Posts tagged ‘orelien’
On the Way to Being a Centenarian
A few months ago, I decided to go for the goal of being a centenarian.
It’s one of those things you don’t think about when you’re young. Everyone wants to live long or just assume they will. But how long? Most people would answer as long as possible. Since I believe in applying business principles to my personal life, I’ve decided to go one step further by stating a bold goal and taking the necessary steps to succeed in that goal.
Originally, I had set my goal at 90 years. But then I decided why slack off here? Why not go all the way to 100? So, here it is I am going for the full century.
I have a few good things working in my favor to start. The first is good genes. Both my parents are still alive and in relatively good health. My father is close to 80 and my mother isn’t far behind. Both my maternal grandparents lived past 80 years old. The second statistic working in my favor is that I have never smoked in my life.
However, I have a couple of big obstacles. The first is that when I stated my goal of being a centenarian, I met the definition of being obese—literally (which is a euphemistic way of saying that I was plain fat). Being obese is defined as having a Body Mass Index or BMI over 30. The second obstacle is that I have a lot of stress in my life, but I am working on reducing it by working smarter (more about that in a later post). There is a third obstacle which I believe will be easier than the other two to conquer. That is to increase my social interactions and connectivity. (Running a growing company doesn’t leave you much time to hang out with the guys).
I’d like to talk about my first obstacle to become a centenarian which is being overweight or obese. With the exception of those with certain medical conditions, most people are overweight because of poor nutrition and physical activity behavior. In other words, the reason I was obese was because I wasn’t eating right and I wasn’t spending enough time exercising.
During a talk I attended by an inspirational speaker Joe Dillon, he remarked that you will not find too many 90-year-olds who are overweight. I certainly couldn’t think of one 90-year-old who was overweight. This was probably the start of my quest to engage in better nutrition and physical activity behavior.
So, what am I doing now? For starters, I am watching my calorie intake. I don’t really walk with a calorie counter around me. But I know based on measurement done by a physical trainer that I need about 2,000 calories, and I try not to exceed that intake.
The second thing that I started is to exercise about five days a week for at least 30 minutes. To get me going, I set a goal of running a 5K in 29 minutes by December of this year. Originally, my goal was 25 minutes for the 5K but this would not leave me much time to work on my tennis or golf game. Re-evaluating this goal and adjusting it to realistically meet my desires and expectations was important to helping me succeed.
So, far I am on track. Since setting my goals I have lost about 25 lbs. In terms of exercise, when I started running a 5K, a few months ago I was huffing and puffing to make it close to 35 minutes. This morning, I finished a run of 3.03 miles in 30 minutes and 28 seconds. With some positive determination and willingness to work, meeting this goal was easy.
Won’t you join me in being a centenarian?
Fond-Parisien, Haiti
I’d like to introduce you to a region in the easternmost part of Haiti called Fond-Parisien. This area is home to the largest lake, called Lake Saumatre or Lake Auei, as well as the second largest lake in Hispaniola (after Lake Enriquillo). A slideslow below gives you a great visual of this region.
There is a lot of potential for development in this area because of the lake and proximity to the Dominican Republic. A resort is being built in Fond-Parisien that could transform the area by providing employment and bringing tax revenues. If these funds are used properly they could help improve the social well-being of local residents.
At the same time, you will see from the pictures that there is a lot of work to be done in Fond-Parisien. First, there is a lot of garbage near the lake and throughout the city. Second, the surrounding mountains are being used to take materials for construction, creating some unsightly views. Third, the main road has become impassible because of flooding from the lake. A new road or bridge may need to be built. Additionally, it seems the lake is expanding, and the need for a thoroughly planned comprehensive solution is evident. A drainage system, docks for boats, new walling are all items that may need to be put in place, similar to what was done in Gonaive. Finally, there are many members of the Haitian diaspora who are making their homes in Fond-Parisien. Most of these homes are on the mountains overseeing the lake. Without a infrastructure plan, this area could fall into disrepair.
Fond-Parisien does provide a wealth of natural beauty, so if you’re interested in visiting the area I can assist in travel arrangements for visitors. It’s just 30 minutes away from my birthplace of Croix-des-Bouquets, so I am quite familiar with the region. It’s a place of beauty and intrigue, which is why I’ve made it one of my adopted homes. Take a look at the slideshow to see more.
AyiPreneur 