Q: How do I stick with it? How do I do what I know I should, but just don't do? (Part I)

Q: How do I stick with doing what I know I should? I am pretty good about exercise, but I eat things I know I shouldn't. I just have to make myself do it, right?

A: It isn't about making yourself do anything, or it won't last. You have to find a way to do it without having to force yourself with tools like discipline and will power. Forcing yourself means you view it as a chore. If you view it as a chore, it won't last.  The key is finding your real motivation.

Discipline and will power mean you have to make yourself do it. I'm talking about finding something bigger that drives you so you aren't forcing yourself, but rather you want to do it and enjoy doing it. 'Enjoying' and 'wanting' may sound foreign in the context of eating right and exercising, but that's the point.

For me, it was a culmination of things that hit a couple of years ago when my wife got sick and I realized I had put on much of the weight I had lost when I was younger and basically felt miserable physically and about myself. Our young son was watching all of this. That isn't what a child should see as health role models. It literally flipped a switch in my head and drove me in a way I hadn't been driven before, not even when I lost 65 pounds when I was 17.

Now I do it because I genuinely love it and don't like not doing it. I don't have to push myself. I see myself in a totally different way, and fitness isn't something I have to do, but something I want to do and is intrinsically tied to who I am. Before, the best way to describe it was a chore.

No one wants to do chores.

The same goes for eating right, which is where many people would benefit from focusing. While there are probably a few key things you can change in your diet that will have dramatic effects, if you don't find that thing that makes you want to do it, you'll fall off the wagon when temptation arises.

What will motivate you to come at it differently? That's a question you can only answer for yourself. I can help you do that, but ultimately, it has to come from you to really shift things. Figure it out, and you will enlighten.your.body.

Clean 2014

I like to give myself major, overarching goals for each year (#4 from my 10 Principles is to set goals, both near and far - this covers the 'far' part based upon which you set your 'near' goals).  My first time doing it, my goals were around the makeup of my body (lowering my weight and body fat). The second time, I focused on what my body can do (running a certain number of races of a certain distance within the year).  I used both of those big goals to build a series of steps to get there.  For instance, my second year goal was to run five 5Ks in a year. I setup my training and found races to get me there. I actually didn't technically do it since I did one 5K, one 5.6K, one 10K and a half marathon which was good for 21.1K.  I more than did the distance (41.7 vs 25), but just didn't do it as I had said I would, which I'm more than ok with.  I also did a century ride as I picked up road cycling, and climbed the three tallest peaks in New England in three days.

So the question is what to do next year.  I could set another goal of completing some specific thing, like doing a marathon (on my mind, but I think it'll be 2015, though I have an ultra-marathon relay race and a half marathon planned already).  Rather than continuing the same type of goal as last year, I decided I'd challenge myself differently, and want to invite all of you to join me.

I challenge myself to live cleanly.

I already eat pretty healthily, but I want to take it up a notch, and take a stand publicly.  I've found that going public about things makes it much easier to see you to your goals.

So what do I mean by 'clean'. For me, specifically, it means no coffee, no soda, no processed foods.

I've found myself dependent on coffee, and completely lethargic and grumpy (to put it nicely) when I don't have it. That is not ok at all. I'd love to go the next step and say, "no caffeine," but I don't want to cut out green tea or other things that have caffeine as they have other benefits.  Coffee is definitely the main way I get it, and I don't get relief from feeling run over by a bus if I have other kinds of caffeine, so it's definitely most important to cut out coffee.  No dependence here!

I also find that I feel much worse (physically and emotionally) when I put junk into my body.  Junk doesn't mean treats, but processed foods that are more manufactured than made.  Foods that aren't so much food than a series of chemicals brought together and put in a container by machines. I don't eat much of it, but I do eat it at times, and I never feel good after.

The last thing is no soda.  I actually tried to do this in 2013, but started cutting myself slack on airplanes, and then when driving long distances and then when eating out at a restaurant.  I don't need it, and it isn't good for me, so enough.  No excuses, no exceptions.

As an aside, I would have added "no alcohol" but I've been doing that already.  I was never a big drinker, and decided it was pointless to have a couple of glasses of wine a year (what I had gotten down to), so I might as well just keep it out of my body. I wasn't having enough to get the benefits people talk about from wine, and doing so would concern me about the other things I'd be asking my body to deal with (sugar, toxins, etc).

