Here’s the grade that I am least proud of. Exercise, combined with a low-fat, low-sugar, low-salt diet, is a must for a healthy heart. This was an area I excelled in early in my recovery. I loved my cardiac rehab class and walking. I faithfully exercised. However after I returned to work and volunteering, I fell into the trap of not allowing time for an exercise program. The reality is that there is time, but I choose to use it otherwise.

I know that I need to get back into a regular routine. The treadmill sits in our family room. I can see the advantage of its use just by looking at Brett. He has lost an enormous amount of weight, due largely to his every workday routine in the treadmill. It would be so easy to get on it for half an hour when I get home.

Goodyear also has an employee health club that is quite nice, costs $10/month, and is very convenient. Again. The same issue is that I need to allow time for it and make it a priority. After spending a day at work, it’s hard to justify staying over. If I could motivate myself, I would get to work 45 minutes early and exercise. 6:15 a.m. is just too early.

My goal for the coming year is to exercise 3 times a week for 30 minutes. These three 30-minute sessions are what the cardiac rehab folks recommend at a minimum level. The ideal thing would be to expand this to 5 30-minute sessions. This is where real weight loss can occur. It’s too far of a stretch for me.