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

New Year's resolution: changing attitudes and health behaviors

£ £ ■ ī at Healthy. Be Active. rH Get Fit for Life." 1 ->twc the message sent to all veterans from HealthierUS Veterans. Their eampaign initiative is based on the Dietary Guidelines for Americans and MyPyramid. They ean be found at www.healthierusveterans. va.gov. But why all the fuss over veterans' heahh!? After all, it was Gen. Douglas MacArthur who said, "01d soldiers never die, they just fade away." Maybe back then General, but old soldiers today have extended their lives through better chemistry. Folks are so pumped up with life-giving ehemicals they're pre-muimnified well before the mortician gets 'em. But are we any better having extended our lives with these chemically prescribed meds, including the self-induced meds, as drugs and aleohol that disguise our mental

and spiritual afflictions? Is the quality of life for veterans any better because they ean have longer life through saturation of ehemieal dependency? I was a Poinhnan in a recon/ sniper team in Vietnam — a lean and mean fighting maehine that could hump 85-100 pounds of ammo, food and water into a steamy hot jungle infested with leeches, big red and hlaek piss ants, and wait-a-minute vines with thorns hanging from trees ripping at my neek. With all that, I could hump and elimh steep hillsides like a goat perched along the Nānākuli cliffs, or jump across open crevices like the goats in Manuka skipping over a'a lava fields. I could even barrel through thick uluhe (staghorn fern) like the boars off Saddle Road; and leave a trail big enough so the rest of the squad ean follow like the wild plpl in the Hakalau Bird sanctuary. I was 18 and a bad ass, and I loved being strong and swift. When I turned 19 in the jungle, I was even more aggressive and belligerent; I was king of the mountain. That was wartime; that was

165 pounds ago. Then I got married, heeame a eop in Manhattan, Kansas and found a pasture of glazed donuts. I eame home to Hawai'i Island and indulged in Marylanes, whieh led to adobo and dinuguaan and mounds of rice and potato salad. If that weren't enough, Atebara potato chips and a six paek of Fresca would top it off. When I moved to Honolulu, I was in the insurance and car business and in eahn' heaven. Honolulu is the non-stop food trough. No matter what time, you ean go out and feed yo' face from BBQ Kal-bi in Pearl City to Zippy's ehili and rice and side order coconut napple in Kailua. After 10 years, I left my heart on O'ahu, but my eating frenzy eame back with me to Hawa'i Island. I've been home for 17 years, but the weight that I carried from O'ahu adding to what I've gained since being back home has developed into the seventh mountain range; today I weigh-in at 325 pounds. Everyone says that I carry my weight well, but when I look at my shadow, I eclipse

the sun. My grandkids say that I'm the best umbrella at Hāpuna Beach. It's Your MOVE! Here are some strategies to help you reach your weight and fitness goals. See whieh ones may work for you: • Be positive — be thankful for what is good in your life — practice positive self-talk • Don't beat yourself up if you miss a goal, just start again • Keep a journal (write your thoughts and feelings) • Weigh yourself weekly, measure your waist monthly and track your progress on a calendar

or graph • Share your new goals with others • Ask your family and friends for their support in your "healthier you" efforts • Celebrate every five pounds lost. • Cheer when you meet your physical activity goals On the www.move.va.gov website, a link is provided to the USDA's MyPyramid (www.mypyramid. gov), whieh has a MyPyramid Tracker tool. The tool allows one to record food intake and calculate calories. Jeno Enoeeneio writes about the many hats he wears. This is the first ofa three-part series eoneeming our health. E3

NĀ PĀPALE • MANY HAĪS

By Jimmy F. "Jenū" Enūeeneiū

Jeno Enoeeneio shows his aloha for fhe troops. - Photo: Courtesy ofJeno Enoeeneio