The holiday season is fast approaching and I just completed my annual check-up. The nurse had checked my weight, heart rate and blood pressure and I sat on the examination bed waiting for the doctor to read the results.
“Well,” I asked as she sat in her chair typing into her laptop.
“Your heart rate is 54 beats per minute, your blood pressure is 122 over 70, and your weight is 2lbs less than last year.”
Judging from her somewhat pleased tone of 
voice, I guessed I was doing okay, but I had to ask.
“Is that good or bad?”
“You’re doing great she responded. You have a BMI of 25. Have you done much cardio?”
“Some, I make it to the gym every now and then, but it’s mostly isometrics around the house,” I responded with an answer longer than the question required.
“Well, whatever you’re doing, keep it up,” she replied.
“Thank you,” I said, knowing that I wasn’t completely honest with her. Last year, I promised myself that I would maintain, not gain, so I carefully watched what I ate, limited my portions, and tried to fit in some form of exercise at least three times a week. I don’t diet, don’t count calories, and don’t have a workout schedule. What I do is eat better and make time for physical activity. When my daughter asks to go to the gym, I go with her. When my wife makes a salad, I have her make enough for me or I make my own. When I grocery shop, I intentionally buy more fruits and vegetables. I’ve even cut down on the meats and butter, I cook more with olive oil, and I drink water more often with my meals instead of soda. That’s a little more than what I told the doctor about isometrics around the house, but I do those as well – watching a Rocky movie will motivate me every time to start doing push-ups.
I left the doctor’s office feeling great, hardly grimacing from the prostrate exam she had just given me and barely worried about the colonoscopy that I’d undergo in a few weeks. “Bring on the holidays!” I thought.