In the past twelve months, my husband has changed his lifestyle dramatically. Many are calling it his mid-life crisis; he is learning to play an instrument, thinking about forming a band, going back to school and has dropped a whopping 100 lbs! Other than my skepticism over the marketability of a middle aged rock band, I was and am very proud of him, a little jealous and really curious about how he made such a huge lifestyle change.

A year ago, we were comfortable. Not too busy, not too slow, very even keeled; but as age crept up so did nagging health issues and a desire to change things; a nagging need to trade in our comfortable middle-aged life-style for the high energy lifestyle of his youth. I have to admit, I’m a little slow to catch up, but I’m trying my best to keep up!

He started by focusing on his caffeine intake, exercise level, attitude and down time. Apparently, in order to have a high energy lifestyle, one must first be properly rested and motivated. So he started by dealing with his dependence on caffeine. While caffeine has, for some, almost medicinal attributes each morning, overdependence can actually cause major sleep deprivation. If you indulge in a caffeinated drink in the evening to keep up with the demands of your day, it can actually cause sleep deprivation. Over time, this downward cycle can majorly affect your attitude, making you feel more like you’re surviving instead of living.

At first, I have to admit I thought his ramblings were, just that. However, as they say “the proof is in the pudding” or in his case the lack thereof. So I’ve decided to do my best to catch up and join him. Each day, I still indulge in my morning cup, but I’ve cut out the rest of it and replaced my mid-afternoon dose with a little physical exercise. The benefit is twofold; not only does it perk you up and increase your energy; it also increases your metabolism and helps you release that excess weight, and I have found that this one little lifestyle change has helped me eliminate extra calories I didn’t need anyway. Now all I need is to follow an actual diet and I’ll look as good as I did when we met!