People Vultures God Approaches

A few months back, my doctor advised me to change my diet to mostly vegan and incorporate a daily aerobic routine into my life. This was because my blood pressure and cholesterol levels were too high. Bummer news, but not surprising. I had hoped, because of my (mostly) healthy lifestyle, that these family health traits would have not appeared so prominently. Not so lucky: sometimes you can't escape your genes. Nothing is static, however.

So, consequently I've been getting up earlier every morning and hitting the bike path for about a half hour of interval running (walk real fast, all out sprint, walk real fast, all out sprint....). This wasn't such an easy transition to make, particularly because it's a bit of a shock to the system to be sleepy and snuggly under the covers one minute and outside busting ass not so many minutes later. I have, however, come to cherish the routine. It's a great way to start the day and my mind and body are energized by the time I get in the car to leave for work in the morning. Gone are the days of groggy, foggy commutes.

While I'm reaping the benefits of my modified lifestyle, it was discouraging at the beginning knowing that whatever I had been doing health-wise was not nearly enough for me to be healthy. Even though I was an avid yoga practitioner and ate pretty well, I was still too heavy - 30 lbs too heavy - according to my doctor. Losing thirty pounds might be tough because it will take me below the ideal weight for my body type, but it's where I need to be to maintain healthy levels of cholesterol and blood pressure. I've been up for the challenge so far.
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V and I are planning on learning Krav Maga, the brutal but swift and effective Israeli self defense system. We've been scouting locations and hopefully will begin taking classes soon. I've always wanted to learn this style of self defense and, without being too alarmist, it seems to me it will be more essential than ever in our emerging divisive, powder-keg cultural climate to know how to protect yourself . V already has combat training under her belt (in addition to a carefully placed knife she keeps on her person) but her skills have grown rusty with the passing of years. I know we'll both feel better knowing our mate is well equipped to get out of trouble if the need arises. I'm looking forward to it and, if for nothing else, we'll get some good workouts. I hear the classes are pretty intense.

Ok, I'm out of here. The weekend approaches. Other than a brunch we're attending on Sunday that Emilie from Borealis Yoga is having at Daddy Jones for her employees and significant others, we're planning on laying low and getting some quality time together. Because of our work schedules this week, we've been like two smoking hot ships passing sexily in the night.

Or something like that.

Peace!