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I'm 45 and Grateful

It might be hokey to count your blessings, but counting your blessings got to be a cliche because it helps make you happy. I just turned 45 and instead of mourning the loss of my youth, I have much to be grateful for.

I have better judgment than I did even a few years ago. Yes, I have more life experience, but mostly I credit hanging around critical-thinking low-carbers who inspired thinking and self-study. Simply remaining alive and calling it experience is like dumping puzzle pieces out of a box without putting them together.

I feel better than I did in my 20s. Carbs weren't a good fuel for me; I was nutritionally deficient as well. On low-carb plus supplements, I reversed a boat load of health problems: weight gain, wonky blood sugar, fatigue, dental problems, GERD, acne, allergies, constant sinus congestion, and others.

I'm better looking than I was at 26. Without wheat or dairy proteins, my acne finally cleared up after over 30 years. And I finally lost my baby fat.

Age 26.
Age 44.
Financial security! I'm grateful to my younger self for all the hard work, good decisions and fiscal restraint. (Friends who lived like the idle rich when they were young and broke--traveling, getting high, following their bliss--ended up middle-aged and broke.) I never took a vacation where I had to stay at a hotel (by myself) until last year--and then I stayed at a YMCA. I've never set foot in a spa. If you look and feel good and have a pleasant home to relax in, why bother?
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Comments

Galina L. said…
Happy birthday, Lori! You have many reasons to celebrate! How many people look better at 45 than at 20? Not many is a confident guess. Having a facial would be a total waste of money for you! For you it is a harvest time to have fruits of your labor.
Many people my age I know are scared of negative changes in life and health adding up quickly. They observe it as something unavoidable, like the seasonal change of weather.
I am an odd person (from the point of view of the most of them) who follows a ridiculous diet, gives a strange health advice when asked, does some age-inappropriate exercise routines. However, there are some people(a minority) who finally started to follow my odd recommendations out of disrepair and got better.
February 10, 2014
Lori Miller said…
Thanks, Galina! It's usually men (like Michael Anthony Hall) who end up better looking as they get older.

I hope more and more people catch on to the benefits of LCHF.
February 10, 2014
horfilmania said…
Happy Birthday and congratulations on finding low-carb so early in life! Enough to make a difference in how and when you age.
February 10, 2014
Galina L. said…
I wish I found LC at least at 45 years old, I was gaining weight uncontrollably between 45 and 46, ten hours of cardio a week and "healthy"diet din't work at all, and it took me 3 years to loose the gained in one year 26 lb on a LC diet which I started at 46 yo.
February 10, 2014
Lori Miller said…
Thanks, Horf! It would have been nice to discover LC in my 20s, though!
February 10, 2014
Lori Miller said…
My mom didn't start LC until she was 80 and had had diabetes for many years. Better late than never, though.
February 10, 2014
Lowcarb team member said…
Happy Birthday Wishes ...... you were fortunate in finding LC earlier in life than I did, although my health has always been good, but I'm so much happier with my present LCHF lifestyle. The sad fact was that it took Eddie becoming a Type 2 diabetic before we both became so much more aware of how we could live a far healthier lifestyle. It's never too late to improve your health, fitness and outlook on life.

Have a good day

All the best Jan
February 10, 2014
Lori Miller said…
Thanks, Jan! Sometimes a health scare is a blessing in disguise.
February 10, 2014
tess said…
hope your birthday has been great! many happy returns! I believe that counting one's blessings IS enriching, and you seem to have found your "riches" :-)
February 11, 2014
Lori Miller said…
Thanks, Tess!
February 11, 2014
Anonymous said…
Forty-five and grateful – That’s good to hear. At this age, it’s really fascinating to reminisce about all the things that happened in our life, even the health problems. Weight gain, wonky blood sugar, fatigue, dental problems, GERD, acne, and more – I guess at one point in everyone’s life, they experienced some, if not all of these things. But everything all of that is in the past, and what matters now is you are in great shape! Anyway, with all your hard work and achievements, you really deserve a vacation, and I hope you’ll get to go on one soon. Enjoy!

George
February 25, 2014
Lori Miller said…
Thanks for the kind words, George. But I'm a homebody and I'd have more fun sprucing up the house.
February 25, 2014
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