Baby Boomer Thanksgiving Restarts

via pandawhale.com

The idea of a restart sounds like doing something new.

A closer look shows something different.

You restart after you start, then stop, and start again.

The start and stop part makes it sound like you quit.

Don’t fall for that trap. Restarting doesn’t always follow quitting.

No one likes a quitter, but who doesn’t love a restarter.

The following examples illustrate the restart.

When you see two guys talking in the neighborhood bar you can guess the topics. 1. Sports. 2. Cars. 3. Women. Not all in that order. And you’d be wrong.

Boomerpdx listened in recently while two Portland boomer men talked about marriage. Not marriage rights, marriage equality, or shacking up. They talked about their marriages.

Shocking, right? Two grown men discussing their feelings about boomer marriage.

That it took a turn toward the empty next, as in what happens after the kids grow up and leave, brought on the restart.

What happens when you’re no longer married to The Mom, to The Kid Organizer, The One Who Rules? It’s the same woman, but a new context. What do you do? You restart. It shouldn’t go like this:

“Hello, I’m your husband.”

“Cute, really cute. Did you mow the yard today?”

“My name is Johnny and I’d like to buy you a drink.”

“I know who you are are, honey. Let’s eat.”

You should explain the idea of restart before jumping in.

Then there’s fitness. Boomers need to embrace fitness if for no other reason than to brag about their progress.

Boomerpdx listened in while two manly men made a plan.

“I’ve been working out for years and haven’t lost a pound.”

“I’d be happy just to stop gaining weight.”

“Yes, getting off the weight gain and loss swing sounds good. I want to cut weight and restart.”

“I’m joining a gym.”

“Join my gym and I’ll show you my routine.”

“The one you’ve been doing for years and haven’t lost a pound?”

“Good point. Okay, join my gym and I’ll show you my workout, and we’ll start a weight loss contest.”

“Like accountability? I could use some accountability.”

“That’s two of us. Let me know when you get signed up.”

Boomers have been accused of plenty, but quitter isn’t one of them. They start and don’t finish everything, but they don’t quit.

Call it semantics, but restarting is renewal. You start something with the best intentions, then stop when the thrill fades. You regather, get smarter, then restart. Will you finish this time?

Thanksgiving isn’t the best holiday for diet and fitness. Why not make it a benchmark? Load up on food and drink and just before you think you’ll burst, get on the scale. Write the number down and use it as your restart point.

Find someone to share your number with, someone who wants to restart their weight loss march, and check in regularly.

If you want some sort of accountability, list your weight in comments below and check in each week with your new number.

On the other hand, if you’re on top of you game and height/weight proportionate, check in and tell us how you do it.

You’ll be thankful.