By Stephen Bourdon
In the spring of 2009, I was stopped in my tracks by a statement that I came across in a novel I was reading:
WHEN WE LOOK BACK ON OUR LIVES LATER ON, WE’LL EITHER HAVE WHAT WE WANT OUT OF LIFE, OR WE’LL HAVE THE REASONS WHY WE DON’T.
The words encouraged me to ask myself, What do I want out of life? What do I have to do to get it? I was so moved into action that the statement became my mantra. I printed and laminated it and hung it in my home office. It was the first motivator that got me off the couch and start to change my sedentary lifestyle. Another motivator was a visit to my doctor early in May of last year. I was grossly overweight, my knees were sore, my blood pressure was through the roof, and my system felt all out of whack. I felt like Jabba the Hut, but with less inclination to exercise.
Over the years, I had been basically involved in sedentary activities such as reading, writing, model railroading, watching movies and television. I didn’t exercise because I was unmotivated, sluggish and too weak even to take a walk. My diet was excessive, too much of the wrong foods, too much wine, and sometimes too much Scotch.
Near the conclusion of the visit to my doctor, he looked me in the eye and said, “Steve, if you don’t change your lifestyle and lose some weight, a lot of nasty internal shit is coming your way. You can count on it.” I went home thinking about the mantra that I had posted in my office.
Along with my wife Julie, I decided to change my dietary habits. In three weeks I released 18 pounds, and I felt so great that I started daily walks. In a few more weeks I was doing a 45-50 minute walk every morning, and I never missed a daily walk for the rest of the year.
Back in May, being overweight, I was 275 lbs with a 51″ waist, and suffered from sleep apnea, excessive snoring, digestive problems, sore knees and depressing mood swings. I looked like this at that time: By September, after 16 weeks of changing my diet and exercising my body, I had released 50 pounds, went from a 51″ to a 42″ waist, and no longer suffered from sleep
apnea, digestive problems, or sore knees. I still snore a little bit, but at least the neighbours’ windows no longer rattle at night! By the fall, I was walking about an hour every morning and felt like I could still keep going all day long.
In early winter, Julie and I joined the 100-mile club at the secondary school where she teaches. The 100-Mile Club encourages all of its members to continue to exercise over the winter months. Julie and I maintained a regular walking routine all through the winter, even if it meant using the treadmill. I managed to complete 126 miles on ten weeks. Now that the good weather has arrived, we’re stepping up the walking again, and I can feel the few pounds gained over the winter starting to melt away.
Today I continue to walk almost every day, and I do some light resistance training—mainly dumbbells. Although I maintain a consistent diet, if I feel like a piece of pie or a glass of wine, I enjoy the moment and get back on track the next day. Over indulgence is not a choice any more. I realize that I will never be skinny—it’s simply not in the genes—but I am confident that my weight will ultimately reach a healthy level if I stick to the plan (another 25 pounds to go).
For me the motivations were strong enough to elicit positive action on my part: First and foremost, a lovely wife and daughter with whom I wish to enjoy a long and happy life. Secondly, having a vivid imagination and a low pain threshold, I certainly want to keep out of hospitals as long as possible—basically, I am terrified of the internal problems that my doctor warned me about. In addition, too many of my friends and acquaintances have passed on early in life, reminding me of the preciousness and fragility of life. Finally, I am a strong believer that what we term “health care” these days is really “sick care”. People get sick, and their doctors for the most part prescribe drugs. Very few individuals out there in the mainstream medical profession are focusing on preventive medicine or disease prevention. I realize that this attitude is beginning to change, but we in North America are a long way away from a common sense approach to our health.
It only took me about 60 years to figure this out for myself. Like so many other inactive seniors I encounter, I needed the hand of knowledge applied to the seat of learning!
Ultimately, to develop a willingness to reshape my lifestyle positively, to go from a sedentary to an active regimen, I had to ask myself just two questions: What is important in my life? Is the sedentary lifestyle really how I want to live? Of course, it helped having a doctor who was willing to forego the easy route of prescribing medications, in favor of presenting me with lifestyle choice alternatives—essentially kicking my butt. Good luck to all who feel the need to reshape their lives by becoming active, finding a new focus, discovering that other self which has been buried for so long in the mire of sedentary living.