Howdy Ed!
Quoted message said:Lars, I don't understand why you and I don't get along better as I agree with EVERYTHING you have
said in your post.
Ed, it's like this really. I don't like or dislike you. I don't KNOW you. I can't really form a
decent and balanced opinion of someone based on some scraps of writ I see online. However, I will
amend that to say that you and I visit here for different reasons. You come to combat others, lots
of the time. I ignore most of that stuff and come here for information and sharing that is directly
related to recumbenting. Only that, nothing else. There's the difference. It has nothing to do with
liking or disliking someone! I'm about as easy a guy to get along with as you'll ever want to meet,
for I've been told that the way I write is a decent reflection of who I am (to contradict what I
wrote above!). It is hard to get my ire up. I'd be willing to bet that the ones who write in rude
and/or sarcastic ways on here with a bent to sniping at others, would NOT be that way in person.
Everyone is a toughie behind their monitor; real life is a vastly different thing.
Quoted message said:About the headaches, I had those too for years and then I finally got on high blood pressure
medication and that was the end of my headaches. So you might want to look into that if you are
still having headaches. Fitness is wonderful of course, but it is not the cure for everything that
goes wrong with our bodies as we age. There are plenty of slender people who have terrible
problems with high blood pressure
- and high cholesterol too.
This is true. In my situation, my headaches were directly related to high blood pressure and being
overweight. My cholesterol was also through the roof. Both are now in normal ranges. I've not had a
single headache since reaching my target weight. I've also not been sick at all during this time.
Also cool is the fact that I was able to kick a maintenance med to the curb, one that I had been
taking for years. I was taking a med for GERD (acid reflux) and about halfway through getting into
shape, I quit taking it just to see how long I could go without it. That was a year ago and I've not
had a single incident of acid reflux. Dietary changes were MAJOR in this, I think. (Quitting sodas,
drinking water, no fried foods, etc.)
Quoted message said:About the exercise aspect, yes, we men will do it if it is fun. If it is not fun, we won't do it.
I am eternally grateful that I discovered cycling as I have always regarded it as just a fun thing
to do. The fitness followed the fun.
I agree with this NOW. Back when I started getting into shape, I couldn't believe that biking was
the same thing that I had enjoyed when I was a teen. I was SO out of shape that a mile on the bike
left me drenched. It was NOT fun those first couple of months while I slowly built up endurance.
Couple that with the fact that I lost over half my weight on an upright mountain bike (wearing out
two of them in the process - another little reason why Wally World or Target bikes aren't really in
for the long haul - visit your local bike shop and get a quality bike) and I was sore, really sore.
But, when the weight started coming off and I actually started looking like I was getting into
shape, things were getting easier. It was very tempting to step everything up a notch, especially
after I bought my recumbent. But, I stayed the course and lost the weight, got in shape, and did it
with no injuries.
Quoted message said:I have noticed over the years that women will do exercise even if it isn't any fun for them
because they take some pride in their appearance. We men can get quite sloppy about our appearance
but I think most of us do want to stay healthy for as long as we can. Anything that contributes to
that is a positive.
In my situation, I was motivated by the simple comment of a 9 yr old child, who honestly could not
understand why a man who says he loves his family so much, would not reserve some love for himself
so that he could have more measure of control over his daily interactions with the family he loves
so much... Rachel's plea to me rocked me. That was the one catalyst that stayed with me throughout
getting back into shape. My quest had ripple effects within my family and within a couple of months,
we all had changed our diets and were eating better, exercising together, and becoming more healthy
together. Our interactions have been mor healthy, our activities are more healthy, and we all just
FEEL so much better.
Ed, this may sound silly, but it really is true: Once you've felt how it feels to be healthy (or as
healthy as you can get yourself to be), you become greedy for it. You want that feeling all the
time. You find ways to maintain it. Recumbent biking is a big factor in our not just being healthy
individuals, but being a healthy FAMILY.
From my perspective as a husband and father, it just doesn't get any cooler than that!
--
"Sea" ya!
--Lars S. Mulford
"You can find evil anywhere you look.
The question is, why are you looking?"
