Tuesday, April 27, 2010 My Turn • Wanting to live a healthy lifestyle is not the same as living a healthy lifestyle

Publisher’s note: This My Turn column by Patrick Shillito originally appeared in the Tuesday, April 27, 2010 edition of the Lassen County Times.

Admittedly, I’m not a small man. I’ve always been big. I’m not talking about my big personality, or my infinitely magnanimous generosity or even my unbridled modesty. I’m talking about being a physically large specimen of humanity, with all the girth that generally accompanies the classification of “fat.”

So after many years of simply maintaining my weight, I’ve decided to commit myself to living a clean(er) lifestyle, one that involves eating healthier, exercising on a more frequent basis and generally trying to improve my overall outlook on life.

Start praying for me now, because this is not going to be easy for me.

While I have always tried to make the morally and ethically correct choice when it comes to the day-to-day dealings of my life, I have put the choice of what goes into my body on the backburner. Whether it was eating fast food or eating at an inappropriate time of the day, I simply haven’t cared. It’s always been a part of a life of excess that I considered just fine, because I’m young and my body can handle it.

I’m not as young as I used to be though. Many of you will mock this, but as I stare down the barrel of the last year in my 20s, I look back and wonder if who I have become is something that I can change at this point.

The idealistic answer is that you can reinvent yourself whenever you want. The realistic answer is that nothing is ever that simple. We are creatures of habit, and my habits have been the same for a very long time. I know they will be hard to break.

But more than not wanting a heart attack before I’m 30, I’ve decided to commit myself to a healthier lifestyle for several reasons.

Better health generally means a higher energy output, which can only be beneficial in both my professional and personal life. Striving to have a stronger immune system is also a big plus, because being sick less frequently speaks for itself. Wanting to look more appealing to the ladies is obvious. But more than anything else, it’s about self-respect and self-discipline.

Food options in Lassen County are considerably smaller than in a larger community, which makes it a slightly tougher challenge. That’s not an excuse, it’s a simple fact. Yet I will not be deterred.

A friend of mine once told me that nobody ever decides to get healthy for themselves. Whether that’s true or not, I want to know more than anything if I’m capable of the discipline needed to making myself a better person, both physically and mentally.

I have a strong support group of friends and coworkers in place who will hopefully rain blows down upon me should they see me reaching for anything even resembling a confectionary treat.

As for the rest of the county, I know that actions speak louder than words. I just hope the next time I say hello to one of you or bump into an old acquaintance, I do so as a smaller man.

With any luck, you won’t even recognize me.