I am actually going to start this now rather than waiting until 2014 to start. I don't need to put off the health and mental benefits for another couple of months.  Today is the fourth day I've been 'clean' by this definition, and I'm definitely coming out of the dark with the coffee dependency, which is great.

So, will you take up the "clean14" challenge?  What will your challenge be to yourself?  Will you start now, or wait until 1/1/2014? Take a long look at your life and how you fuel it, and find places where you can and will do better for your happiness, your health, and the example you set for your friends and family. Join the "clean14" challenge on Facebook and use the hashtag "#clean2014" on Twitter to share your challenge and how you're doing.  It's a great way to enlighten.your.body.

Why Do I Look Creepy? Mo' Awareness for Mo' Health

I look creepy.  Creepy and weird. And I look this way on purpose. Why? Because of Movember. Movember is a global initiative to raise funds and awareness for men's health issues.  We do so by growing a mustache over the course of November, and using that awkward, public display as a way to get people talking and interested in the issues.  Here's a quick bit of facts from the folks at Movember:

Movember is the global men's health charity encouraging men to grow and women to support the Mo (moustache) for the 30 days of November.  Through the power of the mustache awareness and funds are raised for men’s health to combat prostate and testicular cancer.

In the US, programs directed by the Movember Foundation are focused on awareness and education, living with and beyond cancer, and research to achieve our vision of an everlasting impact on the face of men's health.

Movember started in Melbourne, Australia in 2003 with two guys who wanted to bring back a past fashion trend - the moustache. That year, 30 guys participated but no money was raised. In 2004, amazed by the fun they had and the conversations that were sparked, four of the 30 original members came together to make their Mo-growing an annual, official charitable endeavor by adding an important cause – prostate cancer.  That year, 450 participants raised $43,000 for the Prostate Cancer Foundation of Australia.

Movember came to the US in 2007, with 2,127 participants raising over $740,000. This year, there will be official Movember campaigns in 21 countries.

Globally, 3 million participants have raised more than $446 million to date.

There are other, similar activities, like Septembeard and No Shave November, but having a beard doesn't get people to look at you and ask questions like having a mustache does.  Not by a long shot.

On a personal level, I found myself in many situations where the awkwardness of having a Mo’ couldn’t be avoided. Some people might shy away from growing for this reason, but I took it as a chance to address head on why I have a Mo’ and educate people about the cause. That’s the whole point. This isn’t a small item you wear, a 5K race you run, or an email you send asking for money for a cause you care about.  It’s something front and center you literally have in people’s faces every day. You can’t help but educate people on the prevalence of prostate Cancer and why they should get behind me, my awkward look and Movember as a whole.

I went to a business school to give a presentation mid-Movember last year. There was no getting around my Mo’, so I decided to put it into my presentation to add a bit of levity and the opportunity to educate the audience on Movember. Someone had suggested I shave before giving the presentation so I don’t look unprofessional, but what looks unprofessional about giving of yourself to a worthy cause? A simple explanation of what I’m doing moves ‘unprofessional’ into a feeling that I am doing something good, which no doubt improves people’s professional image of me. Add to that, more than half the guys who walked in the room for the presentation weren’t just guys but were fellow Mo’ Bros, and it was definitely for the better that I hadn’t shaved.

On a much more personal level, I have a young son, and he also got into it with me. We talked about it every day – he’d help me take my daily progress photo, and often jumped into the shot with me while puffing out his upper lip to try to get his Mo’ to show (he was three, so it wasn’t going too well).  He’s already committed to growing one this year, but I’m afraid he’ll be stuck wearing a fake for a few more years. He had literally been talking about it since the summer to make sure we were ready for it when Movember 1^st came around.  More importantly than his ability to grow facial hair is the fact that he is aware of the cause, engaged in it, and sees that being charitable matters and can be fun and engaging. I’m proud of how it’s taught him about giving back of himself.

Ultimately, that’s what Movember is about. Sure, we raise lots of money for a very good cause. Sure we have some fun with it. But the key is really how you can’t avoid talking about it with others, and that awareness is how we’ll ultimately make the most progress.

I'm proud to be the global team captain for my company, which now has nearly 100 members (vs just under 40 last year), and we've already raised over $10,000 (we should double or triple that by month-end). And it's a lot of fun with people really engaging in it.  If you're interested and able, think about supporting my fundraising/creepy-looking efforts here. I'll share my final picture via Twitter at month-end, so be sure to follow me to see how it turns out. What you see shaping up is more of a block of marble from which I will sculpt the final Mo'.  I have big plans for it.

