I have debated on doing this for some time now. As the weeks and months, and now over a year have past, back since I turned 50 years old. Since the beginning of the recent New Year I have pondered, I have thought about writing this post. All this time I thought about doing this, and today I decided it would be the day!

As we grow older certain things happen to our metabolism, and thus our bodies. You know what I am talking about, we tend to be a bit more slow to recuperate from a night out with the boys (or girls). We tend to not feel like doing anything athletic as often. We tend to just want to sit versus stand. Our metabolism slows down, and with that our burn rate of calories I guess does too!

Our lifestyle changes too, from nights out having drinks and dancing, we start having dinners and parties. Our friends are good cooks, or they know how to hire them, so we have all that great food to taste and enjoy. We become better cooks too, so we tend to dine at home more, and snack just a bit more too! Or maybe the opposite, we eat out more, and don’t watch our calorie intake.

First the ramifications are not even noticeable, that is until we start seeing our jeans getting to where they fit less and less, then we do what other friends are doing, we just jump up a size or two. We may notice it in the mirror, but since we aren’t going out as much, we don’t mind as much. No need to worry about that too snug T-shirt if no one will see it. “I’ll worry about it next week” we tell ourselves.

Before we know it, the pounds have been added and it usually takes a doctor to tell us what we already know too well! We have taken on too much weight and its impacting our health and well-being. He or she points it out, we look at them in horror, then we tell them and ourselves we are going to do something about it, RIGHT AWAY!

We join our gyms, our fitness clubs, maybe some athletic groups, we are doing something about it…well except, we don’t. It’s hard to lead a healthier lifestyle even with all those things, that is if you don’t use them! You don’t head to the gym, or hit the club, or do any events with your hiking or biking group. The pounds stay on our frames, and maybe we even add a few more.

Well, today is my day of proclamation as it relates to my health and well-being. The one thing in my own life that ONLY I can do something about. This is something that I, as a gay man in his early 50′s can do on his own, and I don’t need someone’s approval or blessing. Something so important to my quality of life, that its not a should do, but instead a MUST do!

Having a gym membership for nearly a year now, and having a great area to walk, I often find excuses, that ends TODAY! I even have a trainer, who I rarely see because of this made up reason and that one.

Despite knowing that sweets in quantity in my own home mean often having just one more, well that ends today. Knowing that salty things like microwave popcorn, sure it’s in a single serve bag, but I have two instead of one, that stops now! Knowing that Trader Joe’s trail mix, sure sounds healthy, still finds me sitting on the sofa eating over half the bag or 4-5 servings. I now admit that I can’t bring it into my home, period, starting yesterday when I finished the last of it!

Yet, despite all these things that I already knew and know, I have still struggled, so today is the day. Maybe today is your day too? I had an idea, that perhaps if I post it on my website and make my statement of intent I guess you could call it, that this will push me to try harder than I have ever tried anything in my life. Perhaps it will be the straw that broke the camel’s back once and for all, and allow me to succeed, rather than fail.

Yes, putting it online is risky, and you may already be laughing at this post, but I’m not doing it for you, but rather for me. I’m 51, not 61, 71 or even older, and quite honestly if I were, that should not matter either. Our health is the only thing in life that we truly have control, so why let it hold us back in life. Why let our bad choices of the past dictate our future?

Think about it, those bad food and health choices can cause us sadness, if we aren’t as active as we once were. They can cause the ability to do things with others to lapse. They can cause health problems that could eventually kill us! Those choices or lack of, can be the root of so many issues we have in our lives, and we don’t even know it yet! Why would I want that, and why would you not want to do something about it too?!

So, there you go, my declaration. Who else is with me?!