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LenDentonThrive Letter #2 - Take Charge

Part 1 of the 4-Part ThriveAge ‘Simple Rules’ Series

Happy Saturday! I’m Len Denton, and I’m glad you’re here!

In last week’s newsletter, I introduced you to ThriveAge, which is a way for busy, Over-50 Guys to lose weight, get fit and stay fit for life - all without having to resort to crazy diets or killer workouts. Be sure to check that out when you have a few minutes to spare.

In this week’s edition, I’ll begin walking you through the foundation of what makes ThriveAge work. Those would be the four principles that I call The Four Simple Rules. Here they are:

• Simple Rule #1 - Take Charge

• Simple Rule #2 - Boost Your FoodIQ

• Simple Rule #3 - Remain in Motion

• Simple Rule #4 - Measure What Matters

I’ve been actively following these four principles for nearly ten years. They initially enabled me to lose more than 70 pounds. Today, I weigh even less, and I’m healthier than I was after my initial success. Even better, I eat well every day without feeling deprived. And, my exercise is simple and effective. Following these Four Simple Rules has helped me to build a powerful system that keeps me fit and healthy.

It can do the same for you too.

Here’s a quick overview of what I’ll be discussing in this week’s edition of the LenDentonThrive Letter:

• The Big Idea - Over the next several editions of the newsletter, I’ll take you through a deep dive into the Four Simple Rules of Thriveage. This week’s topic is Simple Rule #1 - Take Charge.

• Tip of the Week - this week, I’ll share a couple of things that I personally do to take charge of my health and fitness.

• What I’m Eating - a quick look at a typical ThriveAge-compatible meal or snack. (Warning - non-professional food photos below!)

• What I’m reading - more insights from James Clear’s Atomic Habits book.

I’m really glad that you’re here! We have a lot to cover in ten minutes or less, so let’s get started!

1. The Big Idea - ThriveAge Simple Rule #1

Simple Rule #1 is Take Charge! By this, I mean: take charge of your own personal health and fitness. Another way to think about this is to own your health and fitness.

Health is the first wealth…Ralph Waldo Emerson

Without health, is there really any wealth? What healthy man with meager financial resources would trade places with the richest man in the world if that rich man were bedridden or dying? Very, very few!

Health is your first wealth as well! And, you are the owner of your personal health and fitness. You decide, on a daily basis, whether your health is strong and improving, or whether it is weak and declining.

This is the first rule because it is the most important rule. Without Rule #1, there is no change, no movement, and no progress.

In ThriveAge, progress is defined as the steady movement toward a worthy goal. 

This implies that there is no progress without having a goal or destination in mind. Paraphrasing the Cheshire Cat from Alice in Wonderland: “if you don’t know where you are going, any road will do!”

That’s especially true with your health and fitness. So, starting with Rule #1, we’ll begin thinking about our own personal fitness goals and destinations.

The focus of Rule #1 is on YOU! You are the OWNER! You have the key!

The reason for this is because fitness is behavior! And, that is a really good thing!

You may be asking, why??

It’s because our current conditions are based on our past decisions. About 85-90% of our current health and fitness situation, whether it's good or bad, is the culmination of a series of small decisions we’ve made every day. This includes what we choose to eat, our physical activities, how much sleep we get, our stress levels, and how well we care for our bodies. These all combine over time to determine what our current conditions are regarding our health and fitness.

But, here is why that’s good news. Decisions got us to where we are today. And, different, better decisions can also take us to where we want to go in the future!

Our personal decisions and actions are more important than having “good genes,” a great doctor, or a membership at the finest gym in town.

So, if you don’t like your current health and fitness situation, change it!

How?

By taking charge! By exerting ownership! By changing the decisions you make. It’s in your control.

As you journey toward your own ThriveLife destination, you’ll be challenged to make decisions toward better health and fitness outcomes. Some of the decisions will be easy. Some will be more difficult.

Most importantly, you will be holding the key to better outcomes, because those decisions will be yours to make! Because - you are the owner!

