Just funny

This was in today's comics. Reminds me of the old Rock and Roll Song, "Breaking up is hard to do". Poor fella doesn't even see it coming...
Keep walking

No gimmicks but we need a plan

We've been exploring the ideas that we don't need gimmicks to make changes or to fight for our health. As we get older there's a lot more things are probably getting away. We may encounter diseases like heart disease or trying to prevent it like I am. I take a statins, I take my blood pressure medicine, and I work out and pay attention to what I'm eating. Other people may be looking at diabetes, or they may be looking at cancer. You know these three things coronary or vascular issues of heart and stroke, cancer, and diabetes that's what eventually gets to all of us if we live long enough. But diseases have a way of being an obstacle for us to make lifestyle changes that we may need to do to have a better chance of it. More and more doctors and scientists and experts are looking at obesity as a obstacle for good health. And obesity I think starts to kick in and affects us more as we age. By the age of 65 it could be a significant factor in why people are not moving around and becoming sedimentary.
So there we have it, we're sitting, not taking care of ourselves, we're over eating, we're not moving enough and we are doing activities like watching TV or computer or something that's not getting us moving. We need to ask ourselves a  question, 'Where are we at right now?'  that is is very important because I think each one of us the answer can be different.
So let's put a plan in action. We've  may have health issues, we may have an injury, we've had something going on where we've kind of put our life on hold. There could be an emotional event a loss of a job loss of a mate, a loss of the child,  other relationships breaking down. We encounter emotional issues that we never had before. Everyone of these problems could take us a while to figure out what steps we should take.
So while we're dealing with it, it's time to take the first steps. Like Bill Murray in What about Bob sometimes they have to be baby steps.
If we have become so sedimentary that just a little bit of walking we are breathing kind of hard, then the first step is to see our doctor.  Most people can return to moving again upon doctor's recommendations. My ideas may or may not be what your doctor says. Follow your doctor's counsel.
Here are some ideas to think about. I think it's a good idea to walk throughout the day. If that's our

case just take small walks and get yourself a pedometer and keep track of how many steps today. walking with walker, cane, taking walks into parts of your house through out your day is a start. If you can take a little walk every half hour or hour for sure. Keep you blood moving. Don't sit hour after hour at your computer or TV or reading. Get up every half hour and walk to the kitchen, use your stairs if you can. See how many steps you take. As you move you may find you are getting stronger. 
You know your first goal is to try and become un-sedimentary by walking over 3000 steps throughout the day. If you are really in this way make sure you start slow and follow your doctor's advise.
Your next goal should be trying to shoot for 5000 steps a day,  This may take you several months to get to and it may not happen all at once. Every day trying to walk in the morning,  start with minute walks, then two minute walks, than three minute walks, A minute afternoon go for another walk again starting minute to minute three minutes, and then an evening walk again same thing a minute two minutes three minutes and slowly build yourself up to where your walking increases where you can do 3 10 minute walks. If you walk 30 one minute walks in your day, you will notice the difference. 
I know I am repeating myself, but it is important. Your check in with your doctor you're going along with his recommendations, Your doctor may have personal recommendations for you. I am throwing ideas out there, but I don't know you and I am not a doctor. I do know most of us can get moving again. 
When it comes to walking through out the day if you can walk 7,000 to 10,000 steps a day you are on your way to being healthier.
Next, If you  haven't done resistant training in a while you have to start somewhere. It's a good idea to think about how you can use your body for strength training. There's a lot of exercises that you can do from the get-go. Again it starts with checking in with your doctor and then it goes from your doctors

recommendations. here you want to ask about resistant training for seniors or for people recovering from injury or illness. Your plan is unique to you. Here are a few ideas:

• check out on different sources about exercising for older people. There's exercises that can be done in a chair or around the chair. 
• There are exercises like I do where you can modify. A lot of strength movements can be done from things around your house. I can do a push-up off-the-wall, great for anybody. I could do a push-ups off of the table. (The idea I can my fat man exercises)
• I can do a push-up off of the counter. My counter is a great place for exercises. I can do lounges, I can do squats, I can do heal raises, I can do push-ups, I can do dips. In all these things I can use my counter for balance, as well as for structure to do some exercises like dips for example. When I do dips I use my legs to assist the movement to my fitness level.  Squats can be done off of the bed or chair I can I can do push-ups off of the bench and the lower you get to the ground the stronger the push-up movements. One push-up I can do is often the lower stair. 
• I think every day we could do something with their abs. I learned that from listening to one of the gym instructors talking to the kids in gym class do something every day for your abs. And so I do my sit ups off the bed. I got my feet on the floor and I just set up. It's got me very much into the movement with my CP, I have a hard time moving my upper body and lower body together, I always had. But here's a modification where I can actually do the movement and I find the movement is good for range of motion as well as strengthening my abs. I also do crunches and reverse crunches and other kind of moves for my abs. I'm learning how to do different kind of planking; I find it challenging, but I'm getting into that a little bit all to help to core muscles. Walking and standing also helps core muscles and so if you're sitting too much find ways to stand for your day. If you are sedimentary, try doing daily shores.  Stand down your work brothers you're working on a project and as you do things first. Of time all these muscles that you need to do it will strengthen itself. 

The flexibility is something that catches us unaware. We never know when we're going to become

Hit the trails this spring

inflexible, when the aging process makes us more stiff. Unlike a lot of people I've had the stretching all my life because of my cerebral palsy but now that you're getting older you maybe finding that you need to do a little bit of that as well. Flexibility helps range of motion helps with our pain, and definitely can with like with muscle exercise, walking and some resistance training we can actually take less painkiller. Movement works! Again be mindful of flexibility for seniors. 
Using resistant bands which I think are great as we get older we can find the bands for light exercises, exercises that need a little more strength, and then exercises that can take a lot of strength. There are levels of bands for your total fitness. Start with one repetition of 8-12 of the movements and when you are done with your routine, rest from it for 48 hours. As you get into it you can do one or two more sets. Multiple sets can build muscle into our 90's. Important to ease into it. 
Both the Internet and exercise support her out there for you to do right at home. Look into it and see what kind of works for you. My ideas are all about modifications. On my pages I have some good sites for support.
As we age it harder to lose weight and keep it off. I think it is easy to get discouraged. I think weight-loss is one of the most discouraging things that people face today. There's a lot of people working on it but it's a lot harder to be successful at getting over obesity.  Here I am the fat man walking and I've been at this blog now for several years, and I still need to make progress on my weight-loss. Am I a hypocrite? Maybe. But I can look at it today and know I need to move forward.  So I've been taken steps. I've decided to measure inches rather then the scale. And right now I am holding my own. And think I think I lost a half an inch, from last month. I will post my progress. Our waist should be half our height.  
I've been reading some articles of late that seems to point out that as we move into our middle 60s obesity makes it harder to be moving and it leads to more sedimentary kind a living. I am challenged by that to see if I can change the outcome. As I move towards a BMI that is more healthy, I look at this as a long-term success, and not just a quick fix. But that doesn't mean I don't need to act now,  I think I do. So for me I'm looking at where I'm going wrong, and I'm also looking at both information is helpful and also how to kick in the proper health response from my medical doctor and some other people to set up a better plan to do this.

Think through your life, Are you not moving enough? So where you at? Can we start today with a plan to see your doctor and to start looking for ways to move and get creative with it and try every day?
We need muscle to stay independent so take a look at strength training, this actually helps your heart and helps against your fight against the big three cancer diabetes and heart disease  A note on the fitness bands, you can take them any where and do everything you can do in a gym. Start slow and light and you will find they are great for senior fitness. Muscle looks better in our clothes and women don't bulk up. Think tone!
So I hope all these things Get active and go out there keep walking

No gimmicks, what stops us?