Sometimes, you have to be willing to laugh at yourself and let your serious side down to enlighten.your.body. What are you willing to do?

Lessons from my 4th Race (1st Half Marathon)

Yesterday, I completed my first half marathon, the Ashland Half Marathon (there's also a 5K so it's official the Ashland Half Marathon & 5K). I say first because, by definition, it was, but also because I plan to do at least another (I'm already signed up for the Runner's World Heartbreak Hill Half in June - join our team by selecting "newbodies" if you're doing it!). It was a pretty emotional lead up as I've been battling a few different injuries, and had to switch my shoe plan at the very last minute with no real testing of the shoes I was to run in. For anyone who runs in races, you know that you don't mess with your race plan last minute, and you definitely don't use something you've never used before the race. I had run in these shoes before (Adidas Adipure Gazelle), and liked them, but have had issues with them lately, so I was nervous. They also don't really have much cushioning at all, so if I had to back off from toe striking, I was putting my knees at risk of injuries from heel striking without any shock absorption.

I'm getting ahead of myself...this is my fourth lessons from a race, so be sure to read the first (actually a series of 3 posts), second and third.

Race day was a beautiful New England Autumn day in historic Ashland, MA.  The Boston Marathon used to start in Ashland, and they built a part (called Marathon Park) complete with plaques to commemorate the fact. This was where the race started and ended.  It had rained at about 5 AM, so the ground was slightly wet (another thing my shoes aren't great at dealing with).  674 attempted the Half (577 finishers), and another 454 went for the 5K (408 finishers) - all grouped together at the starting line. I was lucky to get a spot about 4 people back from the start, which made for a much better beginning than in any other race I've been in where I've had to contend with lots of people in front of me that I needed to weave my way through (I don't like running in a crowd, so I try to break out and find a good slot in the first half mile).

In addition to lots of spectators and race officials, racing legend Bill Rodgers was there.  He won Boston and NYC four times each on his way to winning 22 marathons globally. Pretty cool to see him.

I should just say, having a quality race organizer and race management company makes ALL the difference.  Hats off to the entire organizing team for the Ashland Half and to Race Menu, who managed the registration, course, timing, logistics, etc. I've done a few races that have had professional race management companies on the job, and it's night and day. The courses are the right length, the mile markers are in the right places (almost always - RaceWire and CitySports, I'm looking at you!), and results are posted quickly and correctly. I've been in two events that lacked real race management, and they ranged from ok by a bit janky (results posted as a PDF image a few days later) to dangerous (courses wildly off to the tune of 40% extra distance). Race Menu did a great job, as did the race organizers. Kudos and thanks.

Getting to my experience in the race itself, I've never run this far before (I should have, but injuries prevented my training from getting that far), so I had a mix of not knowing how I'd do and the idea that every step after 8.99 miles (my previous longest run) was going to be a PR. That actually was a pretty cool motivator as the race went on because I felt accomplishment with each passing stride. It allowed me to relax a little on judging my pace or performance (though I was happy with both).  As for the unknown of whether I could do the distance, I wasn't really all that worried barring the idea of an injury (which could happen at any point in any run, so I wasn't more or less concerned here, per se) since I'm generally very confident in my cardio-respiratory abilities.

The course was pretty hilly, and I was concerned about this going into the race since I don't get much hill training in my running routes (my longer runs are commutes to work, which tend to be across pretty flat terrain). That concern definitely played in my mind more than it should have. I found myself thinking about upcoming hills too much, and in an unhelpful way with thoughts like, "I'm at mile X.X, I think the big hill starts soon!"  Or, "Wait, why am I climbing now? There isn't supposed to be a hill at this point!"

The main hills were at mile 5.5, 7 (the highest climb), 10.5 (short, but very steep) and 12, with undulating hills in between.  From 7 to 10.5, it was a gradual downhill, so I figured I'd be able to deal with those last two pretty well since I'd sort of be rebuilding for 3.5 miles. Turns out after 7, I realized that the hills were a good thing. I, being a forefoot striker, run them differently than most of the other runners. I also had done a little research on Chi running, and employed that approach to get up the hills to beautiful effect.  I shortened and quickened my stride (pretty dramatically, actually), which lowered my effort considerably. It also used my muscles (and hit my now thoroughly blistered feet) differently, so it was sort of a rest for the main tools I was using in the race. I at least kept my pace while others lagged and burned out.  More importantly, the successful way I was dealing with the hills gave me a ton of confidence to keep going while also not spending my energy.  I actually had more trouble on the downhills because of my blisters, and found myself wishing for them to end or to turn up again.  Crazy, I know, but I was longing for the hills.  This feeling got so strong that I literally didn't even know I had crested the last hill.