So, as the owner, Take Charge!

Beware of The Headwinds

I know that this will be more challenging for some of us than for others. This is because some of us are facing obstacles that will act as headwinds to slow or impede our progress.

Looking forward, there are many kinds of challenges that we could encounter. Here are five common ones:

1. Medical Conditions - Existing medical conditions are an obvious challenge that guys can face. Conditions like heart disease, high blood pressure, and a host of other types of ongoing illness can affect how we approach our ThriveLife. In such cases, we will need to plan carefully to ensure that our efforts are taking these issues into account.

Often, prescribed medications can affect specific actions we will take in our ThriveLife journeys. Some meds have unwanted side effects such as weight gain or constipation. These situations aren’t uncommon and can be addressed with proper planning.

• Risky Habits - ThriveAge is about developing a healthy, sustainable lifestyle. Personal habits that put your health at risk are obstacles that will impede your progress. This includes issues such as smoking, excessive alcohol consumption, and drug use.

• Family - For most of us, family is our top priority. So, it's important to consider the time commitments and demands that family life will place on your plans for your ThriveLife.

• Work - Our work situation will likely present some of the most challenging demands that we have to consider. I know it was for me. Your work schedule, amount of travel, and other similar issues will have an impact on your plans.

• Limiting Beliefs - We all have a few limiting beliefs in our heads that act as brakes to our intended progress. Here are a few examples of limiting beliefs:

  • This probably won’t work for me

  • I have bad genes

  • I don’t have the time to do this

  • I’m not very athletic

  • I hate going to the gym

  • I’m too embarrassed to do this

The key to overcoming these progress limiters is to drag them out into the open and examine whether they are actually true for you or not.

Everyone who tries to make a positive change in their life is going to encounter headwinds of one sort or another. People don’t like change, even if the change is good for them. Headwinds are a normal part of the process.

The first act of your future progress toward a more fit and healthy life is your WHY. Your WHY is your motivation or compelling reason to change. It is a justification for this change. Once you know your WHY, all of these headwinds will simply become elements of your plan to get there!

Summary

The journey to your ThriveLife begins when you take charge of your own personal health and fitness. When you do, you will start making small changes in your daily behavior that will lead to big changes in your health and fitness over time.

Be the owner!

This is a good point to get clear with ourselves on what it will mean for you to take charge of your own health and fitness. To do that, consider the following five questions.

1. What is my WHY (my compelling motivation/reason to make a change)?

2. What existing medical conditions do I need to take into account?

3. What risky behaviors (smoking, too much alcohol, addictions, etc.) could become headwinds on the journey to my ThriveLife?

4. What family, social, or professional issues could become headwinds on my journey?

5. What conditions do I need to discuss with my doctor before I start this journey?

When I started my own ThriveLife journey in January 2014, I had my own headwinds that I had to address. I had a hectic, stressful job in senior management at a Fortune 100 company. There was a lot of travel with little time for exercise and far too many meals on the road. I also had a bad muscle pull in my leg that I had sustained at a trail race. I could walk, but running was incredibly painful.

In spite of these headwinds, I was able to craft my approach to fit my life’s circumstances at the time. These headwinds became more like background noise for the journey. Sure, they were still there, but I was able to progress in spite of them.

Some of you will start with more serious headwinds than I did. That’s okay. These will become part of your specific plan. You, too, can make progress.

ThriveAge worked for me. It can do the same for you!

Want to Go Deeper?

Do you want to dive deeper into ThriveAge and what it can do in your life? If that sounds like a smart move for you, then consider subscribing to the LenDentonThrive Letter. It’s totally free!

As a bonus, new subscribers will receive a free .pdf version of Chapter 1 of my upcoming new book, The ThriveAge Way (The Over-50 Way To Lose Weight Get Fit & Stay Fit For Life).

ThriveAge is the roadmap to your custom-built ThriveLife!

