When you read a book that gives advice on how to improve your life, certain questions arise: “The author is telling me that I should change my life and live according to his method. Does he actually live that way himself? And, if he does, how have his methods worked for him?”
These questions apply to this book. Do I, the author, live my life in the way described here? And how has that worked out for me? This chapter answers these questions.
To set a context, the next section describes my weight and exercise histories. For decades my method of weight control was the same as everybody else’s: I would gain weight, then I would diet to lose it. Then I would revert to my previous lifestyle, the weight would come back, and the cycle would repeat.
In 1998 my doctor told me that my cholesterol was too high. I rejected the advice to take drugs and searched for a lifestyle way of controlling cholesterol. I followed the recommendations in Dr. Gabe Mirkin’s book Fat Free, Flavor Full. This solved my cholesterol problem and, much to my surprise, I lost eleven pounds over the course of a year.
For most of my life exercise has played a role in keeping my weight in check. While my career was spent working at a desk, I had plenty of opportunities for NEAT (non-exercise activity thermogenesis). Plus, I am a fidget.
This book is about weight loss, but the motivation that led me to study the issues discussed here was not primarily weight. It was health. No lifestyle can guarantee good health, and that includes the SWLL. However, adopting a healthy lifestyle gives the best chance of staying healthy. As a measure of my health, there is a discussion of the five parameters of metabolic syndrome as they apply to me.
Caveat: The health choices I made, as described in this chapter, have worked well for me. They might not work for you and may even be dangerous. Your doctor should always be your primary source for medical advice.