I am Wealthy

No, I did not win the lottery, or even get a raise...here's what I mean by wealth:

"The greatest wealth is health." ~~Virgil

Sure, I'm 55 (both AARP and IHOP consider me a senior citizen) and about eighty pounds overweight, but I am in pretty good health--no daily medications, fair eyesight, decent hearing, my own teeth and only the occasional ache/pain.  Maybe a migraine once in a while, and a few sinus headaches in the average year.  Sometimes a cold or a bit of stomach flu--all in all, a very Blessed life health-wise.

That is not to say I cannot do something to improve my health.  I know I need to lose the excess weight and I know it can be done because I've done it before.  Working from home took away my daily walks--to/from the apartment or the office to the bus stop.  But I can walk daily to the mailbox.  I can stretch and exercise here in the apartment (no jumping jacks or running in place--I'd scare the downstairs neighbors to death thinking an elephant was about to come crashing thru their ceiling LOL).  Exercise is possible.

And I can change my eating habits.  I have already cut back on ordering pizza--that has also improved my budget immensely--imagine that ;-)

So far, I have removed soft drinks from my life (the first thing I always do when starting a healthy eating regimen) and have started eating more vegetables and fruits.  Whole grains and beans have replaced "white" foods (rice, pasta, bread).  No more French fries.  Salt actually is not an issue because I haven't added it to food in years and don't eat salty foods (I actually don't even like salty foods LOL).

And I found a great series of books that will help...The entire "Eat This, Not That" series of books is awesome and easy to follow (who cares if Men's Health magazine sponsors the whole website?  Good information is good information no matter what the source and these books are helping me choose food items that are better for me). 

My biggest issue (oh, that was a bad pun LOL) is the fact that I simply love the taste of food and I am horrid at portion size.  Sure, I could blame the food packaging and super-sized portions on restaurant menus, but the ultimate problem is the amount of food I eat in a day.  I cannot blame other factors because they do not hold my mouth open and force food into it, now do they???  Of course not--I am responsible.

So--a public confession...I eat way too much.  12-Step programs all say that admission of the problem is the first step, so I admit the problem and am actively working the solution one meal at a time. 

If I want to keep my wealth, I need to work on my health.  I'll keep you posted...