A couple of years ago during my annual health examination at my company the doctor told me that I had better be careful of my health. My weight was up to 196 pounds (89 kg), my blood pressure was a little high, and my cholesterol numbers were getting high as well. According to my BMI and my waist size, I was moving towards the “at risk” group.
So I took the wake up call for what it was, and the next day I bought an exercise bike on Amazon. Since then I’ve been riding the bike for about 45 minutes a day, about 5 days a week.
Each year since then I can compare my results with the previous year, and each year things have gotten better. At first there wasn’t a big dramatic change, and I remember feeling cheated a little – like exercising wasn’t really the answer. However I kept with the riding, and now my Pavlovian response to exercise is a desire to watch reality TV (instead of the other way around).
Yesterday I got the latest annual results, and I was pleased with the numbers. Everything is in the healthy zone (and that is the healthy zone for Japanese people, by the way) with the exception of my LDL cholesterol which is still a little high but still lower than last year. My weight is down to 185 pounds (84 kg) and my blood pressure is back to a low-normal level where it should be.
So I’m sure I’m about to be hit by a truck.
Anyway, good news on the health front but I’ve still got to keep up the work. One of the downsides of all this exercise is that I’ve noticed that some of my clothes (especially business wear) aren’t fitting well anymore, and I will probably have to buy a new suit. Those are expensive!
Last night I celebrated the good news with a vodka tonic and a night off the exercise bike, but this weekend I’ll get back in the saddle and ride. I have to stay up to date with Survivor and Amazing Race, after all.
