent. (That was an addiction!) And our meals are simple\u2014street tacos; a single steak divided three ways plus a vegetable and\/or a salad. I\u2019ve eaten more salads in the past three years than I\u2019ve eaten in my whole life. But it\u2019s paid off. We\u2019ve lost weight and kept it off. At this morning\u2019s weigh-in, Bill was 228 and I was 195. He\u2019s lost 60 pounds and I\u2019ve lost 70. His size 18 shirts now fasten easily around the neck, and I\u2019m wearing size 16 pants. (Sweet sixteens, as I like to think of them.)<\/p>\n
But it hasn\u2019t been easy. And you may have noticed that I stopped talking about steps. When my shoulder was messed up for three months late this summer, I mostly stopped walking because the shoulder was so bad that even walking hurt. At the time, Bill\u2019s long history with back pain was getting progressively worse. We kept working out with the trainer as much as possible, but we were both pretty pitiful. When it hurt too much to raise my coffee cup!!! I knew I was in big trouble.<\/p>\n
Then a miracle happened. On the day of Bill\u2019s back surgery, my shoulder was marginally better. The day after, it was almost one hundred percent. Six weeks later, I have full range of motion, and Bill is almost completely pain free. I can do 20 sits to stands in a row without being worn out. And finally, I told myself it was time to get off my butt and start walking. I noticed I had lost a lot of stamina, but I\u2019m back walking. At age 74 plus, I figure walking three miles a day is good enough. That boils down to about 7000 steps. (Steps taken putting up Christmas decorations or cooking in the kitchen give you lots of steps but very little distance.) So I shoot for both 7000 steps and three miles rather than one or the other.<\/p>\n
That\u2019s what I\u2019m doing for my physical health. For my mental health, I\u2019ve taken a news break. The vitriol on both sides is too much, and so, I\u2019ve #Walkedaway from news broadcasts and news sites on the Internet. I used to read two newspapers a day, morning and evening. I don\u2019t do that anymore. I used to watch both the local news as well as the national news. Nope, I don\u2019t do either of those anymore, either. The fact that the sun is out today on this very chilly December morning came as a complete surprise to me. I didn\u2019t know about it until I opened my eyes and the sun was shining.<\/p>\n
So why am I writing this blog today? It\u2019s December. At the moment most of the commercials on TV seem to be focused on people buying new cars for Christmas. The only person I ever knew who really did that, was my late father-in-law, Herman Janc, who, in 1960, bought Mary Grandma a brand new bright red Camaro to replace her 1956 Bel Air. He hid it around the block, and she went out looking for it in her house coat. That Camaro was the first and last brand new car Mary Grandma ever had.<\/p>\n
As soon as the pre-Christmas commercials go away, we\u2019ll be deluged with the Jenny Craig\/Weight Watchers hullapalooza as everyone is required to look on New Year\u2019s Day as the only time of the year when we should all turn over a new leaf. In my experience, those New Year\u2019s Resolution type of life changes seldom make it as far as February 1. You can change your life any day of the year. My news diet happened sometime this past November, and I\u2019\u2019m finding I\u2019m missing all the bombast less and less every day.<\/p>\n
So if you want to make changes, change one thing today. If you\u2019re a non-walker, start walking. If you don\u2019t have a Fitbit, count out a hundred step route and walk that ten times. Work up gradually. I\u2019ve found that 2500 steps equal a mile. And if you haven\u2019t been walking at all, a thousand steps is a good start. If you find yourself screaming at newscasters, simply look away. Give yourself a break. Switch over to the Hallmark Channel or go binge on a season or two of Star Trek Voyager. Or even, dare I say it, read a book!<\/p>\n
I know from comments and e-mails that some of you took heart from what we were doing and started your own walking\/weight loss programs. I hope my fall from grace in the steps department didn\u2019t derail your own efforts, and that\u2019s why I\u2019m writing this today. I wanted to let everybody know that I\u2019m back\u2014back walking and back writing. The copy edited manuscript for next April\u2019s The A List went to New York on Monday of this week.<\/p>\n
Now it\u2019s time to turn my hand to Beaumont # 24, Sins of the Fathers. That book has a name now\u2014a name, a probable pub date, and, for all I know, a cover\u2014so I\u2019d better get with the program.<\/p>\n
See you next week.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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