How is your health?

[Jake]

I have no long term issues to worry about except a family propensity towards heart disease that I've decided to tackle with an elimination of trans fat, fast food, and soda from my diet and regular exercise. Except for two weeks where I've been sick I've done at least 200 minutes of cardio a week (most running or walking fast with some other stuff mixed in) and started weight training in February mostly with an eye towards adding shoulder, chest, and arm muscle. I look and feel better than I ever have and I'm excited to continue. Since Fall 2006 I've dropped from 190 to 160 through simply reducing my caloric intake; I've maintained at about 160 since October and at 6'1" I have some muscle to pack on before I'm at my ideal weight. I'm itching to get out and kayak or bike just so I'll have some variation on exercise than just running the treadmill or lifting weights. I don't drink alcohol to excess, don't use drugs or smoke, don't salt my food, etc. I'm confident in my health.

Mentally, I've discovered this year that I get seasonal depression in the winter months, but the sunshine is returning and the exercise is helping a lot.

BushOklahoma: You need to take a half an hour everyday that you post here, look up a grocery store on the internet, and buy some fruits and vegetables. Ideally right now, but certainly no later than tomorrow. Something as simple as an apple and banana for breakfast and veggie stir fry over brown rice for dinner will allow you to start dropping weight. One of your fast food meals probably gives you your daily caloric intake; anything else is stored as fat as you're not burning it off with exercise. Not to mention the trans fat that's pouring into your arteries and the high fructose corn syrup that's effing up your blood sugar. Unless you want to quite simply die 20-30 years before you should, you'll stop eating fast food.

And my prayers to anyone without good health. I hope your's returns soon.