Common diet mistakes: Getting healthy "Not-to-do's"

When I was younger, I thought turning 40 would be painful, it wasn’t.  I really thought 50 was going to be traumatic.  It also wasn’t.  On my  next birthday, I will be 60 and it is coming up pretty quickly.  I find it rather depressing, actually, bordering on traumatic.   Not because I worry “do I look 60?”  More because of the realization that if I am lucky, I might live to be 90 or even 100.  At best, if I am in really great physical shape, I will have another 10-20 years where I can downhill ski, bike, wind surf, hike the Appalacian Trail, climb down into the Grand Canyon, travel to exotic places and play kickball with the grandchildren I hope to have someday.  So the prospect of turning 60, hasn’t really been much fun.  Meanwhile, fortunately, I am able to do whatever I want right now

Being born into my birth family’s gene pool wasn’t necessarily a plus.  While both my parents lived well into their late 80s and always looked 10 years younger than they actually were, my mother was born physically and spiritually “old.”   I on the other hand was born very coordinated with a love of the outdoors and used to play lots of sports.  I did inherit some of their good genes.  I am fortunate to have good skin, very few wrinkles and hardly any sagging.  Well, maybe a couple of crepes under my chin.  I can deal with that.

On the other side of the genes equation, everyone in my family has high cholesterol and high blood pressure.  I know staying active can bring down my blood pressure, but, I still need medication.  I have always watched my salt intake.  I study every label on the grocer’s shelf for sodium content.  I also watch my cholesterol.  I went from a five-day-a-week red meat eater, to eating mostly fish and poultry, cut down on the cheese, abandoned the bacon and guess what?….It didn’t really make much of a difference.

So last October 1st, 2009, I decided to try being a “vegan.”  Mind you, I was always one of those people that kind of shunned and even made fun of people who “deprived” themselves of really tasty food.  How could I give up my favorite food, cheese?  Or a medium rare filet mignon?  Unimaginable!!  You know what they say, “don’t knock it till you’ve tried it.?  Well try it I did,  COLD TURKEY, I BECAME A VEGAN. Next time, I’ll share the journey from steak to tofu and beyond.