Since I have not been exercising for a while, I went back to the beginning and picked up the routine; going slow and then increasing as each day progresses. I have learned a lot in the past few years, and I am still committed to the healthy lifestyle.
Lately, I have noticed more aches and pains in my body. I have a consistent pain in my right shoulder that my nursing student of a husband attributes to bursitis. Back pain is a daily blemish on my life, and I fear that one day my back will just give up.
Discouraged by my inactive lifestyle, I grabbed one of my favorite work-out videos; Claudia Schiffer’s Abs. It’s a simple routine and it can kick my butt (more like abs), if I let it. And for my cardio, I climbed the stairs in my house; not once, but five times. Sad to say, I was out of breath by the fifth climb and could not continue.
During my workout, I discovered that my body was shaking and I ran out of breath faster than I did when I was younger. As a woman in her mid-thirties, age is becoming an increasing concern in my daily life. It creeps up unsuspectingly and if I ignore the signs, my own time on planet earth could be shortened by that many years.
Many may say, “You’re still young,” or “Girl, you don’t know what pain is until you have reached my age!” However, with the excessive weight it makes the aging process that much more painful. Just the other day, I discovered a rogue grey hair tucked behind my left ear. It was as if my body wants to hide the fact that I am aging. As if I have trained it to deny the ever-present life cycle!
Well, I can age gracefully or sit back and let it rob me of my life. Since I am now seeing the signs of age, and feeling the pains that come along with it, I am more determined then ever to shed this weight. I remembered how good I had felt when I shed only thirty pounds just a year and half ago. If the prospect of a healthy pregnancy is not motivation enough, how about the prospect of a pain free lifestyle and a long life?
When I consider everything I still want to accomplish in my life, it scares me to consider that inactivity could rob me of a couple of years of living my life. A family member of my husband was 16 years old when he suffered a heart attack. He was obese prior to his hospitalization. By overeating and remaining inactive, he nearly shaved off 50 years of his life. The prospect of death was his reality, and it became his motivating factor.
Since then, he has worked hard everyday to prolong his life. He is conscience as to the kind of foods he eats, and he exercises often. We could not imagine life without this young man in our lives, and we thank our lucky stars everyday that he remains with us. He has lost a tremendous amount of weight, and we are even more grateful that he became proactive about his lifestyle.
I don’t want my life to be shortened because I decided to give in to the pleasure of junk food and inactivity. I would rather live, see my goals accomplished, and be as pain free as I possibly can. I have a choice. I can either age quickly or age gracefully!
Stacy N. Elliott 