Pressing on towards 2015

Wow!
Has it really been a month since my last post?
Shame on me!

The sad thing is that I have also been a bit behind in the whole "healthy living" thing.
Like most people, I have managed to let the holidays dictate my diet and activity levels more than I would have liked. I have the same "winter coat" to shed as so many others.

The good news is that the holiday season is over and a whole new year is about to begin.
It is time to get back on track with good, clean, healthy eating and to up the level of physical activity.

I put some of my Christmas presents (new fitness clothing) to use yesterday and went out for a short (1 mile) run. Although I had been out a few times last summer, this was the first time since my foot surgery last September. It was pretty much the same as a first run in several decades. It was incredibly slow--not much faster than my brisk walking pace. But that's okay. My goal was just to run 1 mile.

For now, I'm actually more interested in adding distance than increasing the pace. I noticed a little inflammation from my right knee and will need to pay more attention to my stride and less attention to the classic rock music in my ear buds.

Because I still have a month of work before retiring, I'm giving myself a little break on regular exercise time until I have a less crazy schedule. I'm not going to put off exercising everyday, it's just that I have learned that a different workday everyday isn't very conducive to a routine of any kind--sleep, eating, exercise.

As for regular exercise, I really want to incorporate yoga into my routine. I've been to a couple of sessions with Chris and probably need to do that some more before going it on my own. However, I think I'd be more comfortable at home (and make better use of my time) using a DVD or developing my own routines to suit my needs and goals. If any of you are yoga devotees and have some suggestions about a good yoga video course, please leave it in the comments or send me an email.
I am currently looking at one DVD course and a couple of web based instructional courses.

As for the diet part of healthy living, I am looking forward to having the time to prepare more meals at home. I'll be looking for some healthy recipes and trying to share them here so that you can enjoy them, as well. I hope to post more often and feel that will encourage me to stay the course. Hopefully, it will encourage other to do the same.

All-in-all, 2014 has been a pretty good year on the health front. My weight is down. My blood pressure down. I'm sleeping better. I'm eating better (usually). And I feel much better! I have more energy and am physically able to do things that I couldn't do a year ago.

Let's move on to 2015!

Be well,
John <><