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Hi there Hairy People!
Just a few brief comments re. my 2 weeks' stay at the health spa / weight loss place (AKA "Fat Farm") that I went to with my sister-in-law: in a nutshell, I totally LOVED it!!!
The full name of the place is called, "Hilton Head Health Institute", located on Hilton Head Island in South Carolina (about an hour North of Savannah, Georgia) -- an amazing place, and an incredible experience, one I'd highly recommend to anybody interested in losing some weight and learning more about returning to better eating and physical fitness habits.
Although the first question that most people have asked me after I returned home was, "How much weight did you lose?", is an understandable question, the more important thing I walked away with from being there is that I feel inspired and almost had like a little "born again" type of experience -- only not in any kind of religious cult way, but rather, in a return to my more youthful ideals of wanting better health and fitness for myself. Quite frankly, I had gotten quite lazy and feeling very old as of recently. Although I had several "hard knocks" in life that seemed justifiably difficult on me to get me back into better health and fitness habits over the years, I was indulging in too much self-justification for my own good. Being at Hilton Head Health gave me a little "jump start" back in the right direction, as well as made me feel like I got a slice of my youthful strength and agility back, rather than me just continuing to slowly slide more & more downhill.
Re. the cost, it's a rather expensive place to go to; but thanks to the generosity of my sister-in-law and brother, it was a gift from them that I will always be grateful for -- and according to several of the other folks that I met while there, it's definitely probably the best of its kind, and the most focussed on helping people lose weight at their own pace, yet with a ton of great guidance and useful information (as well as awesome exercise classes & equipment!)...
Anyway, now for the test of returning to "real life" and all of its yummy naughty food temptations, as well as lazy American "couch potato" life-style (LOL).... I'll keep you posted!
- Ken in San Francisco
PS - Just FYI: yes, I was the only longhair there; but hey, that actually made it fun for me -- and I can't tell you how many of the men came up to me and said, "I used to have a ponytail like yours, and to this day I still miss it!"
Congratulations Ken;
Having been on that roller coaster myself for many years, I can understand what a significant achievement this is for you.
Looking forward to seeing your next update.
Take Care Skinny !!
Walter
LOL, my brother is calling me "skinny Santa" (even though I'm not YET skinny in any way, shape, or form - LOL); but hey, I can always hope for the best, right? (LOL)
Thanks for the nice private e-mail as well, Walter -- it's so great to have you back here!!!
As I said earlier in my e-mail reply to you, I have to take off now to go back to work; so will be away from the board here for a good 5 days or more. But I much appreciate your kind words of encouragement -- as well as hope others will understand when I can't reply to anybody until after I get back home again and on my computer, later.
Later, 'gator! (and just for your information, I saw lots of alligators while I was in South Carolina - LOL!!),
Ken
Hey Ken, welcome home!Glad you made it back safely as well as more educated to better take care of yourself.It was nice that I was able to chat with you while you were still out east as it sounded then like you were enjoying the experience.You are correct suggesting they gave you the tools and now you must use them.I hope you are successful as I can't say enough positive about staying in shape which helps you to remain healthy longer.I'll look forward to your updates on this even though they won't be hair related!LOL.Now with Christmas at our doorsteps you will be given the ultimate test to behave yourself;)Hope you have a great holiday my friend.Cheers
Mark
Good to see you back, Ken. I thoroughly enjoy reading your posts and love the sense of humour that crops up in so many of them.
Damon
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Ken, I'm delighted to hear you had a good experience. If you want to leverage that into a new, more youthful life, I can heartily recommend the book "Younger Next Year: Live Strong, Fit, and Sexy - Until You're 80 and Beyond", see link below.
I had a bit more jarring of an experience that realigned my life. Six years ago a good friend, only 54, died of a heart attack in his sleep. We both thought we were fit and healthy, and both were mistaken. That, along with a family history of heart attack at age 55, started me on a new path.
By accident, I stumbled into the three main principles of the book--exercise, eat right, become more socially involved--through taking up cycling. It got me exercise, you need to eat right to fuel yourself for longer rides, and I joined one of the local cycling clubs. Within a year I was feeling better than I had in decades.
Six years later, as I turn the page to that familial age 55 barrier, all my numbers fall into the "ideal" range including Body Mass Index.
More importantly, is that I feel great. There are two components to that, physically and mentally. Both are off the chart from that baseline six years ago.
When I stumbled upon the book, it all made sense. I was relieved to find that arresting the long, slow, steady decline as I had, wasn't some sort of anomaly or self-delusion, it actually has basis in science and works for everyone. What a deal.
I now have more of the proverbial P&V than people half my age. I expect to maintain my health and fitness right up until I kick the bucket. And where I never expected to make it past 50, I'm now figuring 85-90 is doable, and quite likely to be more enjoyable than my first 50.
By whatever method you choose--it doesn't have to be cycling--I strongly encourage you to leverage the experience you had at the fat farm, and use it to build a new, better, second half.
Just to give you an idea of how far you can go and how fast you can change, my first bike ride was 2/3rds of a mile, and I had to stop and rest halfway. Yeah, I was that out-of-shape. Twenty-eight months later I rode my bike to the highest paved road in North America. (Pic below, sorry there's not much of my hair in it.)
That's not bad at all for a lifelong lowlander and flatlander who smoked for 35 years, having quit less than two years before that pic was taken.
Wow! Wise words - and what an inspiration! Thanks, Bruce.
Damon
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Many thanks for all of the kind and helpful replies, guys! I'm away from this board for 4-5 days at a time, staying overnight in a little sleepover room where I work, and don't own a laptop computer -- so my apologies for being too late to reply individually to your comments. In any case, however, thanks for all the great feedback, I much appreciate it!
Hopefully I'll take some new update pics to share here soon, sometime in the new year. In the meantime... "Onward & Downward!"
- Ken