I’ve been doing the whole grains, no refined sugar (and limiting total sugar) thing for about a month now and I feel, relatively speaking, fantastic. I still have normal moods, especially when there’s actually something to be either sad or excited about, but I’m not a victim of wild fluctuations that come out of nowhere anymore. On holidays and special occasions I let loose, of course. On those days I can really tell the difference. The sugar crashes knock me out and the next morning I feel like death and do not want to get up. Oh yeah–the other thing about cutting out sugar and the like is that 5 out of 7 mornings a week I am actually happy to see a new day. This, my friends, is like having stepped into a new, heavenly realm. I am not a morning person.
So. That’s going well, and prediction-jinxing be damned, I think this one has a greater chance of sticking than other food-revolutions I’ve embarked upon. I attribute its stickiness to the fact that I have come across so many lovely things to eat in so many interesting combinations that I am actually enjoying eating more now than I did before, which is really saying something.
Here’s the problem: exercise. The problem is, simply, that I don’t do it. But I’m not a slouch, either; just sitting around kills me. The couch is not my friend. The couch is boring. I love to take walks and hang out and generally be invovled with people and things as often as possible. (Housework is not on the ‘fun movement’ list, however). What I hate more than sitting in one place is exercise for its own sake. There is no place in the social order I loathe more than the gym. I could list the reasons, but why? Why make YOU experience the hard bodies, slimy shower stalls and sweaty equipment? Damn. I just did it.
It’s not an aversion limited to aethetics, either. It’s the idea of a gym that’s the most off-putting to me: in an age in which we have limited our movement, we have also increased–exponentially–our consumption of non-renewable resources. The common complaint about people driving to the gym has some merit.
In all my reading about healthy eating, the kind that encourages it not only for ones own well-being but for the planet’s as well, I haven’t come across anything that prescribes a similar ethic for exercise. Here’s what I want: a lifestyle that involves a healthy amount of exercise done not simply for its own sake but as a way to improve the planet’s and the community’s health as well.
I have a few ideas. There are a few that are obvious–walking instead of driving whenever necessary, taking the stairs instead of the elevator–but I need some more ideas. Specifically I’d like to target weight-bearing exercise like the kind you would get lifting weights. I want to do something interesting that will help build community and eliminate the need for fossil fuels for a few activities. I am looking into volunteering at our wonderful Co-op, asking for jobs that involve light lifting. It comes with a savings on our grocery bill, which would be a nice bonus.
So, readers…what could I add to the list? How do you work movement in your own life in ways that help the planet and build community?
Just please, God, oh please, don’t make me go back to the gym, even if I do have 34% body fat. DAMN.
you can come work with me, sster. i’ve got three flights of stairs, and boxes that need a-haulin’ 🙂 keeps me out of the gym (which i also loathe), and fairly fit.
Why does a person actually like putting on ridiculous clothing (bought for this purpose) and driving to get on a treadmill or vying for enough space on an aerobics floor to step up and down on a step 8 million times in the course of an hour? I don’t know, but I do love it. That aside, I find that writing down how much walking I do inspires me to walk more often and further, and to build into my days how long it takes me to get somewhere on foot (when I can) instead of in my car. I’d love to hear what you come up with.
do you have space for a garden? if not, is there a community garden around? hauling rocks and dirt, shoveling, bending over to weed … all great exercise. not year round, but a good part of the year.
i’m a runner, although i haven’t run for a couple of months, and desperately need to get back to it…. but i hate the treadmill, and try mostly to run in nature.
I’m with you kid. You must be my long lost twin. Once I totally ticked off a guy who was a regular at the gym. I told him that I didn’t admire fake muscles that were built at the gym. I thought it was much more admirable for a guy to get muscles building a shed or stuff like that. Haha!
I hear ya about the gym!
I think your co-op idea sounds fantastic! Helping the community and getting a bit of exercise and grocery discounts in return.
Other community service activity ideas might involve something with kids, where you would be chasing them around and/or playing sports with them.
I really enjoyed reading your blog.