2. Tip of the Week

This week’s tip: Here are two things that I do to take charge of my own health and fitness:

1. Get regular annual checkups.

   Most Over-50 Guys skip getting regular checkups until something bad happens that forces them to focus on their health. I know this because I was one of those Over-50 Guys who always found a reason not to go to the doctor. But, not anymore!

   Prevention is the best way to stay healthy. Early detection and diagnosis of medical problems is the second-best approach. Regular medical exams are investments in your future health! So, don’t overlook them.

2. Check with your doctor about your colorectal health -

   Over-50 Guys need to make sure that they are being properly screened for signs of colorectal cancer. Check in with your doctor at your upcoming annual check-up to make sure that this important item is being evaluated.

Remember: health is your first wealth. Invest wisely!

Bonus Tip of the Week: Key Metrics to Watch

Here are six key health metrics that every Over- 50 Guy needs to keep on the radar:

1. Blood pressure

2. Cholesterol

3. Blood sugar

4. Body Mass Index (BMI)

5. Prostate health (PSI)

6. Colon health

3. What I’m Eating

ThriveAge is a food-first approach to health and fitness. I call it '“fitness for food lovers!” So, each week I’ll be giving you a quick insight into one of my typical meals. No crazy diets, just real food.

This week’s entry is one of my favorite breakfasts.

Here’s the break-down:

• 4 scrambled egg whites

• 4 oz. boneless pork chop

• ½ cup of H-E-B* Jalapeno Refried Beans

• Apple

• 6 grapes

• 2 Strawberries

This is a total of about 500 calories. But, more important to ThriveAgers, this is 9 Greens, 0 Yellows and 0 Reds breakfast with a FoodIQ of 300. It’s a perfect ThriveAge breakfast. (More on the whole Green-Yellow-Red concept in next week’s edition.)

* Note: H-E-B is a legendary Texas grocery store chain. They are famous for their in-house regional favorites.

5. What I’m Reading

This week, I’m continuing to read Atomic Habits by James Clear. To create a healthy new lifestyle, it's important to be able to develop new healthy habits.

Here is another big take-away I found from this week’s reading:

All of our habits are formed as our brains take us through a four-step process:

1. Cue - the external trigger that causes your brain to initiate a behavior. It typically predicts a reward.

2. Craving - a motivational force behind every habit. This is basically our reason to act.

3. Response - this is the actual execution of the behavior, either through action or thought.

4. Reward - the end goal of every habit.

Summing up the four steps in action - the cue is noticing the reward; the craving is wanting the reward; the response is about obtaining the reward; the reward is why we started this whole process…it was something that we found desirable.

This is really useful stuff when it comes to creating healthy new habits. I’ll be including a lot of James’s wisdom in an upcoming course that is currently in development. More on that later. I’ll also be sharing a complete summary review of Atomic Habits in an upcoming edition.

I’m Writing A Book!

I’m a busy Over-50 Guy who has spent the past ten years building a practice of personal health and fitness that relies on real food and smart exercise instead of crazy diets and killer workouts. This process, called ThriveAge, helped me to lose 70 pounds and keep it off for going on ten years. Now, I want to share what I have learned with other Over-50 Guys. So, I wrote the book!

In The ThriveAge Way (The Over-50 Way To Lose Weight, Get Fit & Stay Fit For Life), I share everything I’ve learned about the principles and practices necessary to create and sustain a healthy lifestyle. I call it my ThriveLife.

New subscribers to the LenDentonThrive Letter will receive Chapter 1 of my new book for free. To get your free copy of Chapter 1, just subscribe to the LenDentonThrive Letter.

Upcoming Topics

Here’s a quick look at some of the topics I’m working on for upcoming newsletter editions.

• Simple Rule #2

• Simple Rule #3

• Simple Rule #4

• The ThriveAge FoodIQ System

Please let me know if you have a particular preference in how I prioritize these for publishing, or if there’s a topic you’d like to see in future editions.

Thanks for your time and attention. Have a great weekend. See you next Saturday!

Thrive & Prosper,

Len

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See you next Saturday!