Staying fit isn’t just about looking good and feeling good, it is also about preventing what illness can be prevented and preparing the body for what can’t. If that’s not enough to motivate you then I’m not sure what will.
Most people start with the first reason. They want to look good. I’ll take it. Whatever reason helps you get going and off the couch. Eventually, you will notice that your workout efforts to look good will actually make you begin to feel good. You will boost your endorphins, boost your confidence and feel better than ever. In time, I hope it turns into realizing that hard work has more payoffs — preventing illnesses. Yes. What if the fixes could help you get off medications like high blood pressure and cholesterol meds and help prevent other illnesses down the road like heart disease?
I’ll never forget a sweet man I met walking the halls in tears one day on my unit. I asked him if I could help him. He was devastated. I hugged him and said “sir I will pray for you. What do you need?” He replied, “my wife’s heart isn’t healthy enough for the chemo she needs to fight the Leukemia. They can’t admit her to this floor. First, we have to go to cardiology and help her heart and she must stay there until her heart is strong enough for the fight.”
Eventually, she made it to my hall. They helped her enough to get treatment but the man told me she had to get minimal doses. They had to tiptoe around her health problems. I checked on the sweet couple every day when I was inpatient. I was so happy she could at least get some type of help. Then one day I left my room for a walk. Went to their door to say hi and she was gone. The nurses couldn’t say what happened, they could only bow their heads and hug me. They knew I was devastated. We were all there for the same fight. We were a family and I was losing friends along the way. That man’s wife was just one of them. I don’t want that to happen to you. I don’t want YOU to have a story.
There are so many ways to stay fit these days there really is no excuse not to take care of your health. It can be as simple as a walk or run in your neighborhood to taking a yoga class. Just pick something and do it. Walk, run, do the stair master, run drills, take a class at your local gym or community center, or slow it down with Pilates, yoga, or meditation. Call workout studios in your area and give it a shot. Most have free trial classes. Sure it might take a few workouts until you feel the difference but it’s your family and most importantly YOUR LIFE worth the effort
