Never Too Late: Getting Healthy Pays Off

By DEVORAH BEN-DAVID

When TV talk show host and baby boomer Oprah Winfrey wheeled a wagon with 67 pounds of quivering fat before her television audience in 1988, demonstrating the amount of human fat she’d shed on her latest diet and exercise regime, viewers sat shell-shocked in their homes.

Winfrey, a self-confessed junk food junkie, drove home the dagger that day about the high price people pay when they choose to live a "couch potato" lifestyle. Twenty years later, baby boomers are still redefining what it means to "grow old" in America. For many, it’s no longer about age but a healthy attitude.

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Learning from the past. Tom Leonard, owner of Tom Leonard’s Farmer’s Market, grew up in a home where heart disease was the family mascot.

"My paternal grandfather dropped dead from a heart attack at 52," said Leonard, who recently celebrated his 51st birthday. "And my father underwent triple bypass surgery and has a mechanical heart valve."

Owning a dairy farm, the Leonard children grew up drinking cream, eating butter and dining on tender slabs of prime rib, as was typical of Connecticut farm culture. But the lifestyle didn’t begin to catch up with Tom Leonard until he started working full time for "Stu Leonard’s Farmer’s Market."

"I used to be very athletic and was a professional water-ski jumper in my youth," said Leonard, whose metabolism skyrocketed with all the physical activity. "But when I began working for my father, I started eating dinners out, putting in long hours, and the lack of exercise started catching up with me."

Leonard even took up smoking.

In his water-skiing days, Leonard had maintained a weight of 160 pounds. When the scale tipped in at 200, he got scared.

"I decided that I didn’t want to be one of those people who are big and fat and then decide to get in shape after a heart attack," said Leonard, who gave up the cigarettes and started seriously working out. "So I tried to reverse it all by exercising the same way I did in the past."

While Stu Leonard was delighted to see his son back in shape, participating in 100-mile bicycle rides seemed a bit extreme at age 40.

"My father told me that the secret to aging isn’t trying to reverse it, but to find a way to age gracefully," said Leonard, who switched gears on his approach to fitness. "He was right. What I had to do, to age gracefully and achieve a healthy lifestyle was not for the ‘old’ Tom Leonard, but for the ‘new’ Tom Leonard."

Leonard, who has spent his whole life around food, now exercises with a personal trainer (three times a week) and supplements his workout routine with SPIN classes at the YMCA.

"I think 50 really is the new 30," Leonard said. "They say in your 30s you ‘learn’; in your 40s you ‘earn’; and in your 50′s you ‘teach.’ I’m in a real teaching mode now and enjoy helping my customers pick healthier foods to eat."

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Planning the future. Gregory Jordan, vice president of Business Development for U.S. Bank Corporate Trust Services, enjoys working out and working on his career. But in the last few years, he’s experienced a subtle shift in values.

"As I grow older, I seem to spend less time trying to accomplish things and more time on building relationships," said Jordan. "When I’m not traveling on business, I spend time with my wife, Laurie, and try to visit our friends."

Jordan isn’t as concerned about getting old, as he is in staying physically active, a part of his faith-based community and relevant to his industry. The closest he’s ever come to qualifying as a "couch potato" is sitting in his home office while on the computer.

"Growing older is a necessary evil," said Jordan. "When I think of the alternative, I’m thankful to get older every day."

Jordan grew up on the family farm, where country ham, fried chicken with mashed potatoes and assorted casseroles were on the menu. The only message he recalls about food is being told not to waste it.

His dad was a pastor, who died of a heart attack at the age of 46. So when his doctor made him aware of some cholesterol challenges and handed him a prescription, Jordan, who prefers a pill-free lifestyle, made it his goal to get off of them.

He and his wife joined Easterling Zacharias, a health institute in north Richmond," said Jordan, who shed 30-plus pounds and a jar of prescription pills. "Six weeks into the program, I really started to get thing under control."

Jordan has a "make no excuses" system for monitoring his exercise routine. On Sundays, he determines his schedule of workouts, keeping an eye on changes in the weather which could put a damper on the type of exercise he plans for that day.

"I work and live one block from my office in downtown Richmond, so staying fit is very much a part of my lifestyle," said Jordan, who makes certain to add additional activities throughout the day. People who always take the route of least resistance in life typically pay for it in the end."

