Quick Rant...
Was having a conversation with an otherwise reasonable seeming woman when we got on to the discussion of tattoos. She stated that she had been getting her tattoos strategically in places that won't stretch as she gets fatter. I was baffled, why was gaining weight even an option? Why accept weight gain as an inevitability. I understand that factors like childbirth and menopause will prevent me from remaining 118lbs for ever but I refuse to ever be of a weight that my skin is distorted. I guess this is the closest I'll ever come to understanding the mentality of obesity, that some people just accept there is nothing you can do. But you can! You can fight it just by adjusting your relationships with food and exercise. Don't focus on the things you don't like, find the things you do. I can guarantee there is a vegetable or cardio workout for everyone.
I refuse to accept frailty as an option as well. It never fails when I'm at the grocery store, I usually am just in to grab a few things so I won't get a cart (helps cut down on impulse buys). I'll hand carry my items to the counter, the cashier will scan it and the bagboy will sack it. One of them will ask if I need help out to my car. When I do have a lot of items or if it's a young kid that you know is just doing what they're told, it doesn't bother me. But every now and then I can tell they are asking because they think it's a ridiculous amount for one person to carry... despite the fact that I carried it there all by myself (which I am always quick to point out). I just got this the other day, I was buying cat litter and soda (not intending to use those products together), and the cashier was a woman of 60 or maybe 70, not much older than my own mother. She was thin, frail, and looked older than her years; she struggled to pull the litter across the scanner. I reached for the 25lb box with my left arm, already holding the soda in the right, and she remarks "Oh honey, you should get a cart. You'll give yourself a hernia." I thoughtlessly remarked, "Oh it's only 25lbs," and picked it up from the counter one handed. As I walked away I realized the gravity of that exchange. I certainly take my youth for granted, I possess strength, stamina, and flexibility that I expect as standard for everyone. If I can do it, anyone can. And at some point my body will start to rob the calcium from my bones and the protein from my muscles, but this woman was, as I said, not much older than my own mother who is a triathlete, runs a 3 hour half marathon, avid kayaker and also scoffs at the idea of a 25lb box being something to fear. She is proof that it's never too late to get your fitness where you want it.
Never accept something as inevitable, unavoidable, or beyond your grasp. If you can set your heart on it, you can do it.
No comments:
Post a Comment