If I had my choice I would forego this first meal of the day altogether, but it is important to the rest of your day.ĮXERCISE: Nothing strenuous, mind you, but walking early in the morning while it’s still cool and quiet certainly can’t hurt. Some combination of oatmeal, turkey bacon, poached eggs, yogurt, dry cereal, fresh fruit, skim or soy milk, or for me personally, a smoothie milkshake made with frozen fruit and soy milk with a heaping of protein powder added.
If we can’t quit entirely, what about improving on one meal a day? Then as our body makes adjustments, add another meal to get even healthier. This should be an easy choice for you to make if you take a close look at some of those relatives.ĭIET: This is hard! We have been raised on greasy, salty, fattening, sugary food from day one and to ask ourselves to now quit or at least cut back is next to impossible for most. It doesn’t stand to reason that you have to take on only the bad things you have witnessed throughout your lifetime from your kinfolks, even though some do. Habits, however, over a long period of time can be easily adopted and accepted as a trait.
Being overweight, laziness, drinking, smoking, and a bad diet are not necessarily inherited. GENETICS: Do they play a major role in our health? Certainly, but not to the point that you have lost all control of your destiny. I told him Yep, that oughta do it! If only it were that easy…….It’s not! He also walked for 15 minutes that morning. I asked him, why the healthy change? He said he had a physical coming up in three days and he wanted to get ready for it. I just had lunch with a group from my airport and one of the guys who is a tad overweight ordered a salad rather than the usual hamburger and fries. REALITY: The hardest thing to do daily is to try and stay healthy by controlling your diet and exercising regularly, and it’s something that has to be done daily or it will escape your capacity to control it. Oh yeah, I still fly a Corporate 135 Mitsubishi Marquise, work part-time as a “Gold Seal” Flight and Ground Instructor, serve the FAA community as an Aviation Safety Team Representative, write for 35 different aviation publications, and I just turned 72. Height 74”, weight 184, blood pressure 118/66, resting pulse 46 bpm, no glasses, no hearing aids, no prescription drugs (or the other kind), most of my hair and teeth, and no major medical problems. I still get the hardest FAA physical available, the First Class, every six months, and pass it with flying colors.
I’ll brag some and lie some about me and then we’ll talk some more about you and your physical condition. “Thanks a lot,” I told him, “that should really help my blood pressure, heart check, and pulse.” I really wanted to point out some of the things that I have found necessary to do over the years in order to “maintain my health” and to keep flying at the ripe old age of-? Are you aware that failing this test can STOP you from flying TODAY? I was reminded of that consequence by the FAA Doctor. On the road back from my semi-annual FAA Physical, I thought about writing this article in hopes that it might help someone else about to face this ordeal.