Surgery, Health and Transformation

It was 2006, and I injured my knee badly enough to have reconstructive ACL surgery. I made a promise to myself to have strong legs until I die. I didn’t keep that promise. Like many others, I exercised a little more, but didn’t put in the required effort to achieve the desired result. I have eaten fairly well and considered my trim stature as a sign of health. That couldn’t be further from the truth. The one thing I knew was that I was a high-stress individual, and I knew it was bad for me, but not as terrible as it truly is. Rejuvenation was hard to come by, but I made a day off to prioritize going surfing, and spending time with the family was a solid habit every Monday. I never took a blood test and never suspected anything would be wrong with me, except that for 40-plus years, I had IBS. Doctors were clueless on how to treat it, but I knew it was connected to stress somehow.

Fast forward to 2009, and I hurt my back and had surgery. This time I promised with conviction and made up my mind to do what I had promised just three years earlier. I have kept that promise ever since. As I began my fitness journey, it turned out to be a health and fitness journey with axioms like, “you can’t out-exercise a bad diet.” So down the learning pathway I went, and my life has been changed forever. I now understand some of the mechanisms that contribute to health and longevity better than ever. I still have a long way to go to understand our incredible body, but one thing I understand is that when you are sick, chronically ill, or have a malady that hinders you, all you can think about is getting better.

When you are well, you are dreaming about the year ahead, the next decade, and the next adventure, and trying to discern what God wants you to do. When you're sick, you often dream about being healthy. When you are hindered in your movement or the activities you can participate in, all you can think about is how you wish you could do that. When you are fit, you think about which activity you want to do next. When you have a chronic condition like high blood pressure, diabetes, or even clinical depression, you think about either managing it or getting better. When you are healthy, you think about how to manage your next decade or retirement.

My journey, like everyone else’s, requires sacrifice to achieve the desired result. Whether you are climbing the corporate ladder, starting a business, attaining a degree, or becoming healthy and fit, you have to apportion your will, strength, and resources to be the person you want to be. It didn’t just fall into my lap, and it is still not easy sometimes. My labs are generally good, but I have a few numbers that are still elevated from over 50 years of stressful living. I like eating. I like food. God gives it to sustain us, but I like enjoying how it makes me feel. I have to say no to even the organic whole food we eat, or I will have a 2000-calorie meal.

Some people simply don’t want to make sacrifices. You will sacrifice now or sacrifice later. The body keeps score. You can’t abuse it with ultra-processed, empty calories that contain enough toxins to warrant a warning label (they should) and expect to have the best health ever. You can’t be sedentary and think you'll be able to do what you want for the rest of your life. You will have to sacrifice things you want to do and convince yourself that it is normal, as you age, to give up on those “youthful desires” – when it is not! You can’t get 4 hours of sleep, work 7 days a week, and carry the world on your shoulders and not have internal damage, including your psyche. Sacrifice now, my friends. Don’t wait until you are forced to read every magazine in your doctor's office or use a walker. Make the decisions necessary now so you can enjoy your life every day. God has created our bodies to respond effectively to various stimuli. Give your body the stimuli it was created to have and enjoy a long, healthy, and satisfying life.