Ka Wai Ola - Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Volume 25, Number 2, 1 February 2008 — More New Year's resolutions: changing attitudes, and health behaviors [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

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More New Year's resolutions: changing attitudes, and health behaviors

By Jimmy F. "Jenū" Enoeeneiū

£ £ ■ 1 at Healthy. Be Active. Get Fit for Life." That's the message sent to rH all veterans from HealthierUS Veterans. Their campaign initiative ^in based on the Dietary Guidelines for Americans and MyPyramid.

They ean be found at www.healthierusveterans.va.gov. In life, reality sets in the most eommon of places. Like when you get out of the shower in a resort hotel and see "ALL of YOU" in a misting 4-by-

8 mirror. That's right, you're not 18 anymore, and definitely not slim. What was onee a lean, mean fighting maehine is now a big laho

(castrated boar). Reality sets in when your grandkids want to race you, or play hide-n-go-seek, and you're huffin' and puffin' and wheezin' wanting to pass out. The real test of endurance comes when it's time for church and

you gotta bend down and tie your shoeiace; or puihn up your pants as the belt cuts grooves into your belly, forcing you to buy suspenders. You put on your tie and suddenly realize that size 22-ineh neek shirts ean only be bought from Kramers Big & Tall. By that time you realize that your shirt doesn't tuck in because it's too short, and your pants are sliding because you have no rear to hold it up. Still another reminder: that 30-year-old tie just barely passes your chest and exposes shirt buttons ready to pop. As for the tie, just throw 'em away 'cause your boy isn't gonna wear anything old-fashioned. You realize having a tie is like having a hangman's noose around your neek; in church you feel the pressure building in your head, shortness of breath, eyes glared open and eventual snoring in the middle of the sermon. When you snore at night your wife realizes your breathing stops for long periods of time; that is not you leaming to dive under water, that is sleep apnea. This is where you die in your sleep. That is not just anybody's life. It's been mine since hosting this Manitou within.

.īeno Enoeeneio writes about the many hats he wears. This is the second of a tliree-part series conceming our health. Ē

NĀ PĀPALE • MANY HAĪS

Jeno Enoeeneio, wearing beret, joined the Veterans Affairs MOVE ! program to help him lose weight, get active and regain his fit warrior physique. His Januaiy starting weight, blood pressure and pulse were: 324 pounds, 133 over 76, and 64. Stay tuned for updates. - Pholo: Courtesyof Jeno Enoeeneio