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Now that I was motivated to "Take My Health Seriously", and now armed with some good information, it was time to carve out a plan.

By the end of March 2023, I have never been more motivated in my life to take my health seriously. I had relatively minor health setbacks. I thank God that they were minor, as my family has seen it’s share of health tragedies, but they were significant enough to wake me up. Thank you God for the wake-up call. If you know me well, I like goals. So, I developed some health goals:

My Health Goals

• To Lower My Weight
• To Increase Fiber in My Diet
• To Improve My Gut Health
• To Improve My Cholesterol, My Blood Pressure, My Glucose Levels
• To Be In Better Shape (Exercise More Regularly)

I had also put on the list ‘To Eat Better’, but that is part of the means to achieve my health goals, not a goal in and of itself. I wish I could eat unhealthily but be healthy nonetheless, but that is not possible.

Goal #1 – To Lower My Weight

When I graduated from High School, I probably weighed about 135 pounds with wet hair and a full belly. I was always a skinny five-foot ten person that could never gain wait no matter what I tried. Over the years, I started gaining weight until one day it actually became something I needed to watch. My highest documented weight was on August 24, 2015 when I weighed in at 187.2 pounds. It was time to do something about it. I got the App ‘My Fitness Pal’ and started logging my weight and some of my meals.

2015
Since 2015 my weight has gone from lows around 167 pounds, to highs around 187 pounds a few times as I ebbed and flowed with my dedication to watching what I ate or not. I didn’t consistently save my weight readings, but I think my highest weight was around 190 pounds. During 2020 I bought some books on losing weight, as during the pandemic my weight climbed back up around 185 pounds again. I really liked what one book had to say, the Obesity Code from Dr. Jason Fung, which talked about fasting and intermittent fasting in particular. I started intermittent fasting for several months, then eventually stopped being deliberate about it. I normally don’t eat breakfast anyway, so intermittent fasting is easy for me. In December 2022 I do not have a record of how high my weight got, but I was probably around 185 pounds before the end of the year.

Target Weight 160 pounds
As I write this in October 2023, my Target Weight is 160 points. I am in the low one-seventies again, so I still want to lose another 10 to 15 pounds. Once I am there, I will re-evaluate if I am happy with that weight and fitness level. I basically just don’t want to have the protruding stomach that many people have at my age and older. I would like to be healthy and look healthy as well. It has been a tough grind the last six months. I have been dedicated (with pretty good consistency) to intermittent fasting on weekdays, fasting on Thursdays (24-hour or 36-hour), and not fasting over the weekends. This concept is mostly derived from the Dr. Jason Fung Books, The Obesity Code, and his earlier book The Complete Guide to Fasting. I go over my interpretation of these concepts in this post (COMING SOON). I need to improve on not binge eating certain foods, like peanuts, cashews, and other nuts that I can take down by the handful. If I am more diligent with my calorie counting, I am sure I will be able to hit the next plateau at 160 lbs, then I will share my methods on my journey for how to stay there. I think this blog is also helpful in my journey, to put ‘on paper’ what I want, where I am at, and where I am having difficulties.

Goal #2 – To Increase Fiber in My Diet

It was just an average Penner Movie Night back on December 23, 2018. We went out to dinner at out usual spot at Mexico 1900 Restaurant, then went off to see The Mule with my brothers-in-law. At dinner I wasn’t feeling that great, but I ate my food and made it to the movie. Once I got home I wasn’t feeling all that great and was up most of the night with abdominal pain. In the morning, my wife came down to check on me and I let her know about our situation. Well, she yelled at me….. yes I deserved it….. and we were off to the emergency room. Long story short, I had diverticulitis and it hurt like crazy. Fast forward to 2023. After having strange abdominal pain in January, and colonoscopy in February, the medical professionals confirmed once again that I have moderate diverticulosis. The best thing for a person to do is to have high fiber content in their diet. For men over 50 years old, the recommended daily fiber intake is 30 grams. I would estimate my average fiber intake over my lifetime is about 10 grams a day. How the heck am I going to eat 30 grams A DAY!!!????

Here we go…. I know I don’t like to have abdominal pain because of my stupid diverticula. I know that actually eating fiber is good for reducing calorie count, so it is like two for the price of one – better for my colon, and better for my weight goals. So I am going to take this seriously, RIGHT????

Lunch Is My Answer
In March 2023, I had no idea how I was going to squeeze 30 grams of fiber into my diet everyday, so it was time to do some research. I was pretty naïve about fiber, so first I had to figure out what has fiber and what does not. Does chicken have fiber? No, dummy. Fiber comes from things that grow. So meat does not have fiber, milk does not have fiber. Anything that grows has fiber so we are talking wheat products, grains, vegetables, beans, nuts and fruits. If it grows, it has fiber. Because I also want to worry about my gut health, maybe the two goals can work together with my food choices.

My Typical Lunch

• Multigrain Bread
• Peanut Butter or Avocado
• Greek Yogurt
• Bloom Greens & Superfoods Supplement
• Teaspoon of Honey

Goal #3 – To Improve My Gut Health

Now that I know that 70% of my body’s immune system is based on my gut health, I should probably figure this out. I will go over this much more in a future post (COMING SOON), but for now a summary of how to promote gut health is that “Individuals can promote gut health by adopting a balanced diet, staying physically active, managing stress, avoiding excessive use of antibiotics, and incorporating probiotics and prebiotics into their diet”.

Probiotics Here I Come

Back in March I Started Eating These Foods
• Greek Yogurt
• Kefir
• Bloom Greens & Superfoods Supplement

Goal #4 – To Improve My Cholesterol, My Blood Pressure, My Glucose Levels

To accomplish this goal, my plan is to basically do all of the things above and a few more things.

Incorporate These Changes in My Life

• Eat Better Foods
• Reduce My Calorie Intake by Being Intentional
• Limit Daily Sugars that I Eat
• Do Not Snack
• Intermittent Fast
• Fast on Thursdays
• Stay Active – I regularly walk 2.8 miles per day

Goal #5 – To Be In Better Shape (Exercise More Regularly)

I don't regularly go to the gym or workout at home. But at work I walk twice a day for 1.6 miles, and twice a day I walk my dogs for 1.2 miles. So I probably get in over 3 miles a day at minimum, which is keeping me somewhat active.

This does not incorporate aerobic exercise, so I know this is something that I need to address for me to achieve my goals.

Related Posts

February 26, 2023 - The Day That Changed My Life
My Healthy Living Journey – 2023 (Part 1)
My Healthy Living Journey – 2023 (Part 2)
My Healthy Living Journey – 2023 (Part 3)

10-6-2023 - I have been wanting to post all that for a long time! I am happy it is finally on my site. -Alan
(12.159.104.2) - [Post-00073]

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