...I was going to quote this famous poem by this poet for this post. I was just thinking of it in terms of wishing I had made some different choices in my youth. Instead, I am now having to deal with and accept the fact that my body just isn't going to do what it could have years ago.
So I looked up the poem and read it and I'm thinking, oh yes, this will be good.
And then I read some of the commentary about what certain words meant in Victorian times and decided... nah, I'm not gonna do that. Instead, I'll stick with the metaphor my doctor used... the age old story of the tortoise and the hare.
At 20something, if I had decided I was going to work hard to get into shape, I could have worked out hard and often and seen quick results.
At 40something, I decided to work hard to get into shape. My body screamed NO WAY in the form of shin splints and a painful knee. I talked to the chiropractor about the shin splints and came up with a plan. I talked to the doctor about the knee and he obliterated my plan.
No jumping jacks.
No jumping rope.
No lunges.
No daily exercise.
Now, this wouldn't be necessary if I was already accustomed to exercising. It's the fact that I am 44 and grossly out of shape combined that are making my knee hurt. There is no specific injury to it. It is just getting worn out. Nothing is going to change that.
Instead, here is my new plan: Aleve once a day while the knee hurts. Once the knee stops hurting, I can do fitness walking for 10 minutes at a time, three times per week.
30 minutes a week for cardio.
If I do that for a month and my knee doesn't hurt, I can add two minutes to each session. Two minutes. Not five. Definitely not ten. I'm not strictly limited to walking. Dr. LUE says that (for me) legs are for walking, stationary bikes, elliptical trainers (maybe), and swimming.
This new plan is depressing. I need to lose weight and exercise because I am not feeling well and a number of the issues that are contributing to that are weight/fitness related. I want to make some good progress--NOW. But Dr. LUE says that I need to look at the long term picture. I need to be the tortoise, not the hare.
So if you see a tortoise gathering rosebuds by the side of the road... that will be me. Wish me luck!
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
9 comments:
All of his advice sounds valid. I'm of the opinion that the faster you lose weight, the faster you will regain it. Slow and steady! It should be your mantra!
Definitely. I am of the opinion that healthy weight loss is a marathon, not a sprint.
You can do it!
oh, I hear ya. I have never been inspired to regularly exercise before now. But I feel it helping me with my stress...and just recently discovered I have two hernias and require surgery, so not so much with the weight lifting and ab work for a while. Sigh.
Keep walking & swimming!
I don't want to piss you off, but I was in spectacular shape in my early thirties and I am a fat old gimp in my forties. It's just age.
swimming is no impact... that's why i do it.
A couple of years ago, I really seriously dieted and exercised, and I barely lost any weight. It was long and hard and slow. If I had put HALF the effort into a diet/exercise plan when I was in my 20s, I would have been stick-thin and super-strong in about 3 weeks!
I hate aging!!!
Well now, doesn't this sound familiar! I don't have any restrictions placed on my activities, but I sure don't recover from activity like I used to. In fact, some things just always leave my muscles sore. Slow and steady is my new mantra.
Oy geeze.
Seriously, I'll just go to the corner and get it over with. LOL
Have I ever mentioned I'm fond of tortoises?
<-- going to the corner now!!!!
The tortoise always wins the race in the end...
from one tortoise to the other.
Tara
Post a Comment