What am I thinking!

In January 2007 I decided that I actually needed to DO something to become more healthy. After enjoying a somewhat 'fast' metabolism for many years I realized that what I was doing was not working anymore 'for someone my age':( Sooo, I enlisted the help of my 'video' good friend and mentor Denise Austin to help me accomplish my goals and came up with a healthy eating and exercise plan.

My first goal was to loose 30 pounds. Howdy Doody! That would mean completely changing my activity levels and totally revamping my eating habits. Could I do it? I came up with my own diet of about 1000-1200 calories a day. Low sugar, low fat, higher protein, more water and more fiber. Healthy foods. I had to make each calorie count. A lot of the time I just ate smaller portions of my favorite foods so I didn't feel deprived. I simplified my calorie/activity outlook to 'take in less, output more'.

My next goal was to exercise. I decided that in my 'golden years' I wanted to be the one actually moving around on my own without the help of walking aides. I wanted to be able to climb stairs without pain. I did not want to be diabetic. I wanted my pre-arthritic joints to be able to move freely as long as possible. I want to be cancer free. I started moving. Denise and I started out slowly, about 10-15 minutes per day in the morning, trying to do it everyday. She and I would warm up, do aerobics/cardio, spot training and then cool down. I gradually built up my time adding 1-2 minutes a day and increasing levels as I felt up to it. I tried to just move more during the day. I later wanted to add more cardio time so I started running after our aerobics. Starting out at about 6-7 minutes, I tried to increase my running time 1 minute per day.

Next I wanted to exercise my brain. While I ran I would memorize things. I'm not very good at it so it would take a long time. As a member of the LDS faith I memorized 'The Living Christ' and the 'Proclamation on the Family' and the Relief Society Theme. Now lest you think that this was easy, it took me 6 months to learn 'The Living Christ' and 8 months for the 'Proclamation'.

I reached my goal of losing 30 pounds and then some in June of 2007. My cholestorol went down 50 points! I went from a size 16 to 8. My shoulders, knees, elbows and hips didn't hurt anymore. I could move more easily. I felt fantastic! I still do.

Now, on to the next step 'A RACE?' My daughter Kathy ran in a 5K race in her city last Spring. And she raved about how much fun it was and insisted that I run one too. Oh, I'm not so sure. She's 21 years younger that I am. Well, after a summer of 'let's do it' everyday I succumbed. We signed up for the Hess Cancer Foundation Legacy Run on September 13th. Yikes! I've been training, but still don't want to make a complete fool of myself. I want to make a respectable showing. I want to finish!

I want to run in honor of those who can't. For my two sisters who have ovarian cancer, one scheduled to start her 3rd round of chemo and the other in the middle of her 2nd round. For my niece in her 30's who just had a double mastecomy and is in the middle of chemo.

Life is precious and I want to be around mentally and physically to enjoy it. So, I may be crazy for attempting the 5K but here goes.....I'll keep you posted.