That doesn’t mean I’m not taking care of myself though!
I have found a system that works for me. Morning weigh-in, breakfast with a good balance of protein and fibre, 5 minutes of calisthenics, and a brisk mile-and-a-half walk to work—I do the same walk, other direction in the evening. Sometimes I’ll do a bonus walk at lunch. I bring 3 pieces of fresh fruit and/or veg to work for lunch every day. I drink a lot of water, and never drink sweeteners. I make almost all of our food from scratch with fresh ingredients. On the weekend, if we’re not too busy, I’ll go on a 5-mile hike.
It is not exciting, but for me it works—I am more energetic, more fit, and a healthy size.
Every so often, I’ll see a poster for a marathon, or a “just do it” billboard, or some other representation of the pinnacle of fitness, and I’ll think, “hmmm…” but I know where that goes.
- Commit to high-performance athlete goal!
- Invest in athletic gear!
- Find that the time commitment is too high!
- Find that that level of exercise makes me tired and hungy for comfort foods!
- Start to show wear-and-tear - my tricky shoulder acts up when I over-do things!
- Find myself moving less, eating more, and feeling like a failure.
I think the relentless promotion of high-performance athletic goals as attainable for all does a huge disservice to the vast majority of people. And makes them feel bad for failing.
For those that can do it—great! The 80-year-old grandmother running marathons is awesome and inspiring. But just because she can do it, doesn’t mean I can - or that I even need to try.
I read an article a while ago called The Fitness 1%. It talks about how all the high-tech crazy detailed stuff you see in magazines basically applies to almost no one. If you’re not a body builder, Olympian, etc., you do not need to do that stuff. And for the average person, having all that stuff presented to us is overwhelming and confusing.
Futzing about whether or not to eat gluten, or carbs, or what time of day to eat things, or blah blah blah... It just gives people something to talk about that they’re likely not even going to do consistently.
Which is why most people get as far as buying the high-performace sneakers and jogging pants (n.b.: the high-performance versions of these things are never sold as “sneakers” or “jogging pants”) and after one exhausting workout figure they’ve earned their nachos in front of the tv, and wonder “why isn’t the weight coming off?” and give up.
I am not an athlete, I will never likely run a marathon, and that is okay.
I am, however, miles healthier and fitter than when I started this blog five years ago. Then I was a wreck! Braces, inhalers, a cast on my foot… Yeesh.
I can hike six miles through the back country and feel great. I can bend down to tie my shoes, no problem. I can fit into all the clothes I had in my twenties. I walk home a mile-and-a-half carrying a heavy load of groceries—not my favourite thing, but I can do it.
Most important, I can keep up with my crazy kid. And that is what really matters.