This is the second part response to what I wrote about last time. I was thinking about other things that challenges and prevent us from engaging in a more healthy lifestyle. I read an article in the New York Times Weight Gain in Older Women by Paula Spahn and she shares how women put on weight and the difficulty they have been taking off. It seems if women are healthy they have nearly a 20 pack percent greater chance of living to age 85 and having the ability to walk. As people encounter diseases their chance of walking independently decreases. Having heart disease, cancer, diabetes, and being obese are all factors in decreasing the possibility that you can be walking around when you're 85.
Read another article from Health Day where people who are overweight only sweat one hour a year for woman and three hours if your man. It raises the question what prevents people from working up a sweat getting 30 minutes of walking. If you are heavy like me you will sweat with just walking. Barb has a harder time working up a sweat. What prevents people from exercise and movement where they get more active.
It seems as if when we have health challenges it's a lot harder to put into our life the practices that we need to improve our health. I know it is a little more challenging than what people will admit to. If people who are overweight are people who are inclined to move from one location to the next where there setting. How can we change some of that. How can we put different kind of activities in our life where were moving around. It seems like there's a lot of people who have difficulty in trying to do this.
I have given this some thought now that I'm retired, and I am looking at ways where I can bring movement into my life. Helping out with some of the shores around the house that's it that's an idea that for me is a challenge. I can hear my kids laughing now. Getting up and doing different exercises when I'm working in the day on the computer is a good idea. I can do strength movements with my body throughout the day and at the end of the day I can have a full body workout by just taking small exercise breaks while working. I can go for a 10 minute walks throughout the day or even 20 minute walks. I can do some woodworking in my shop downstairs. I can use my stairs all around my house.
Shopping visiting people, getting out and moving around and when spring comes I'm planning to do some more bike riding. Using my bike to visit people in the nursing home and hospital. We need to find time to get in an hour or two of walking and moving.  When working on the computer, reading or watching TV at night are there things we can do to move a little for our health? 
My wife and I have noticed that if we plan to be walking when we are older it really does have to start every day now. 
There are a lot of things that I hinder us. We might have an injury, right now I have injury from a fall that hurts a lot. With my CP I have to give it time to heal. So it's a pain in the neck . So you know sometimes we get sick and it might take a week or two to recover from an illness. There's a lot of things that seem to interfere with our pursuit of activity. So I think we have to have the mindset to be able to reenter ourselves back into a routine of walking and doing things for fitness, stretching, and aerobics after we have these other times where we're having put down for a while. getting back into it isn't always easy. 
Next time I will go into some of things we are facing and the changes we have to make happen to move forward. Keep walking

Forget the gimmicks, it's time to plan how you're going to fight back as we age

Have you ever noticed where when you were 40 it looked good to be 30, when you were 50 it look pretty good to be 40, we were 60 it looked pretty good to be 50, now I'm not there yet but I imagine when I get to be 70, 60 will look pretty good. Maybe because I stay up too late I noticed that the programs I watch have all kinds of products that promise the fountain of youth. To just look couple years younger you know or to hold back the effects of time in a less wrinkles less fat whatever you know. There's all kinds of TV ads to go with that.
Well we get older and with age comes aches and pains, when it comes to challenges we have. One of the things that happens is if we get a problem and we don't take care of it it could lead to you know a more permanent disability. Since on the fat man walking I've been looking at the numbers on obesity and a tendency to become a mobile. It seems as if the more we sit regardless of exercise the more possibility that we will need assistance to walk later on.
According to Robert Hill a PhD guy who wrote a book called seven strategies for positive Aging, It seems to be on aTime track as we age one is healthy and the other one is not. The one it's not Healthy have certain diseases that occur in the late 50s early 60s and that tends to set that person on a course of life that may terminate in their 70s another course of life is a person who is healthy and they're on a track to where their life may come to an end in their late 80's or 90s. Dr. Cooper down in Dallas, his work has sort of said similar things. And through lifestyle changes we might set ourselves on a healthier track where we are experiencing a better quality of life.
I decided about seven years ago to set on a course where I could change some my lifestyle habits, so that I could have better wall to you like in my living. What I've been reading of late is that if we do not plan to change or plan to choose to walk or get more movement in our life. Make changes in her diet that his heart healthy or if need be diabetic healthy. Even in my mental life I had to make some changes about how I was dealing with anxiety and depression. For it seems that these things can cause our bodies to react negatively. It can stress can introduce other challenges like cancer or body breakdown or strokes. So this thing of aging I gets more complicated.
Each of us has our own challenges. To meet them we have to spend some time thinking about it getting the right care, and gained in on making the effort to get moving and walking in the challenge ourselves to lose weight. Years ago I read things that said it every year we gain weight was some point we have to pay the piper know for all the years that we put on weight. And I know being older it's harder to get rid of the weight. I just read a study today from the New York Times, that talked about people who have to fight diseases weight gain and getting rid of the wait is even harder. So you know eventually that weight will force us to have to get some kind of mobility aid to help us move around. So that's our problem, I will pick up this blog gotten along later. And will talk more about some things we can do that can fight this kind of decline. I think it's discouraging to a lot of people so we need to think about it and we need to plan how we want to deal with it keep walking

