I am not an athlete…anyone who knows me well knows
this. Yes, I played khoury league baseball on and off throughout my
younger years, have four years of grade school basketball under my belt, and
have dabbled in the finer art of gym-going here and there, but it never
sticks. I eventually quit.
With Khoury league I had to stop in high school since I
was never good enough to play select …and my high school team was a group of
girls that had been playing together on select forever…and were good.
With basketball, at first I thought it was a good idea because I liked playing
PIG (HORSE?) with my brothers, and
all the cool kids were signing up. It was fun for the first couple of
years and I wasn’t even that bad–
I always ran suicides – washboards, whatever – the fastest AND in 6th grade
I made the A squad. But then most of the cool kids quit and we were left
with those who were serious about the sport…and me. I played until
graduating 8th grade because it was like band…I started so I
had to see it through. I may have made three baskets total…in four years, but I do have
a trophy for free throws. With the gym…I just got busy with life (code
for lazy, didn’t want to get up at 5am anymore). Maybe I won’t
ever be an athlete…but at least I can be athletic...
Luckily (or unluckily) I am one of those people, who no
matter what I eat or my exercise level, that has a great metabolism. And I have certainly taken advantage of it –
as illustrated by daily Cokes and pretty consistent fast food binges. I always say I am going to give it up since
it is so bad for your health, and did give up soda for about 9 months last
year, but I always go back.
Not being able to outwardly see the consequences of my
unhealthy ways does not help, I just continue to eat what I want. But reading about studies that show what
processed foods, added sugar, and a sedentary life does to your body should be
enough to set anyone on a healthy lifestyle kick. As we all know, that is easier said than
done, and it’s unrealistic to think that one can cut everything that’s bad for
you out of your diet.
And then there is the fact that eating
healthy is definitely not as convenient as
eating something already prepared every night that you just stick in the oven
or microwave. I read an article the other day that said that 54% of food items sold in Walmart wouldn’t be allowed
on the shelves of Whole Foods due to unacceptable ingredients (like artificial sweetners,
artificial flavors, etc.).
My lifestyle is about to change - diet, exercise, the whole nine yards - as I have wanted it
to for some time now. My fiancée, Mark, decided he wants to
stop talking about getting in shape and eating better – and actually do
something for a change. So he’s signed
up for the Chicago Triathalon (the full triathalon, not the sprint) in August,
and the Chicago Half Marathon in September.
Being extremely stubborn and not wanting to be outdone by anything he
does, I'm signing up too. The
furthest I have ever ran is 3.1 miles (and I’ve only done that twice), pretty
sure I haven’t been on a bike since grade school, and I can’t swim other than
doggy-paddle (I have an unusually high number of friends were at one time
lifeguards, luckily).
I invite you to follow my journey as I train for these
events, and hold me accountable to follow through.
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