| DeepPurple |
05-14-2013 02:15 PM |
The old phrase 'use it or you'll lose it' hit home with me. I smoked for 35 years and didn't do a lick of exercise. I never got overweight, in fact I had a hard time keeping weight.
It's now six years since I quit, but what happened next after I quit made me really wake up. My doctor sent me for a stress EKG and I needed a stent in my heart. Then I was diagnosed with diabetes II and diabetic neuropathy in my feet. You can throw in severe carpal tunnel in both hands, although that wasn't caused by smoking but did require surgery on my hands.
Since 2009 I walk or ride a bicycle twice a week for 45 minutes. I play golf twice a week, I use to walk the course until I got bunions on my feet from the neuropathy, so now I ride a cart. I work out 2 or 3 times a week in the home, usually for two hours using two 20 pound hand weights, resistance bands and a ten pound medicine ball. Every Saturday morning I play shortstop for my softball team, we play three 14 game seasons a year.
I'm 5'8" and 160 pounds, so for my age I think I'm doing the exercise and eating OK. In fact, I look forward to doing so sort of exercise everyday. Being retired helps, I'm 62, will be 63 in July. I only wish I had started this many years ago. My advice is if you're not doing something now, then start. If you smoke, then quit.
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