Getting Fit at 70 #2: Embrace the Pain
I started off this notion of getting fit, full of hope and plans. It's been a week and so far, it's been mediocre. The exercise I chose as the one to begin with turned out to be a bad idea. I just don't have the balance for it. But I have been going to chair exercises in the morning and they are good for building flexibility.
There are other ankle exercises that I can focus on and I even found a foam roller that it easy to use. I make it sound like I found it in a store or someplace like that but no. I found it in my closet.
Embrace the Pain
I got to looking at diets that masquerade as lifestyle changes even though I know better. This morning, I got an email from Arun Chandran because I am on his email list. It's a list about internet marketing but what struck me was this bit of his email:
"Are you on track? Still pushing forward? Struggling and suffering to make progress?
Like I always say - you gotta embrace the pain."
That was what Arun said and he was talking about working online.
Then he turned to the idea of mindfulness and mentioned mindful eating and described is as something we do while getting fatter.
"You want to lose weight? Then maybe you should start mindfully NOT eating. Halve your food portions for starters. "Ohhhh but Arun, that sucks!" ... yup. And that's exactly why you'll progress fast and actually see results."
Wake Up Call
His email had all the information about getting fit that I needed. I have been resisting embracing the pain and tiptoeing around looking for an easy way to undo the ravages of time, vodka, pizzas, binge-watching Netflix, and everything else in my life that I do instead of taking care of my health.
Oh, I feel your PAIN! Literally! I'm trying too to lose weight and eat better and some days are better than others. BUT there is nothing that says we can't begin again. Like last night, I ate sort of bad throughout the day then for dinner had a little piece of cheese and plate full of roasted vegetables. This morning I had half a bagel with butter (instead of the healthy smoothie I should have had). I think I'll fix the smoothie soon since I'm missing the other half of the bagel. Hang in there and keep on keeping on, Joanne.
Thanks. I had a terrible insight this morning. I hate to even admit it in words on the screen but I think perhaps vodka and oj are not as healthy as I thought they might be. It's the snowbird curse! Booze is so cheap here. Back home I rarely drink. Maybe a glass of my brother in law's fine homemade red wine when we visit. We play bingo at the Legion and I don't even buy a soda.
But down here, somehow an entire bottle of vodka disappeared since Sunday and two containers of oj. Hmm. Planning to eat all those veggies and be healthy and I suck back an entire 1.75 liters of booze. In 5 days!! I can say it was out of the ordinary but this is how bad habits start.
Shaking my head. The lies I can tell myself.
hahaha! I'm literally laughing out loud. It happens! Don't beat yourself up about it. I am trying to use up a big bottle of gin that only has a little in the bottom but the bottle's so big that it must be a lot more than it looks like. Anyway, I need the counter space! But as I was setting the gin bottle back last night, I realized I'd drank more than half of my whiskey that I bought not that long ago. Oh dear. Lushes Are Us! What can we say?
We are luscious lushes.
Hello, someone named Peggy left us your link, I try to get to all the self promopost first, then if I have vote power left over, I hit up our promote someone else box. Time and all the fun we had growing up, and the ravages of that I am immortal attitude of growing up, it is such a bummer when we find out that uhgh now I am grown, and I need to take care of myself. I want my I am immortal times back.
That would be @peggyhazelwood.
Oh yes, it is a shock to discover that the immortal times don't last forever. And yet, and yet, I keep thinking that this will all just fix itself. And I still resist the pain of trying to improve my condition. What a slow learner I am.
Joanne,
Arun's emails are so on the nail smart! And he's a fitness fiend. I'm inspired by your journey. Need to create more balance with my own fitness.
And thanks for memory lane. Vodka and OJ was my drink of choice way back when. Smooth. Don't worry. You're aware and have started taking real action. That's more than half the battle won already.
Upvoted, resteeming and FB/tweeting too.
Hi @joannereid :) I know nothing about being 70, but my advice is universal: find something you love doing. It's that simple! If you find something you love doing, putting in the time and effort is surprisingly easy. It may even lead you to doing other exercise, just to be better at what you love. And also allow yourself to start off in an intensity that is much lower than what you would redeem "exercise" and build your way up. That way you will feel achievement which will push you on to your next round of exercise. These advice are based on my own experience, and I hope they are useful to you, so you don't have to go through a long period of just doing counterproductive things like I did. :)
This is good advice. I like Pilates. I should just pick one thing and do it. The important thing I did learn and do this year is to set 10 a.m. as exercise time. I protested - oh no, I can't exercise then. It's when I am on a roll and I can't leave then. Oh no oh no.
Hah! I breaks me from stagnating physically and mentally to get up and move. I don't always exercise then but I do break, make sure I am dressed and hair brushed.