Real Age

A variety of asuntos, er, issues are swirling around right now to put health on the forefront. On the positive end, the good wife found an Oprah repeat the other evening and had me watch it too. While neither of us are Oprah fans, really, this program was interesting as a part of Best Life Week. In a nutshell, the big O realized that she had gained 40lbs and had lost control of her physical self again, and that was predicated on losing control of her psychological self. I can certainly relate to that, a physcial and psychological disconnect, and a constant weight battle since age ??? An even spookier Oprah connection is that she was sleeping poorly when doctors found that she had developed sleep apnea and in turn had developed Afib. Sound familiar (for those regular readers of texluavullcycling)??

Of course, this also corresponds with the usual New Year's Resolution frame-of-mind. All I know is that the one time in my adulthood that I lost significant weight was at age 30 when I got a cholestrerol check and it was way unacceptable for a 30 year-old. I hit the ground running, scared shitless, and lost 40lbs, or maybe a bit less. While a little less, it was a net more b/c I lifted weights for 6 months or more and was way trimmed down. Now I just feel fat and physcially out of control, and this on top of riding more than 3000 miles last year.

One aspect of this search, consideration, study, thought, pause... was that the good wife sent a link to a site called Real Age. I was surprised when I took the test that I have a real age 37.6, a little below my 39 year old self. I think I get some bonuses for exercise, not smoking, not living too much of a hedonist lifestyle, not having life stresses like unemployment or serious illness. So I sit here reasonably pleased with this result but physically I feel like garbage.

The last week has just not been good although I'm functional enough to still have commuted 2 times this week. I have: constipation, a beginning snotty nose, a bizarre sleep cycle where I'm waking up before 5.00a.m. without wanting to, a strange phenomenon in the "lower half", OK, the unit which could be the onset of an infection like I had some years ago when I bought the Rans. I just don't feel well and want to feel better. One way I'll try to accomplish that is riding again tomorrow. Another is that I'm going to try and get off the sweets and booze. They both present significant empty calories. I read a few articles at work today on the nutritional theories of some guy that I don't remember now. The long/short of it is....The long/short of it is that nobody agrees on how or what to eat now, and for people with life-long weight issues, there just are no easy answers. Not for me nor for Oprah nor for anybody else.

I sit here both pleased that I'm in one piece and have the health to go out and ride 40 miles tomorrow if needed. I sit her glum that I got weird shit wrong with me and no easy answers.

My, Life is vexing, isn't it?