I'm the one under the yellow triangle

The course is downhill from that last peak, so you can build some good speed coming into the finish. I kicked as hard as I could, but I was definitely not able to give it my all due to my blisters, and how I had been compensating for them (which lead to a lot of pain in my left ankle and the middle of the outside edge of my right foot).  Still, I was in full sprint for the last 100 yards, and felt amazing.  I came through the finish, stopped my watch, and realized what I had done.  My goal was to break 1:50. With my injuries, I said to myself that the only thing I really wanted was a sub-2:00 finish, and pushing harder might lead to a DNF.  The slowest pace I could run would be a 9'06" to still break 2 hours.  I had been watching my pace occasionally, and was running sub 8-minute miles for the first half of the race.  As the blisters got worse, I trended back toward 8'10".

If you're good with math, you know where this is going. If not, then know that I beat both goals. I finished in 1:46:24 by the chip time, and 1:46:28 by the gun (gotta love a spot near the front of the starting line - see the yellow triangle in the shot of the start above). I placed 113th.  I had a dream time of 1:45 before I got injured, and I'm quite sure I would have nailed that if I was totally fine and in the right shoes. Rather than feeling like I could have done better and missed my real goal, I look at that as knowing that I did what I had dreamt of doing.

As I've said many times over, I got a great lesson in the power of the mind here. The first three or four miles were mentally tough as the unknowns were out there (hills, distance, injuries).  As my body got into a groove, and I started to see how I could tackle the hills so well, time and distance stopped mattering so much.  As I broke through to PR territory for longest run ever, I was totally unaware of how long I had been running, and totally unphased by how much more distance I still had to cover.

That felt amazing.

So I ran for nearly two hours, and it felt indistinguishable from running for a tenth of that time.

Where do I go next?  I have a Ragnar Ultramarathon Relay in May, and a half in June. I'm very seriously debating doing the Chicago Marathon in October since I'll be well on my way with training for Ragnar and the half.  Whether I do it or not, the lessons I unlocked for myself, and the very deep way I unlocked them have really helped me get to a new level of enlightening.my.body. How will you unlock your potential and enlighten.your.body?

Preflections on a milestone I'm heading toward

In less than 48 hours from now, I will have finished my first half marathon. I say 'less than 48' because that means I will have done so in under 2 hours, which has been my backup goal time.  My original goal was sub-1:45, but I've been plagued by various tendonitis issues and a deep pain in my left femoral head.  While most of it has resolved, I'm left with one remaining injury and an insufficient amount of training.  The question is whether it's truly insufficient in the grand scheme of things, or just relative to what you're supposed to do for such a race.  I've not yet run longer than 9 miles in one go, which is really the only piece of it that concerns me beyond whether any injury flairs up enough for me not to even be able to walk to the finish (I could walk the course and still get in before the cutoff, but not likely if my remaining injury is really bad).

Stepping back from the cloud of injury and what it has meant for my training, I'm able to look at what I'm about to do, and feel a growing sense of pride.  I call this post a 'preflection' because it's like I'm reflecting on what I'm about to do rather than what I've just done. I'm using this as a chance to center my mind on the goal, on the idea that any time will be a PR since I've not yet covered this distance, and even if I have, I've never done it in an official race.

Preflecting allows me to see that, and also to ignore the deviation I've had to take from the prescribed training path, or the notion that you have to at least have run X miles before doing a half.  I know that my cardio-respiratory abilities are sufficient to get through the race.  I know that my muscular endurance is sufficient.  The only true variable is my mindset, and I know that is something that can be controlled.  I've seen it first hand, whether climbing multiple mountains back to back despite a major fear of heights (and horrible weather), or going from doing a 100K bike ride to it being a surprise 183K and feeling perfectly fine the next day (save for numbness from sitting on a bike saddle for 6 hours).

