Finding the line between "live your life" and "do what's best for your health"

From the outset, I should establish that I don't believe a fun life and a healthy life are mutually exclusive things. You can (and should) have both.

But there's no denying that, at least for me, a healthy life sometimes means making certain sacrifices and prioritizing my time in ways I might not otherwise.

As an example, let's take the gym-going habit I developed nearly a year ago.

When I started lifting last June, you could find me in the gym five days a week without fail. And it undoubtedly made a difference, to the point that my chest, arms and shoulders are now somewhat bigger, which means some of my button-downs and pullovers are harder to get on than they used to be.

It's a good problem (and a very healthy habit) to have.

But there are downsides to a five-day-a-week gym routine, again, at least for me. They include:

• Sometimes getting less sleep than I really need because I have stuff going on the night before I work out
• Perpetual soreness
• A higher risk of injury and less chance to recover

To that last point, in the past year I have sustained injuries at the gym to my shoulder, back, forearm and foot. All were lifting-related, and while all probably could have been avoided with better form, the fact is they happened and they didn't heal quickly.

That was probably because I kept on going to the gym five days a week and never gave those muscles a chance to heal themselves.

Then I cut back to four days a week of lifting, and now sometimes I'm at three. And voila, as I type this, I'm suddenly injury-free!

Who knew?

When it comes to diet, we all have to decide what we're willing to do to maintain a reasonable weight without being in constant self-denial. Few people can get by without indulging in less-than-healthy treats from time to time.

You have to decide what "from time to time" means for you, though, and what potential long-term health consequences you're willing to accept in exchange for the happiness that extra piece of cake or the double cheeseburger bring you.

As I mentioned recently, you and I each have an expiration date, and we can only push it out so far. As Colin Hay, one of my favorite singer-songwriters, puts it: "Nobody gets a sequel, no, everyone gets shown the door."

I think a lot nowadays about these tradeoffs. Maybe it's because I have a grandchild on the way. Or maybe I'm at an age when everyone starts to look ahead to whatever is left of this life, which for me should be at least a few more decades, though you never know.

Pick a philosophy and stick to it. Find your balance. Then go and live your life the best you know how, even if the final number of years you live isn't as long as it could be.

That's the best advice I can give you.

In my experience, you're better off building some margin into your life and settling for something less than perfection

Whether or not you're the sort of person who makes new year's resolutions, you may be thinking about some changes in your life as the calendar turns to 2025.

For me, these thoughts always center around health and wellness. That's because I'm inconsistent when it comes to taking care of myself: In some areas I'm pretty good, in others...not so much.

Part of the reason for this is that I've never yet found a diet and exercise routine that's sustainable, or at least not one that's sustainable for me.

Until recently (I think).

I'll tell you what I'm doing these days when it comes to what I eat and how much I exercise, but this post isn't really about me. It's about you. What I'm doing isn't going to mean much, but maybe reading about it will convince you to allow yourself a little grace.

Because that's my problem, you see. I've never allowed myself any margin for error, and I get down on myself whenever I fall short of my poorly set, overambitious goals.

I've known for years this isn't the ideal way to approach life, but I've never been able to break the cycle.

Again, until recently (I think).

Eating-wise, I consume about 2,600 calories a day, with heavy emphasis on getting 150 grams of protein. 

This is more food than I usually consume when I'm trying to lose weight. In the past I've tried to eat around 2,000 calories daily and sometimes less.

This works just fine until it doesn't, which is usually after a week or two of starving myself.

2,600 calories will, in time, probably get me to a comfortable 190 pounds and likely no less, and this is just fine. Previously, I wouldn't have thought it was fine because it still places me in the "Overweight" category on the BMI charts, but I've finally learned to ignore those.

In terms of exercise, I go to the gym four days a week and lift weights. I also do endurance exercises there that get my heart rate going.

For a while I was going to the gym five days a week and trying to get in extra cardio on the off days, but again, it simply wasn't something I could keep up.

The fact is, while I enjoy strength training, it beats me up. I've been trying to get a left shoulder injury to heal for a couple of months now, and both forearms have minor strains resulting from poor lifting form.

Not to mention my weak hamstrings and quads after leg days, and the jelly-like feeling in my triceps and core muscles after upper-body workouts.

As a man of somewhat advancing age, I need time to recover. And right now, three days of recovery each week is perfect...much preferable to my previous two days.

