Columnists
Shut-up and Tune-up
As much as I hate to admit it, it is time for me to wake up and smell the coffee, again. And not the Kicking Horse 454; it’s the reality of how my healthy, active lifestyle is being eroded by my alter ego type of coffee. The other me likes to indulge a little bit. Yup, she likes wine and processed food and staying up late and slacking on hikes and workouts. The other me thinks I deserve it because I’m not getting any younger. The other me is a confusing person because she also likes to be fit, lean and healthy. As my oldest-younger brother puts it, “vital”, the other me wants to be vital. The thing is, I may have eased up and forgiven myself a bit too much. Forgiveness usually happens after those moments when the Cheese Doodles and bubbly wine were consumed. I may have figured, “I’ll get back to fit, lean and healthy tomorrow.” If you know me, and you don’t, you know I’ve written this column before and here I am writing it all over again. It’s time for an annual tune-up!
November 2022 marks twelve years since I hauled my sorry, flabby butt into The County Club in Bloomfield. I more or less had a brilliant idea to get on a treadmill and sweat off the extra pounds. That was it. That was all I had in my arsenal. I’ve been more prepared to take a nap than I was to get in shape. I wasn’t going to the gym to change my lifestyle. Cheesy snacks and wine were still on my horizon. I was hoping for a quick fix and I figured I could just sweat off the years of ignorance and avoidance. A short-term fix was my focus. I had convinced myself I knew everything about a healthy lifestyle, but I really knew nothing at all. To say I had tried all of the diets, all of the fads, all of the gimmicks and used all of the excuses would be the truth. Raspberry Ketones, Tenuate ™ (in the old Pharma days), Weight Watchers, Counterweight, Cabbage Soup, High Protein Diets, Low Carb Diets and Intermittent Fasting. You name it, I tried it. Yessir, I tried everything but being logical and doing some research. I had a storage closet full of clothing for every size and every shape my body had ever been in. I was prepared for whatever the treadmill had to offer as far as clothing was concerned. I was not prepared to make a complete change. In November of 2010 I hadn’t exactly decided to be completely honest with myself. And then?
Well, and then, with a lot of help from my friend Paul, and the support of LOML and COM, I started to figure out what worked for me. And here I am, twelve years later, fitter, slimmer, happier— but in need of a tune-up. Yeah, that’s what I’m going to call it—a tune-up. So, for the last few weeks I’ve been working on my stamina and my cardio fitness. Last week I wasn’t able to go to the gym because I’ve had a cold. That’s right. I had a cold. A real nose-blowing, stuffed-up, wads of tissues, coughing and sneezing cold. Not COVID but a “we-closed-the-windowsturned- on-the-furnace” type of cold. So, walking outside and stair-climbing inside have been my bench pressing, arm curls, treadmill and deadlifting. But my tune-up is mostly about what I eat. This tune-up I’ve cut back on the animal proteins—the cheese, the eggs, the poultry, the beef, the pork and all of the other products that may have mooed, oinked, clucked or gobbled. I don’t need to clog up the passages with bad cholesterol and saturated fats. I try to “hard pass” the Cheese Doodles and Lay’s Chips. Two-thirds of what I eat is mix of vegetables, fruits, nuts and whole grains. I’ve mostly passed on the vino and have embraced the water. No, I didn’t give up coffee!
Like I said, y’all have read this sort of story from me many times before but I need a tune-up. Face it, we all need a tune-up at this time of the year. Mostly, I’m proud of myself. Creating my lifestyle is a lesson that has been twelve years in the making. Did someone say “Just shut-up and tune-up”? That’s exactly what I’m going to do.
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