Being aware of depression and know it can be cared for has been my experience

I was reading Robert Hill's Seven Strategies for Positive Aging, he looks at attending a high school reunion as a metaphor in life. Steve attended his high school 50th reunion. What happens at a reunion is your enter a time phenomenon where your see people your age and yet your memories take you back and despite all the changes you remember what all these people look like. Personalities don't change. Steve noticed there were people who aged very well. The one characteristic was they looked toward life positively and saw their assets and not their deficits.  They were able to change and adapt with age. I thought it funny Steve referred to him and his classmates as middle age. I wonder at what time do we get old?
In the spirit of my reading, I saw several interesting articles in the news today related to getting older. In regard to dementia one study I looked at today shared how moderate regular exercise started by older people can help the brain to grow and delay onset of mental decline even by a year or two. For many such activity will have multiple effects. What is a value of one or two years of health? Maybe it helps longer? Check out the article.

http://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/health-and-families/health-news/exercise-to-beat-dementia-regular-physical-activity-boosts-brain-regeneration-9133688.html

A study out of University of Chicago reports loneliness can be twice as deadly as obesity. Being alone

can contribute to depression and that in turn can do a number on our health.
Here is where the Fat Man can be an encouragement to you today. Several years ago I decided to treat depression and anxiety so depression would not be how I aged. Depression is treatable and worth the effort to be healed and move on. Insomnia as well is better to treat it and sleep better. I have read and reported how 25% of us are depressed at 63. It is one of those things that we should be aware of. When you are depressed there is a sense of hopelessness. I can tell you first hand that it can be treated. It feels wonderful to be well. It took work and care and wasn't easy but there is an other side. It is why I am open about being care for.
A mental illness is not a criminal act. It is not something that diminishes our self worth and character. Only 4% of those with a mental illness act out in a criminal way. If you take a closer look they probably have already done so ill or not. Our brains like our heart, lungs, arteries, kidneys, liver, muscles and bones have issues as we live and age. Illnesses can be cured, go into remission, coped with where life goes on. My depression it appears is cured. My anxiety disorder is being managed most of the time I don't even know it is there. There are times when I am sick where anxiety says hello. I have several techniques I have learned to quickly respond where it goes away.
Be aware as you get older loneliness and depression may need help. Read the article, University of Chicago http://psychcentral.com/news/2014/02/17/loneliness-can-be-lethal-for-seniors/66020.html

Prevent defense in football may not work, but prevent lifestyle choices can really prevent a heart attack. Here are some key ideas to be aware of. http://news.health.com/2014/02/15/taking-care-of-your-heart/

Keep walking

My walking buddy today really encouraged me to get out move that body

Liam holds a PhD. in Senior Movingitus

How important it is for us to move to exercise now to go for a walk. I went with my grandson and son walking and it was great move outside. Up where my son lives though a lot of the sidewalks were clearer and they were able to go about for about a mile walk. My three-year-old grandson he can move and he gets a big kick out of just walking. It was hard to keep up but I did and we got back just in time for me to catch my breath then you know visit for a little bit more.

