Since the beginning of the year, I made myself a promise I would try harder and do better at taking care of myself. After all I turned 64 this month and it isn’t going to get any easier or any better than it is right now.

I realize I will probably never look the way I did in my 20’s, so I didn’t promise myself to go to the gym every day or to put myself on a diet. Because I have found as soon as I say the word “diet” I am doomed. I guarantee I will be eating barbecue chips before the sun goes down and using both hands. Seriously! That appears to be how I am wired.

I also did not say I would go to the gym 5 days a week or even 3 days a week because as soon as I miss one day of the routine, it will be out the window. I notice I give myself goals and when I stumble on one, usually the plan is out the window and I am back where I started at.

It didn’t help that I had a huge cardio and pulmonary workup recently because I was showing symptoms of something weird happening in my body. That was a bit of a scare, but with each test, problematic concerns were being ruled out and I am happy to say my diagnosis is that I have Inappropriate Sinus Tachycardia, which boils down to the fact that I have rapid heart rate that appears spontaneously for no particular reason. And apparently I have had it for awhile. My treatment was to go on a half of a pill a day and to cut way down on caffeine, both of which seem to be working.

So I am happy to say in the past week, I have given it long and hard thought; that is, this whole feeling better thing and this whole need to get and stay healthy. I tell you there is nothing like a wake up call to get you moving and get you motivated. So I called my oldest son, who is a health enthusiastic and his wife and between them, they have helped me transform my food shopping list and to change out some things I am eating. As well as giving me suggestions on what I can do to make gym most beneficial to me. I did have to remind them I am 64 years old, and to keep it simple. LOL! But they weren’t hearing that.

Last week I started out with intervals on the treadmill (walking and jogging) and this week am adding weight lifting. I dare not say I am going to the gym so many days a week or have a definitive plan. But between the eating and the walking, I am down 5 pounds in my first week of tracking my weight. And I am feeling so much better. I have broken up with the affair that I was having with my sofa. No more naps! Unless of course if it is a snowy day or a rainy day. It doesn’t get better than that… to be on the sofa with a good book. Now will I see that type of result every week? Absolutely not! Will that deter me? No way! Cause I now know it is “all in my head”. I am owning it, embracing it and am certainly motivated by healthy living. I want to live a good life, independently with unlimited mobility and energy.

Reading the obituary and seeing fellow 60+ year olds is concerning. Seeing fellow patients in clinic waiting rooms is very much a concern. Am I going to keep my self from getting a life changing illness? Maybe not, but I certainly am going to ensure my body is the best it can be with work, commitment and a whole lot of TLC.

So I want to encourage you to do something! Find a plan that will work for you. My walk is not your walk and my journey will certainly not be yours. But to make a change, it all starts in the head!