Knees

My knees are hurting a little bit today and it reminded me of an email that my Dad sent out to the family a week or so ago.
__________

The other night I found myself in a very reflective mood, to the point of a few tears. And what, you might wonder, brought me to this point. Well, it's pretty simple -- my aching knees.
Since my trip to Albuquerque, New Mexico to watch Brett play in the U. S. Collegiate Rugby semi-finals. During my trip I read the "South Beach Diet" book and was basically struck with the fact that I needed to do something about weight, and thus about what I eat. At the same time Rebecca was reporting her success in reducing her cookie & cracker intake, so I began to think more seriously about the issues of diet, weight and food intake. And then I heard of Chris' success in reducing his weight & size too. So, after thinking more about the book, and what its basic message is, I decided to try something I had never done before -- diet!

The first step was to realize that the enemy of weight loss can easily be summarized as "5 C's":
Cookies, Cake, Candy, Crackers, Cream (ice)....

There are other culprits too but that is a long list. -- bread and pasta -- are also atop the list. Other key elements of such a program are exercise, portion control, eating regularly, etc......there are others, but you can probably list them all.

I won't ramble more with a poorly organized speech, but you get the idea here --------- IF you, any of you, are over-weight I URGE YOU TO SERIOUSLY CONSIDER DOING WHATEVER IT TAKES TO LOSE WEIGHT. If you don't your knees will KILL you when you reach 55, or 60, or 64. I don't know what your age will be, but -- the extra weight you carry today will ruin your knees tomorrow. Take it from a living testimony -- me. Part of the reason for my sobering experience the other night was my imagination running a bit wild with the possibilities for my future. If I have bad knees, how will I finish my temple service? Will I be able to go on a mission? Will I have to use a cane? How about artificial knees? Wheelchair? How am I going to work through the debilitation in my knees that I am suddenly beginning to feel more intensely? etc...
So, that's it ---- for the sake of your mobility and the ease of your future years, P L E A S E do whatever it takes to get your weight under control. It doesn't matter what reason you use in your private mind to justify yourself.

By the way, this is for everyone to think about.....I hope.
This message could probably be better written with more thought, but I need to tell you this before we leave tomorrow morning. Think seriously about it.
Love, Dad