Bea Loozer

What can we do to be healthier starting in February of 2016? That might be a better question than, “How can we lose weight this year?” Of course, the two questions are related. We know that lowering our weight will contribute to our overall health and reduce the risk of diabetes, cancer and other diseases. But looking at it holistically might be a good thing. One person in our group told us her goal last year was to get healthy in 2015 and she did, including weight loss. I’m sure she had specific goals, but they were in the context of overall health.

That member, Debbie by name, has a healthy outlook. Let’s join her. Let’s move in a healthy direction by taking lots of small steps. Maybe each week we can shoot for:

No more than 10 percent of our calories from sugar

No more than 10 percent of our calories from saturated fat

One meal per day chocked full of vegetables

An extra 15 minutes of movement per day

One more smile and greeting to a stranger or a clerk

An additional note to a friend to raise their spirits

A quarter or a half pound of weight loss

The final item in that list, weight loss, will continue to be our focus in Golden Goalies, but it might come automatically from paying attention to the other steps in the list. And in the meantime, we continue to enjoy life.

If all goes well, this article will be accompanied by a photo of some of our members who were successful at a personal challenge. About a third of our membership gained zero weight between mid-November and January 2. The holidays were their friend. I’m not saying there was no yo-yoing, but overall their weight was no higher after the holiday period than before. The photo was taken on January 9. If they keep up the good work, maybe next January they will be closer to their tiptop health goal. And, like Debbie, for many that goal is not merely lower weight but a healthier life.

Join us for support, encouragement, shared wisdom and some good laughs. Set your own weight-loss goal and strive to achieve it. Weigh-in is between 7:00-7:40 a.m. on Saturdays in the Mirror Room of Sun Lakes Country Club. The meeting starts after weigh-in next door in the Friendship Room.

Contact Rita at 895-2559 for more information.