On the way back home Barb and I stopped off near starved rock to look for eagles. And the river our the only river was frozen by the dam which was released sometime not seen before. And there were two eagles out there in the tree but that's all we can see. Liam was pretty good to get me outside today and that was a good thing it was really rather nice too it's far as where goes home is it if felt like in the upper 20s. And we built a snowman and he did he could've stayed out there for quite a bit of time for bed for three-year-old.

We starts a new week so I'm going to take each day and try to do something different each day and move a little differently. I've been moving right now using my indoor bike. Tomorrow looks like another shovel snow day which is another way of exercising. And I hope to do some indoor walking. Hi dead an indoor exercise program the other day that you could download the app on your phone. I found it really challenging like I really wasn't ready to do some things. If you haven't done jumping jacks in about 40 years it's a it's a different experience to try it again. When I was doing The jumping jacks and I was laughing at myself because I wasn't quite as coordinated as I used to be with it.  It seemed like I was doing the opposite of what I was hoping to do. I've been working on some lunges which I think will really help in the idea of the ability to get off the floor. Using our bodies to strengthen our muscles I like that idea more and more.

Thinking about pain - ouch!

I read an article today from Health Day news that reported the role of pain in sleep problems as we age. "Up to 80 percent of people 65 and older experience some form of pain on a daily basis, according to the news release."  Phillip Yancy wrote in his insightful book, Where is God When it Hurts; Pleasure and pain use the same senses and often go together. Pain is part of life and we tend to do everything we can to not experience it. We may dull our senses with drugs or alcohol. We may turn up the volume on our music, retreat into a video game or TV. Pain warns us, heightens our senses, taste of bitter and sweet, sex involves areas sensitive to touch and pain, Ice and heat applied initially we react but feel better as our blood moves to heal and re leave inflammation.  But the pain that keeps us up is chronic pain and insomnia hurts our health. It is part of our life now  and we must learn to come to terms with it. 

Think about this a moment - “Modern culture saddens me because, while it seeks to turn down the volume on pain, it constantly turns up the volume from all other sources. We have ears: they are bombarded with decibels until the subtle tones are lost forever. Listen to music from any other century, twelfth, sixteenth, even nineteenth, and compare it to what most people listen to today. We have eyes: the world assaults them with neon lights and phosphorescent colors until a sunset or butterfly pales in comparison.” Yancey, Philip (2010-02-23). Where Is God When It Hurts? (pp. 48-49). Zondervan. Kindle Edition.

I have found in my own dealing with pain that it takes several strategies to get a grip on pain. Dealing with chronic pain needs to be evaluated by your doctor. If you have been dealing with pain for awhile it is time to check in with your doctor. Several strategies can be acted upon. For me, finding what is right for me in pain support. The use of physical therapy to relieve pain and some strategies to take my focus off the pain. Moving relieves pain, resistant training builds tendons and muscle to give better support for joint pain. Drinking plenty of water lubricates old joints. Exercise for me has reduced my need for over medicating my self with meds. 
The pain of depression can be healed, pain in relationship can bring joy. It is normal to have pain and to learn from it and to seek to over come it. The older I get I realize I may never be free of it, but I can use pain to remind me I am alive. And when joy, happiness, pleasure, feelings of worth come from helping others soak it in to drown the pain out. 
Learn for people who give and serve. Their hardships are endured with joy. They may with others be glad inn their struggles.  Learn form people who do everything to escape pain and take a closer look at how they are not really living. The latest gimmick, tech, treatment, isolates them and their pain continues. Keep walking

The Fat man rules - note #17

As a fan of NCIS, I have bought into the humor of the investigative team as they have become like family to each other. The show is relationship driven as each plays their role to bring bad people to justice. Apparently Gibbs has 69 rules that his team keeps track of and try to follow. The viewer is not aware of them all but about half of them are known. These rules are shared like absolutes but the team and Gibbs regularly breaks them. Which leads to the one rule they all keep; "all rules have exceptions."

