The Excuses That Block the Road to Healthy

I joined a new gym this week. Actually it’s our local recreation center, supported by our city. As a city resident and since I meet their definition of a senior at age 61, it only costs me $110 a year. Bargain!

While I have been attending water classes at a local hospital, my nutritionist has been reminding me I need to do more strength training. I’ve been avoiding it. My latest excuse was I didn’t like the equipment at the hospital fitness center. It’s old and the room is crowded and I didn’t enjoy exercising in there.

Each week as my nutritionist and I have met, I have had an excuse ready. OK, sometimes I just didn’t care and was petulantly unrepentant. She has started giving me “that” look.

But you know – it shouldn’t matter to her more than it matters to me. My body, my responsibility. I should embrace the fact that she cares.

The funny thing is that I enjoy strength training. I’m not sure why I have been resisting, though I really didn’t like that equipment. We all know I could have found other solutions had I been so inclined, though.

I went to sign up in flip flops, so working out that day was out. I’d just had my toes polished, but didn’t want to procrastinate joining any longer. I got a quick tour of the place.

The next day I went. I didn’t get there until about 5:00, which was not a great time to go. Lots of people were around and I had never used some of these machines. They were similar to others I have used, but a few critical things – like how to get on and off gracefully – was missing. I wasn’t entirely comfortable, but I got in a good workout. I know next time to go either earlier or later. As I improve, peak hours will be fine.

I’ll still do water classes at the hospital. The instructor is great and there is variety in the classes. I feel at home there.

I was also talking to the woman at the rec center, however, and a couple of their pool sessions this summer sound fun (they only have an outdoor pool). One is simply water exercise, but the other is walking against the current in the Lazy River. It will provide more water options outdoors.

I’m eating well, though I feel as though I am constantly going to the grocery store and spending a fortune. I’m really not. Trying to eat enough of the right food means you need to buy enough groceries. I’ve somewhat limited eating out lately, but it’s been a time constraint, not because I believe I can’t. It’s all in the ordering.

I need to plan better. I know I need a ton of protein and I end up with mostly protein that need to be cooked. Well, except tuna. I tried to buy more of a variety of proteins that don’t need cooking this week so I can hit my marks. My body responds so much better to more protein, it’s another of those times you ask yourself “Why do you fight this?”

I also keep avoiding meal prep. I understand the value, know it will help things immensely, but still don’t do it. I tend to cook easy things you can fix in 30 minutes or less. That’s fine, but I need some new things in my repertoire. Especially proteins ready to go. I love cookbooks – I need to open a few or go to one of the billion healthy cooking websites. So epet Mel prep to some degree on the horizon.

The big goal for me is variety. I need lots of different colorful foods and I need to do all kinds of different things that make me move my body. When we get in a slump, we forget the color in all areas of our life and yet see change as grey. Boring. Something we don’t enjoy. Something that is too much effort.

The reality is poor eating and not moving produces the grey life. Living color in food and fitness will get us where we need to go. Healthier and with more energy.