Confessions of a couch potato

I’ve never been a big fan of sports. When I was growing up, no one in my family exercised with any seriousness of purpose. I did ride horses as a child and skied occasionally, but anything involving sweat, heavy breathing or muscle ache on a regular basis was best avoided, as far as I was concerned. (Note to self: help my kids to enjoy sports now – the later you leave it, the harder it gets.)

Over the years, various attempts at getting fit – gym memberships, swimming pool season tickets or African dance classes – ran aground after a few months due to lack of time, energy and interest. Why sweat and suffer when I could be relaxing at the movies, curled up on my couch with a good book or chatting with a friend over a cappuccino?

Imagine my shock when I met my husband 16 years ago, a man bristling with health and sporting enthusiasm and requiring daily doses of exertion for his physical and emotional well-being. After accompanying him on yoga retreats, bike outings and ski trips, and being coached patiently by him on various home training devices, I have over the years become modestly fit. However, I still struggle to take on board the idea of exercise as something I might willingly undertake – and enjoy! – daily.

And yet, it is something I now need and want to do. At 44, I need to strengthen muscles and bones to prevent muscle loss and osteoporosis after menopause. I want to keep my heart and respiratory system in shape. I also want to boost my immune system and prevent cancer (more on this in a forthcoming post). Lastly, I want to improve my sleep, mood and blood-sugar balance – all of which regular sports has been shown to do.

And then there’s good old-fashioned vanity: I dream of shedding 5-6 pounds of winter fat and the abdominal flab I have been sporting since the birth of my twins nearly eight years ago. And since I don’t believe in miracle pills or “slim-while-you-sleep” muscle stimulation electrodes, there’s only one thing for it: exercise.

So I have begun designing a program based on the World Cancer Research Fund’s “Moving More for Cancer Prevention” that should meet my sporting needs. It involves aerobic exercise – which strengthens heart and lungs, lowers blood pressure, improves cholesterol, brain function and mood – and strength exercise which increases muscle mass, helps burn more calories, maintains bone density and strengthens core muscles. On days when I’m doing neither, I plan to do yoga or simple stretches to counteract the stiffness that comes from being hunched over a computer or a steering wheel and to relax me after a hectic day. (I will post my specific exercise plan soon.)

The key to compliance of course is motivation, which I have always struggled with. Not seeing much point in exercising, I never made it a priority. The less I exercised, the more unfit I became, making it even harder to muster up the enthusiasm for exercise – a painful slog when you’re out of shape.

To break out of this vicious cycle, I have decided to take a very structured approach. First, I will make a contract with myself (using this template) setting out my goals. This involves appointing a fitness partner who supports me in getting fit; my husband has kindly agreed to do this.

Next, I will start designing weekly schedules setting out my exercise plans for each coming week. (This online fitness diary can be used both to plan ahead and to record the exercise completed.)

Intentionally setting aside time for exercise – rather than hoping that a free half-hour will magically appear out of nowhere – will be crucial to my success. Planning workouts ahead of time – defining what I will do when and where, and putting out the clothes I will be wearing the night before – will increase the likelihood of them getting done. I will reward myself for any meaningful progress I might achieve (a massage/facial/new pair of trainers?) but won’t beat myself up if results don’t happen overnight.

I’d love to hear what some of you are doing to keep fit, and especially, how you manage to keep at it. Motivational tips very welcome!

The triad of health - a virtuous cycle

The Anti-Cancer Challenge is based on a “triad of health” consisting of optimum nutrition, daily exercise and adequate sleep and rest. For while we may be healthy enough when incorporating only one of these elements in our lives, I don't think it is possible to attain optimum health unless we practice all three.

If all goes according to plan, each of these three cornerstones will reinforce the other two, as depicted in my modest graphic (left and below). My fervent hope is that if I can stick with it for a year, I will continue doing so for the rest of my life.

There really is no alternative. For two years now, I have been burning the candle at both ends, over-extending myself in my job while at the same time trying to be a dedicated mother-of-three, wife and homemaker. “This is just a temporary bottle-neck,” I kept telling myself. “Things will slow down soon and then I’ll get my life back.” But as month after exhausting month passed, this looked increasingly unlikely.

The first healthy habit to go overboard was sleep as I burned the midnight oil to keep up with e-mails, research and paperwork. The next casualty was exercise – for how could I exert myself physically when I was struggling just to keep my eyes open? Then even my diet started slipping: my morning coffee was getting a little stronger every month, and I was snacking on dried fruit and other sweet snacks throughout the day to boost my flagging energy levels. What little sleep I allowed myself was fitful, disrupted by my high-energy snack-habits and too much time spent in front of the computer.

During previous periods of stress, I often came down with sinus infections or digestive problems and my hormone cycle would go loopy. Ten years ago, when I was particularly overstretched for a prolonged period of time, I had to be treated for cervical carcinoma in situ. Each time I fell ill, I would swear that I’d change my ways; but once I had regained my strength I would go back to pillaging my reserves.

This time, though, I have decided not to wait until disaster strikes. At 44 I am fit enough to put healthy habits in place with relative ease, yet mature enough to stick with them (one hopes!). If I don’t take the time to look after myself now, I’ll have to spend that time in years to come in doctors’ and physiotherapists’ waiting rooms – a prospect I don’t relish.

Under the soon-to-be-published guidelines of the Anti-Cancer Challenge, more sleep will provide the energy to exercise, while exercising more will help me to sleep better. Better sleep will also allow me to reduce my sugar and caffeine consumption, again reinforcing sounder sleep! I have also noticed that when I exercise, I automatically seek out healthy foods – vegetables, fruits, lean protein – and don’t feel the slightest bit drawn to sugar or chocolate and the illusion of energy they offer. And when I eat an optimal diet I have the energy I need to exercise and cope with the demands of my busy life. A virtuous cycle!

It’s hardly rocket science, but I have summarized this virtuous cycle in a diagram (below; click on graphic for a more legible enlargement) which I have printed out and stuck on my refrigerator to remind me to look after myself.