Day two: Why am I doing this?

Why am I doing going to try the Longevity Diet?

In a nutshell:
     I am 59 1/2 years old,
          I am overweight,
               and I don't feel good anymore.

Here are all the "negatives:"

• I am exhausted much of the time.
• I have high blood pressure and my medications decrease my energy.
• I am on caffeine every morning because I could go back to sleep easily even after 8 to 9 hours of sleep.
• I am on a very low dose of an anti-depressant.  Depression runs in my family but sugar, caffeine, process foods, gluten and dairy all contribute to my not feeling emotionally well much of the time.
• I have to take a thyroid medication.
• My blood work numbers are not good:  the bad cholesterol is high.  The good cholesteral is low.
• I am either borderline diabetic or I "AM" diabetic and am refusing to face that.
• My body hurts:  my back hurts, my knees and ankles hurt, sometimes my hands and elbows hurt.
• I recently had a strange burning, aching pain in my lower back on the right that slowly moved around to my lower belly on the right.  The pain was so bad at night, even with advil, that I couldn't sleep for more than 2 hours at a time.  Eventually I had a small patch of "blisters" that broke on my right side that scabbed over and is healing very slowly.  I think I may have been a mild (thank god!) case of shingles.  what other diseases are lurking in my future because I don't take care of myself?
• My lower back hurts when I stand or walk.  I have little or no abdominal strength.
• I crave sugar a lot of my day ... but especially in the evenings.  I have little or no self control in this area.  
• I suspect I don't digest my food well and/or am insulin resistant because I certainly don't get the energy I need from the food I eat and it seems that much of what I eat just turns into "fat."
• I get out of breath easily.  I am a couch potato!

On the positive side:

• I can remember what it felt like to run and laugh and play.  I liked to climb trees and jump rope.  I loved to run just for the fun of it.
• I used to like to get up into the mountains and hike.  I used to like to go camping and hike during the days.
• I am just about 60 years old.  I could still have a long and healthy life if I turn my eating and weight around.
• I want to dance again.
• I want to exercise again and have that feel good, not painful.  
• I have always wanted to do Tai Chi and actually learned the form a number of years back. I would like to be able to do Tai Chi reasonably well and practice it into my 80s and beyond.
• I have family and friends I want to journey with through life for a much longer time that I bet I'm going to eating the way I do now!
• It would be good to stay healthy as I age!
• And I could be doing lots more of creative things if I cut back on the amount of time I spend in the kitchen.

Reality  Check!
I absolutely cringed when I saw this picture of me and her dog, Taj, taken by my friend Jenny Lynn in February 2012.