I have it in me. Nothing else matters, nor should I let anything else matter.  I will be PRing. I will have a finisher's medal. And, most importantly, I will feel amazing.  I will enlighten.my.body. Now it's up to you to enlighten.your.body.

Review: ENERGYbits

UPDATE: I am not supporting this product due to a decision they've made on their marketing during the Olympics. I feel it's offensive and demeaning to women. The product works, but I feel you should support good products from good companies. I'd pass on these.

the buildup
ENERGYbits are a spirulina pill that you down to get a load of protein (64% protein) and nutrients with basically nothing else to help power you for exercise and contribute to your health.  I've had my eye on them for a while, and have been really curious to try them as I myself have added spirulina to my diet for its various health benefits.  I was lucky enough to be offered a free trial for the purpose of this review.

what it is & how it works
Spirulina is an algae that is a 'super food'.  Not to over-use an over-used buzz word, but spirulina is a nutrient-rich plant that grows naturally in the ocean but can be cultivated hydroponically and organically, which is how ENERGYbits grows theirs. It is loaded - loaded - with various nutrients and vitamins. It also happens to be high in protein for what it is. Word in the healthy eating scene is that the protein in it is more bio-available (available for your body to absorb and use) than protein from many other sources (nuts, meat, soy, etc).

It's highly absorbable and rich in nutrients your body thrives on. What it isn't is tasty. Spirulina has a very 'green' flavor, as the marketing material ENERGYbits sends out says.

The product comes as little tablets, and they recommend taking 30 of them 10-15 minutes before your workout. I made the mistake of taking a bite at one point, and was left with the very 'green' taste for a couple of hours (not the few minutes that the marketing material mentions - swish all you want, them suckers stick to your molars like cement...very gross tasting cement).

A key thing that the team at ENERGYbits tried to stress to me is about the quality of their product. Spirulina quality varies greatly by how it's made (or harvested), when it's dried, etc. Ocean-harvested sounds natural (like free-range or grass-fed livestock), but actually it can be less ideal since the spirulina is exposed to pollutants in our oceans from trash or the Fukushima nuclear fall out (spirulina is native to Pacific waters). ENERGYbits grows their product organically and hydroponically, and dries it when they're going to make the pills, so it stays fresh longer. They also recommend refrigerating the tabs (not necessary, but better if you can), and trying to consume them within 3-5 days of pulling them from the fridge.  You get a bag of them, plus a little tin that you can put a serving into to take with you so the main stash can stay in the fridge.

They have four varieties, spanning energy, recovery, vitality (really immunity strength) and weight loss benefits.  I have the original ENERGYbits that are 100% spirulina. Some of their products add to or replace the spirulina with chlorella (another algae).

my impressions
I definitely didn't like taking them (I did them 5 at a time since I figured trying to swallow 30 at once would be problematic), but that was over within a minute. What I found on my run (6 miles in just over 50 minutes with a pre-existing injury) was that I wasn't lacking for energy, nor was my energy ever spiky. I have used Gu, Recovery Beans and Honey Stinger Gummies, and definitely notice how the energy 'comes on', but then fades.  I wouldn't usually need to take something for a 6 miler, but I wanted to test the product, and I have been dragging lately.

For reference, my injury is thought to be tendonitis in my left big toe, but I'm finding my joint is full of blood when I take my shoe off (inside - my joint is blue - not outside with blood staining anything), and my skin is all leathery.  I think my shoe is rubbing on the joint way too much, and its gotten to a point where it's really injuring me. It feels like a stress fracture, but it isn't (I've had x-rays and been checked).  Anyway, enough about that, but you can imagine how that might be impacting my performance.

Setting aside the impact of my injury, I definitely had the energy I needed to keep up. I had some negative split action as I warmed up, rather than the flat splits I usually do with a morning run like this where I don't use any energy.

Aside from the energy delivery, I was also really curious about how my stomach would do. I have friends who are triathletes who talk about the issues you face when you have a stomach full of water and Gu after going for hours. With something like Gu, you need to keep sucking the stuff down every couple of miles (if you follow their advice), and my own use has backed that up since the sugar-based energy runs out pretty quickly. Since I didn't find that with ENERGYbits, those 30 tabs were enough, and then my stomach wasn't stuck processing all kinds of sugars, and thus my blood supply didn't have to be directed toward digestion.