Here are some of the rules of the fatman:

1. Walk every day (swim, run, bike)
2. Do some form of resistant training 2 to 3 times a week
3. The older you get move and stretch for flexibility each day
4. Do the fatman exercises to be able to get off the floor and bed - to keep living
5. Think of shores to be done as therapy
6. Do fun activities you enjoy that moves
7. Learn to eat moderately
8. Eat 5 is fine, 9 divine servings fruits of vegetables a day
9. Eat one to two meals with fish every week
10. Develop your health team
11. With diet and exercise do it well 80% of the time (forget about being perfect)
12. Drink 8 glasses of water
13. When retired keep it all moving, 
14. Enjoy your sleep, but move through out your day
15. Talk with at least one person each day
16. Keep learning
17. Remember "all rules have exeptions" Keep walking

Focus on indoor workouts

Well were heading for another record year of snow. I think we are shooting for 73 inches, we are at 59 inches right now. We got a good month or so to go also,  will see if we get closer to it. It's really pretty out and but I think all of us are ready to quit shoveling snow.

There's two things and I'm happy about while I'm inside here and you're surviving the cold weather. I am keeping warm, yesterday I walked an indoor walking 2 miles plus. I did a lot of short workouts  the day, taking breaks from my work. There are a lot of ways to take a break from being on a desk or will sit working reading throughout the day that you can use your body weight with. So while I was working at my desk I would take out about every half hour 40 minutes I would take a little time to go to the my microwave and broke a little coffee
I was waiting to be doing different exercises off the counter. One thing I'm no I'm trying is to do some lunges where I lower the back leg knee almost to the ground and that way I get a nice stretch in my legs and, I'm working out a little confidently so that I can have the strength to get up off the floor, doing 12 reps I can feel the burn particularly on my right side where my CP is` a little more. Isolating that side of my body in the longe Shows me that I need a little more work there. when I do a squat I think I compensate more with my strong leg.

The other thing that I like is today I did a routine with my indoor bike where I did interval training. I'm biking 30 minutes and I alternate between the faster paces and slower paces and while I'm doing it, I've got a little music going on so it's pretty good workout.

Liam reminds me that when it comes to snow there is a part of it the belongs to kids. Doesn't he have a great smile.

Indoor activity can be a real boost to our health. We have to find ways to move during the winter. Today I took advantage of the technology that I have. 

I actually used my microphone to record this entire blog. It works better than typing it on the keyboard on your phone. Keep walking

Why we play the game - life?

All the greats have been here

This week's superbowl was a blow out, the game settled early. One team and fans elated and another team and their fans deflated. In general most people were rooting for Payton Manning and still taken back by the rudeness of Richard Sherman. Winning doesn't change that, but it shows again defense wins championships. The game's lopsidedness was re-mindful of the Bears winning the game in 85. Different from rudeness the Bears were bold and daring as they sang the Superbowl shuffle. In the game they were stronger, faster, and at every point dominate. Seattle's game was the same. On the run of the Bears like Joe Namath's prediction in Superbowl 3, they had fun. I think Seattle did too. Richard Sherman's tantrum leaves a bad taste in my mouth, the smell of it is fowl, the touch is cold and harsh, the sound and sight of it speaks for itself.
The 85 bears long since retired remain heroes in Bear lore. They will always be the team bigger than two coaches and as big as the city with broad shoulders. Seattle will have their heroes too. Sherman as talented as they come, will get other opportunities. Will he learn and man up? If he does he too may be the better.
I came across a quote John Wooden was used to saying and his players never forgot it. "When the great scorer comes to Mark against your name, he writes not that you won or lost but how you played the game." Grantland Rice I think that is largely forgotten by today's athlete. Every athlete if he or she stays in the game long enough will face defeat. Y.A. Tittle ends his career bloodied and broken, Johnny U on the bench. Brett Fayre cold and old looking, Ali can't punch back, Michael Jordon can't get back to the championship. Defeat is part of the game. For a champion and competitor it will come back to how you played the game? No one is perfect and in our youth and strength we may have be unwise at times. If the game somehow didn't challenge us and made us better for the process; we may have forgotten why we play the game. Somewhere between the joy of it and the lessons learned is the balance. Keep walking.