Holy crap! I am an octogenarian! I can’t believe it. I don’t feel that old. In fact, having been retired for 20 years now, I can honestly say, I feel better and am healthier now than when I was working and in my ’50’s. Lucky me.
This is from my birthday blog post last year:
One of the main reasons I feel like I have things so together is this blog. I started writing it in March of 2010 with a partner who has since left for other pursuits. From the beginning, I discovered a focus. At first it was simply trying to keep my weight down. I learned portion control and serving size. This Italian guy was surprised to learn that a “serving” of pasta was not a 10 inch plate heaped with spaghetti noodles smothered in tomato sauce. No, a 200 calorie serving of pasta is about the size of a baseball. Incredibly, that was a revelation to me. I put the information to use. I began to reduce my portions accordingly. I am not going to recount all the lessons I learned in the past nearly nine years, but if you want to get control of your weight, check out my Page – How to Lose Weight – and Keep it Off.
Regular readers know that the blog now covers a far broader scope than just losing weight. I am convinced that losing weight is a simple problem easily dealt with once you put your mind to it. I have expanded the blog’s purview to include the understanding that healthy eating is healthy living and healthy aging. If you do it right, you can live a long, healthy and happy life with your mental faculties intact the whole way. My family has Alzheimer’s and dementia on both my mother’s and father’s side, so my brain continuing to work is a primary focus. I am proud to say that I have one of the few blogs that ties exercise to a healthy brain. Check out my Page – Important Facts About Your Brain – and Exercise to learn more.
The following documents my present health as of October 2019: My resting heart rate is under 50 beats per minute. My cholesterol level is 199. The HDL (Good cholesterol) is 77; LDL (Bad cholesterol) 111. I stand 5 feet 9-1/4 inches tall (vs 5 feet 11 inches 10 years ago.I weigh around 155 pounds and have a 32 inch waist. This is pretty much the same as when I was a senior in high school in 1957. I don’t take any drugs, prescribed or not. I do take some plant based pills to relieve the arthritis pain in my hands.
From last year’s post: I wanted to share this information with you because so many people I run into who are in their late 50’s and 60’s appear to be giving up on their health and conditioning. They act like it’s over. The phrase ‘I’m gettin’ old’ bubbles out of their mouths frequently. A lot of the posts I write for this blog are meant to demonstrate that by focusing on your eating and making sure you get adequate exercise you can continue to enjoy yourself for many years.
My ‘go to’ exercise is riding my bike. I average over 100 miles a week year ’round here in Chicago. Last year it totaled just under 6000 miles. Find some kind of movement that you enjoy, dancing, walking, etc., and do it regularly and you will be on your way to good health, too.
Tony
Happy birthday Tony! You, sir, are an inspiration!
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Thanks, Garry. One day at a time.
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Happy Birthday Tony
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Happy Birthday, Tony. Thanks for your writings!
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Thanks, Paul! Much appreciated!
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Sincerely, Tony, happy birthday. Here’s to many more.
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Thanks, Jim. Here’s hoping!
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Happy Birthday, Tony. You are an inspiration to this 76-year-old guy. Would you send me your link to your other blog? I like to read what you have to say. Thanks and enjoy your special day. Richard
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Thanks very much. I am happy that you are able to benefit from my stuff. That’s the whole reason for the blog. I want to share what I have learned.
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Tony, My e-mail address is rich@richard-armstrong.com. Thanks.
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Thanks, Rich. I will send you some invites. I have some items on MeWe that you might have heard of.
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Happy Birthday🎂
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Thanks for the kind wishes – and the cake with candles.😇
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Happy Birthday Tony. Have a wonderful day!!
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Thanks, Gail! Dining at the Horseshoe casino steak house tonight.
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Sounds great Tony! Hope you had a delicious birthday dinner!!
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You are amazing! An awesome inspiration! Happy Birthday Tony! I am 55 and I hope when I turn 79 I can be even close to as heathy as you. I will “never give up”! 🙂 Have a wonderful day!
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Thanks, Lisa. You are on the right track. Honestly, when I was 55 I was not nearly in the good condition I am now. Keep up the good work!
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Happy birthday Tony, have a healthy year again !!
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A very happy belated birthday, Tony. Thank-you for another year of your inspirational blog. I am a 66 year old woman. I ride a bike less often than I do yoga, walk or weight train. The point is to keep moving, don’t you think? I hope to be doing as well as you as the years go by! Thanks again,
Penny
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Thank you, Penny . So nice to hear from you. I agree completely that the idea is to keep moving. Most assuredly. Actually, you may be better off than I am if you are weight training, too. That is the only drawback of biking – it is pure cardio, no benefit for my bones. The weight training is great. Keep up the good work!
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