So I'd say my stomach was ok from this.  That said...

my depressions
I often end my runs and get a stomach ache. It generally passes after an hour or so. The day I did this run with ENERGYbits, I was a bit nauseous all day. That could have nothing to do with the product as my allergies were kicking up and I felt kind of miserable in general. I'd have to test them again to know if it was the bits or not. I'm going to give them the benefit of the doubt here, and assume it isn't them, so maybe rather than calling this section "my depressions" I'd call it "my potential concerns".  I have a standard review format I'm trying to stick with, though, so here we are with depressions.

UPDATE: I used them again yesterday before some speed work, and was totally fine. I'd say I'm sure that the energy bits had nothing to do with how I felt after my first use. Unfortunately, they couldn't make running on the treadmill non-soul-crushingly-boring, but they did help me keep my energy levels consistently where they needed to be.  I cranked a quick run slightly quicker than I usually do - and that's with my foot injury, so good stuff.  I was aiming for two 7-minute miles, but did 2.1 miles at 6'42". I tend to run in the low-to-mid-8s, so this is a quick pace for me.

to buy or not to buy?
So, what's the verdict. Pending confirming whether they caused my gastric issues (which I'm doubtful of), I'd say I'm very positive on them.  I'd be curious about a longer run or something like a century ride where you could be out there for 6+ hours (depending on speed and course).  You may need to re-up.  But I really did like how even the energy was. It was nice not to think about it or crave it.

That's really what fueling strategy is about. Find the fuel that works for you to keep you going without feeling weird or spiky, and let the exercise enlighten.your.body.

As you saw in my update at the top, while I'm good with spirulina, I can't recommend ENERGYbits to people because of some really demeaning marketing they're doing. Call me prude, but it's not about that, the slogan they're using is just offensive to women and reminds me of college days with guys trying to get girls drunk to have their way. What on Earth does this have to do with a natural energy product? Nothing.

Another Year Older, Still The Healthiest I've Ever Been

On the eve of another birthday, it's a great time to reflect on my life and where I am with the preservation of it - that is, my health.  I made a complete transformation of my life in the summer of 2011, and have been able to say at each birthday since then that I'm in the best health of my life.  This is the third time in a row I can do that, and that is something I'm feeling incredibly proud and empowered by.

I'm healthier than I've ever been in terms of my body composition, cardio-respiratory ability, muscular performance, cholesterol, etc.

Each year that I've been able to say this, I've had a voice inside saying something to the effect of, "Enjoy it while it lasts, because you will crest and regress sometime in the near future." That voice assumes that, as I age, I won't be able to stay as healthy. Joints will break down, skin, arteries and muscle will lose their elasticity, and my heart and lungs will naturally reduce their capacity as the tissue ages and tires. It's what aging is all about.

That may be true, but that doesn't mean it is going to be the case anytime soon. More importantly, it doesn't mean I need to act like it will be the case anytime soon.

To me, it's the mindset that drives being healthy. If I give in to the notion that I'm too old to be healthier than I've ever been, I will start to make choices - consciously or subconsciously - that make that presumption a reality. I may cut myself some slack in a workout. I may not try as hard with my food choices because, hey, what's the point since I'm old and can't change that?

No. That's not how I plan to age. I've worked too hard and enjoyed the process and fruits of my labor too much to write my abilities off due to my need to select an older age bracket when filling out surveys. Yes, I am moving into another standard marketing demographic as of 2am tonight. Unfortunately, I am not moving into another age bracket for running, which is a shame since I have my first half marathon in about a week, am dealing with several tendonitis injuries, and could really use a lower bar to place against! (I'm kidding around - my wife doesn't think anyone will get that I'm joking, so I best be clear - I'm not really worried about where I place.)

I was talking with a friend/fellow-health-nut about how I've gotten into all these activities after my supposed physical prime, and she was saying that many of the top triathletes are in their late 30s. Sure enough, I know a couple, and their age averages out to 40. They're also in better shape than pretty much anyone I know. They chose to keep progressing on the path of health, with each year serving not to work against their health but to be another year they get to work on their health and build it to the next level.

I will age with the idea that I'm an athlete. I'm a healthy person making healthy choices in every aspect of my life.  Do you know what will come of that approach? It will be my reality because the approach will set the actions that deliver on being healthier than I've ever been.

For me, I'm framing myself as healthy and being on a quest of continued health. What about you? How do you look at your age, your aging, and your health? Are you giving into the little voice telling you it's not in your power to become healthier as you age, or are you going to enlighten.your.body?