Christmas Day Reflection: Health is a practice

It felt unreal that 10 years have passed since I decided to live healthy after

being informed of the physical check results when I turned 40. I was then fat,

sick, and nearly dead. A decade later, for the first time in my life, I went

through a year sickness-free. Whatever I did in-between, I did it for health.

 

The first step was to lose weight. In six months, just by eating less (<2000

kcal daily) and speed-walking, I dumped one quarter of body weight and went from

196 lbs to below 150. The dramatic success fueled curiosity and ambition.

 

Next, I began to jog. I took the style of the Tarahumara Indians and ran in sport

sandals for about six years. Once I paid attention to breathing patterns, daily

jogging became a meditation. Officially, I had run only two marathons and one 50K.

I was eyeing my first 50 mile race when a nagging injury hit.

 

I discovered the kettlebell a couple of years into running, took up intermittent

fasting, and from then on each day of my life became one cycle of practice. The

last word has had a magic calming power over me.

 

I switched to jiu-jitsu in mid 2020, endured many more injuries on the mat, and

earned a blue belt in 17 months. The art is unique in that it stresses and,

through recovery, strengthens many parts of the body. I have grown a bigger neck

and become very efficient in getting up from the floor, e.g.

 

All these years, I've been strict with my diet. I stopped eating anything made

of white flour and only relaxed recently (5oz of pasta a week in the past couple

of years). How could I be so relentless? Heaven has no rage like love to hate

turned, as the saying goes. Decades of living on buns, breads, noodles, pastries,

and chugging sugary drinks almost killed me and I witnessed similar diets taking

loved ones away. My revenge will not stop till the end.

 

A runner friend taught me by example that it was possible to not to get sick.

I suspected I didn't have the genes for that feat as even after years of active

living I still caught the bug twice a year. 2023 is the first time I've done it.

All I have done is staying on the path for 10 years.

 

Looking back, even a cynical ingrate like me has to be thankful.

[7grizzly]

回复 '暖冬cool夏' 的评论 : Thank you, my friend, for reading and commenting. I do
feel for the younger generation these days.

I learned "Heaven has no rage like a love to hate turned" during APAD.
https://bbs.wenxuecity.com/mysj/296386.html

...
Heav'n has no Rage, like Love to Hatred turn'd,
Nor Hell a Fury, like a Woman scorn'd.

[暖冬cool夏]

Heaven has no rage like love to hate turned-- a bit hard to understand, though I googled it. The difficulty lies in the word "turned".
What an awakening experience! Young tech guys nowadays are seemingly following suit.