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Attitude of pure gratitude. Mark Van Atter, owner/operator of Bread for the People, likes to kayak on the James River, floating blissfully with the current as he meditates. "I’m a meditative kayaker, not a competitive kayaker," he explained.

But the majority of his time is spent on his feet and waiting on his dough.

"I think being at peace with oneself contributes to one’s overall sense of well-being, their productivity and a certain amount of longevity," said Van Atter, who was raised in a rural area of Western New York state. "When I was 11 years old, I had my own boat, and my parents were very comfortable letting me fish in the lake."

Van Atter’s father worked well into his 80s, and the family tree is rooted in longevity.

Ten seasons ago Van Atter, a born-again "greenie" with anti- corporate undertones, decided to reinvent himself by establishing his own micro-business in historic Church Hill. His decision to relocate to Richmond was fueled by his desire to support the city’s revitalization efforts.

"For me baking bread is a way of giving back to my community, which in turn enriches my life," said Van Atter, who sells his products at the 17th Street Farmers’ Market.

Van Atter makes a variety of unprocessed, hand-crafted breads in small batches. His bread is delivered in a "bajaj" (three-wheeled truck), which gets over 80 miles per gallon. Onlookers often smile when they see the bright red, cautionary circle on the side of the truck that humorously reads, "NO WONDER."

"I try not to take more than I need from the earth," said Van Atter, who rides his bicycle recreationally.

While you will find sweet-tasting breads, which the 50-year-old artisan baker calls "goo foods," sitting on his cooling racks, his selection of healthier breads, made from 100 percent whole grains, more aptly reflect his philosophy on life.

"I think it’s harder for all people to grow old in America because of its focus on youth culture," said Van Atter. "But it’s not so bad for me. I appreciate the life I have now and enjoy each day as it comes."

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Learning from others. Don Light, a cardiac device sales rep for St. Jude Medical, a cardiac rhythm management company, admits he knows the way to every fast-food restaurant in town. But his cardiac customers have demonstrated why it’s wise to bypass the signs.

"People who need either a pacemaker or a defibrillator are experiencing symptoms for one reason or another," said Light, who has an M.S. in biomedical engineering. "Some patients may have been born with a genetic issue, while others may have just gone through life not caring about their health."

At 52, Light’s pro-active prescription for a happy and healthy life includes heeding the warnings of medical professionals in the area of disease prevention.

"I take a baby aspirin every day to ward off, should it come, a ‘big’ heart attack," said Light, who supplements his diet with an extra fiber source and a daily vitamin. "I also take a cholesterol- lowering medicine since I have a genetic propensity for that."

Light, whose adult weight has never deviated by more than five pounds, credits his wife, Marsha, for fixing delicious and nutritious meals for the couple to enjoy.

"You need to have a partner who’s going to amplify healthy eating habits or you’re dead in the water when it comes to weight gain," said Light, whose pager is on 24/7.

Light is thankful to his parents for not passing on (through DNA or the physical environment) the "Couch Potato" propensity.

"What I’ve learned is that, if you’re surrounded by ‘couch potatoes,’ and that’s the lifestyle you lead, the odds are you’ll pass it on to the next generation," said Light. "I was lucky to have parents who liked to ‘get up and go,’ instead of sitting in an enclosed area for long periods of time."

While Light rarely gets lured in by the smell of oil-laden French fries or a triple-decker hamburger, you will get a heartbeat if a tennis racket, pair of skis or baseball bat is in full view.

"At this stage in my life, I maintain my youth by playing doubles tennis, a game of softball or going for a swim," said Light. "And I’ll gladly water-ski or snow-ski if the opportunity presents itself." He and his wife enjoy dancing, too.

On a scale of 1-to-10, Light claims to be an 8.5 when it comes to having a good attitude about aging.

"There’s a lot to be said for not putting off until retirement the things you want to do today," said Light, who maintains an exercise regime even while on vacation. "Time chips away at the body, but you can keep yourself mentally fit by thinking young and doing some of those ‘kiddie’ things with your kids."

ILLUSTRATION: PHOTO

MEMO: SPECIAL SUPPLEMENT: PLANNING FOR RETIREMENT

Originally published by Special Correspondent.

(c) 2008 Richmond Times – Dispatch. Provided by ProQuest Information and Learning. All rights Reserved.