This routine will never get me looking like Chris Hemsworth, but then again it doesn't have to. My health goals are to feel stronger and more energetic for as long as I can, not to star in the next Marvel movie.

Theoretically I should be doing a bit more cardio, along with additional flexibility and balance exercises.

But I don't. Nor do I plan to. What I'm doing now is what I can do, and that's good enough.

I am actively allowing myself to be less than perfect. There is part of me that sees this approach as weak and soft, and another part of me that understands it's all I can do when you combine it with my home, work and PA announcing schedules.

Now, whatever challenges you're facing in life, I hope you approach them with an eye toward pushing yourself to be better, but doing so in a realistic way that leaves a little extra time in your schedule (the "margin" mentioned in today's headline) and that you can keep up without flaming out.

Maybe you already knew this, but it's OK to approach life this way. It really is.

You'll be better off for it.

Three things my all-or-nothing attitude prevents me from doing

Something I've never liked about myself is my inability to be OK with "OK."

Meaning, if I can't do something perfectly, I don't want to do it at all.

Sometimes this works to my benefit as I push myself to accomplish a difficult task or reach a high level of proficiency in a challenging skill.

More often than not, though, it means giving up early and not at least achieving something simply because I'm disappointed I can't do it exactly right the first time. Which isn't so good.

This approach has cost me in a lot of ways, but here are three in particular:

(1) Consistently eating well: Ever since I started going to the gym, my exercise habits have been great. I've built muscle through weightlifting and have improved my cardiovascular health and endurance by getting my heartbeat up (sometimes way up) several times a week. But diet is more important than exercise when it comes to long-term health, and I find that if I eat something that makes it more likely I'm going to blow my calorie budget, I just give in and eat whatever I want the rest of the day. "I'm going to miss my target, so I might as well eat a whole cake," is the way I end up looking at things.

(2) Being productive at work: I set myself a pretty ambitious to-do list on work days. Most of the time I accomplish it, but when I realize I'm not quite going to get to everything because of an unexpected circumstance or a long meeting, my motivation plummets. Can't finish the list? Well, I guess I'm going to stand here in my office paralyzed rather than accomplishing at least a portion of it. I can't explain why I'm like this.

(3) Trying new things: I often joke about how bad I am at fixing things and thinking mechanically, but that doesn't mean I shouldn't at least try to learn a few things. Yet I don't, because in my mind, since I can never be a master carpenter, there's no point in even making any attempt. Which I know is stupid, but that's me.

Maybe I can figure out how not to be like this before I get to my late 50s, but chances are I can never fully change, so....say it with me...why bother?

Somewhere in between 24/7 kale and a bag-a-day Cheetos habit is your sensible diet

I know exactly what I should be eating. You probably do, too.

I own a copy of a book called "The China Study." It's popular with the clean eating crowd, and while some quibble a bit with its science, I don't think anyone would read it and say, "Nah, this guy's wrong. I'm opting for the Bacon Grease Diet."

We know leafy greens are good for us. We know nuts and seeds should be part of our diet, as should fruits, vegetables, "good" fats and complex carbs. We know we should use some common sense when it comes to things like red meat, processed foods, and trans fats.

Yet we Americans still tend to eat in a manner that can only be described as decidedly unhealthy. We eat bad stuff and we eat a lot of it (ask a visitor from another country what strikes them about America, and stunningly often they'll mention the gargantuan portion sizes in our restaurants).

Still, you can't blame anyone for eating what they enjoy. People want to eat what tastes good. Dietitians, physicians and others whose job it is to guide us toward healthier food choices will tell you your palate evolves and that eventually the good stuff will start tasting better, but in my experience, well...that's at best partially true.

I eat pretty healthy, I guess. I get kale and spinach in my daily smoothies, I try to stick to whole grains, I eat a lot of fruit, and my dairy intake is relatively minimal.

But I'm inconsistent with nuts, almost never eat seeds, will drink multiple cups of coffee with half-and-half until the day I die, and don't get nearly as much fish as I should.

On balance, I feel like I'm doing OK, and over the years my blood work has supported that idea. I'm not perfect, but I am intentional about what I eat.

You may be in the same boat. Or maybe you have a much healthier diet than me, in which case kudos to you.

Realistically speaking, though, a lot of us are going to eat Ding Dongs and ice cream, and we're simply not going to stop. The secret, as always, is getting us to do it in some moderation. God bless the people trying to get us there.