Hello 2026!

Well, here we are again. I can’t believe another year has flown by (more about that later). I know the column I’m writing is under the listing of “To Your Health” but I’m changing it this month. “To Your Fitness” will be what I’m writing about. What’s the difference? Health is being free from illness or injury. Fitness is the ability to carry out the functions of healthy daily living with enough energy to not be fatigued. This requires muscular strength, cardiorespiratory and muscular endurance, a healthy body fat/muscle ratio and comfortable joint range of motion. Fortunately, all of those requirements are attainable if we choose to commit to them. I’ll break it down into categories.

Weight loss. Clarify: that’s a misnomer. The correct terminology is FAT loss. That’s not supposed to be acceptable these days when folks are sensitive to being fat-shamed. No one knows who’s reading this so if you’re overweight, you’re safe; you’re not being judged. The fact is just plain weight loss includes bone density, lean muscle tissue and water. All of those are essential. Telling it as it IS means fat is what you want to lose and even more importantly, not want to regain.

If you’re obese (use the waist circumference for men 40 inches and for women 35 inches, not the outdated BMI charts which do not consider lean muscle tissue vs. body fat), start by accepting this did not happen TO you. You allowed it and you can fix it. We all have to first accept reality before we can make relevant beneficial decisions of how to act. Start with small attainable goals to re-enforce your self confidence. Combine those with a long-term focus on how you’d like to be in five years. You can do this. I see people every day who do.

Hey, it’s 2026 so any discussion of this has to acknowledge the new GLP-1s. While I’m reluctant to support anything outside our natural capacity to improve ourselves with effort, the fact is more than 40 percent of our citizens with body fat percentages have life-threatening issues — and are costing ALL of us a lot in health insurance premiums to address THEIR health conditions (heart diseases, type 2 diabetes, sleep apnea, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, strokes, liver disease, osteoarthritis, etc.).

This has to be addressed. But if you choose this route, know this: 25–39 percent of the “weight” lost is from lean muscle tissue. GLP-1s should only be prescribed with the strong recommendation that safe, supervised muscular strength training is essential if long-term health and fitness is of concern.

If you choose to address obesity with personal efforts, start by accepting it’s not simply about calorie reduction. It is about choosing healthier calories, gradually adding more activity and safely building the ONLY tissue (lean muscle) that burns calories at rest to ensure you don’t casually regain the body fat you worked to lose.

Bone density. This can be accurately tested and your score is presented as a T-score. A score of -1.0 or higher is normal and between -1.0 and -2.5 indicates osteopenia (low bone mass). This can be improved with proper exercises and osteoporosis (a disease of thinning bones with increased tendency to fracture) can be avoided. What can you do? You can work up to a daily 30-minute walk, with a weighted vest for starters. Combined with some simple at-home balance practice, you can hopefully avoid a fall and the resultant hip fracture which can be a permanent disability.

Joint range of motion. The capacity to pick things up off the floor, reach a higher shelf, stand up from a chair without needing your arms to help or just move more comfortably is usually a matter of gradual and gentle movement practice. Joints need to move to increase lubrication and therefore improve range of motion.

Sarcopenia. While all the previous categories are primarily a result of lifestyle choices, Sarcopenia to some degree is inevitable and a result of living. It is the loss of lean muscle tissue over time starting from about the age of 30. That loss affects our strength, posture, balance and safety. Obviously, we can do something about this “inevitable” condition: we can build brand new lean muscle tissue at any age. This is THE most important action we can undertake to make our future years free of pain and discomfort and allow us to maintain our independence indefinitely.

In closing, my annual reminder: Last year flew by and this coming year will too. Fact is you’ll either commit to take the necessary steps to improve your fitness or you WILL go a bit more downhill. We’ve all been alive long enough to know we never get to stand still unchanged.

Wish you well and a really good 2026!