Family & F.I.T. | Debbie Hatch
I don’t buy into or share much of the “motivational” mumbo jumbo online. There are so many, they become irrelevant. They’re too simplistic and frequently little snippets taken completely out of context.
We like them. They fill us with an emotion but don’t cause us to do anything.
Is that inspiration?
Seriously.
Someone told me last week, “you’re inspirational.” She reads all of my posts, loves seeing pictures and videos of me in the gym, is super supportive of all the things I do. Thanks so much!! But…she doesn’t do one thing different to take care of herself. Am I inspiring her? OR merely providing a diversion for, “what things might be like for someone else?”
As I sit here on a Sunday morning, in the quiet of 630, finishing my espresso and seeking motivation to actually get something done, this came across my screen.
It did seem like something worth adding to and sharing.
Here’s the truth:
We’re all getting older.
All of us.
We have a choice in approaching that stage of our life as healthy as we possibly can or merely letting time run its own course without any intervention.
Me? I prefer to control what I can. I prefer to be in charge.
Here’s the truth:
Yes, we’re busy.
We’re all so busy.
We have so many other things to do.
We have so many conflicting priorities.
Besides, life is short.
We should just enjoy ourselves.
Here’s the truth:
That’s not exactly how it works.
You need to be a priority too. Now. You need to take care of yourself. It’s never too late to begin but most of us don’t start exercising for the first time when we’re in our late 70s or 80s.
I prefer to add life to my life. Now. Feeling strong and capable; going through life with fewer aches and pains IS enjoying myself. Even though that means I take 30-60 minutes each day to focus on exercise. Even though that means, I don’t have dessert with every meal or a plate of cookies every time I feel like it.
I don’t care what you weigh or the size of your clothes.
I do care that you take your health seriously.
Doesn’t matter to me whether you run, walk, do yoga or pilates, bike, canoe, take kick-boxing classes, or dance around the house with your dog. Doesn’t matter to me whether your weights are 5 pounds or 50 so long as you’re challenging yourself (and being honest about what that really means).
Flexibility, strength, and endurance are all critical as we age. Protein, fruits, and vegetables are good for you: that’s not up for debate. Approaching the next stage with some muscle mass (since we lose it during the normal aging process) is smart! Remembering our cardiovascular system needs to be worked, makes sense.
Do something for you.
Something YOU like to do.
Who cares whether it’s something your mom, sister, spouse, best friend, or neighbor does.
Something you will actually do, over the long term.
DO something despite how many other things might have to wait or (gasp) not get done.
Thinking about it doesn’t help.
This picture of me was taken in the gym last week.
Taken the same day a 33-year-old man told me, “You look great. I’d love to start lifting weights but I’m too old.” Yeah, me too.
This is 53. This is 100% natural. This is no supplements except protein powder and decent nutrition. Five amazing little humans call me, “gramma”. This is busy. This is running two businesses and traveling 200 days a year. This is a LITTLE Bailey’s in my morning coffee. This is ONE frozen chocolate chip cookie every day. This is me enjoying life as I plan to do for as long as possible. This is not me bragging or screaming, “look at me”. This IS life because of the priorities I choose day in and day out.
YOU are worth 30-60 minutes a day. That still leaves you 16 hours a day (assuming you sleep 8 hours each night…and who does that?) to do all the other things.