This is the story of a man who’s changing his life and the world he lives in.
In 1989, I was 22 and left the US Air Force weighing a lean 165 pounds. It must have been all the exercise because my diet consisted of alcohol and fast food. Several years later, I remember going through a grocery store and buying macaroni & cheese, bologna & cheese, and Hamburger Helper, telling myself that I was eating healthier because I was cooking at home. I really had no idea what nutrition and healthy living were. I can tell you that the result of that ignorance is a 42 year old man weighing 400 pounds!
If I knew then what I know now…well, I guess that’s why experience is the best teacher.
So, one of my goals during this walk is to generate awareness of the cause and effects that the lack of nutritional education has on our students in school. If diet and exercise are the key to maintaining a healthy lifestyle, nutritional education should be just as important as physical education. When you were in school (k-12), can you honestly remember any nutritional education? I can’t.
Here are my personal goals during this trip:
- Consume 1800 calories daily
- Drink 16 oz of water before each meal
- Eat 5 servings of whole grains daily
- Eat 3 cups of vegetables daily
- Eat 2 – 3 servings of fruit daily
- Eat 5 – 6 oz of meat or beans daily
- Consume 2 cups of low-fat milk or low-fat yogurt daily
- Walk/bike 100 miles a week (average 20 miles a day)
