Getting Into Shape for the Next Chapter of My Life!

I have started an everyday exercise program! One hundred minutes a day is my goal. It has been easy to gain weight teaching from home. Not having to move far from the refrigerator with the ubiquitous two different kinds of ice cream can be quite harmful to one’s waistline!

I found myself cavalier to the idea of maintaining a healthy weight. Then, I saw my A1C reading, and I knew that I had to change something to keep from having to take medicine for diabetes! But, also, as of August 2, I will not be teaching college again, so I will need to find something else that I can do, if the pandemic allows it. And one thing that I could do was to start moving more!

It’s ironic that I tried to sell my treadmill before we moved to Georgia, even pricing it as low as $35. But, it seems many people didn’t feel secure enough to come and buy it. I think the price might have been too low to make people think that it wasn’t a hoax or a bad buy. But, maybe God knew that I would need it more!

But, now, I use it nearly daily, walking for at least 100 minutes on it. It has become a life saver, as Douglas and I have not returned to the gym we loved, even though we have Silver Sneakers and do not have to pay for the services of the gym. Georgia was one of the first states to reopen, and now the rates of new infections are in record numbers and new hospitalizations.

It was difficult to get people to wipe down the machines before the crisis, and I didn’t always remember to wipe them down before I started using them. So, having my own in the basement, with a large screen television to watch or reading my Kindle is great for my health.

I have lost nine pouds in the last six or seven weeks, and I feel great. The natural high I get from exercising surprised me. I am actually more rested afterwards, not more tired, and that is so counter-intuitive, but true. Douglas and I still try to walk a couple of days a week on the trails around us, like today when we walked for over two hours.

The good thing about the treadmill in the basement is that we are not dodging bicyclists and skateboarders, the majority without masks. But, nothing beats walking in a forested part of the trail, listening to the birds sing and converse with each other, and looking at the different shades of green and having my soul refreshed.

So, I am getting in shape for the next chapter of my life, determined to be healthier than I have been. Because even if you take all the precautions to stay virus free, you can’t control others. I want to be as capable of surviving the virus as possible, if I caught it, and for me that means losing weight and giving my heart and lungs a workout each day. I call that preventive medicine!

Ragtag prompt is Ice Cream. Your Daily Prompt is Secure. The Daily Spur is Everyday.