Salute!

I have so many friends rocking the good health thing. They're eating right, they're exercising, they're having regular check-ups and getting their teeth cleaned. Kudos! I'm super proud, especially of those who really stick to it and change their lives for the better. They're happier and excited about how they feel and look, which is the way it's supposed to be.

However, if you're doing some crazy cleanse and are utterly miserable, or on a fad diet to impress someone other than yourself, please don't. Weight loss and good health are great aspirations to have, if done for the right reasons, but my personal belief is that happiness is a greater reward, and if you're miserable and a size 2, how much does that size 2 matter, really? I wish everyone was happy with the process of making healthier choices, and thankfully the people in my life are, but it's not for everyone, and that's okay. Changing just one thing, just one bad habit, can be very rewarding, not to mention motivating. Maybe once that one thing has become a new good habit, you'll be ready to attack the next bad habit, and so on. As long as it's making you happy, I'm gonna be happy for you, and proud of your accomplishments. Setting goals and achieving them is one of my favorite things, and maybe it is for you, too. Or maybe you just want to do you, not worry about these things, and live whatever life you're gonna get from it, happy as a clam. I respect that, too, and can totally relate.

I had to make some big changes myself this year. When I turned 45 last year, my metabolism took my birthday as an invitation to jump down about 80 notches, and suddenly, I wasn't able to continue with my IDGAF attitude about how I ate and how little I exercised. Not, that is, if I wanted to continue wearing the clothes I own. I am cheap and hate shopping, so when I put on 15 pounds in less than a year, I got motivated to not have to try on clothes, and started exercising. And exercising differently than I always had, which had been pretty much cardio-only, if anything. Now I do push-ups, crunches, squats, lunges, and other muscle-building things in addition to any cardio work, and since February, have lost the 15 pounds I gained. I did it for me, and I did it without really changing how I eat too much, which is where I have always drawn my happiness line. BUT THAT'S JUST ME.

I am not giving up certain things, I'm just not. Giving up those things would make me a sad sack, and I'm not the sad sack type. (I was recently told at work that I could probably want to stab someone in the eye and still be smiling, haha). You know what makes me happy? Pizzaaaaaaa. A really good beer. A decadent meal once in a while. A rib-eye. The occasional ice cream cone. Over all, I'm not a junk food enthusiast, but I don't deny myself the occasional craving. I just have to have a longer workout the next day. I guess if my doc told me my cholesterol was getting up there, or if I started having blood sugar control issues, I would try to make some changes. But it would be hard, because I like being happy, and allowing myself the TREAT YO SELF attitude every once in a while makes me happy.

A member of my family who I always looked up to said it best. "You're gonna be dead some day, you might as well live while the livin' is good, you hear what I'm telling you? Work hard and play hard now, 'cause gettin' old is for the birds." That ol' mutha lived to be 94 or something, and smoked, drank (A LOT), and ate TV dinners and ice cream almost exclusively. But he still got exercise on a daily basis, he never made excuses. His quality of life never declined until the very end, and he died peacefully in his sleep, with all of his mental faculties intact. I may not be that lucky, but I'll still take his philosophy to the grave. And be a smiling corpse.