Archive for the ‘Health & Fitness’ Category

Own any exercise equipment? If it could talk, what do you imagine it might say?

Three months? What if someone left you in the box for three months? It’s dark in here. The packing peanuts itch.

Dude, I found a great clothing rack on e-bay. Bookmarked it for ya. Check it out.

Really? You’re gonna watch the entire Godfather trilogy while I just sit here? Don’t you think that’s a little … selfish?

You may have had the best intentions when purchasing your Bowflex, treadmill, exercise bike, or elliptical trainer, but somehow you failed to form the lasting bond needed to get your money’s worth? What went wrong?

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“You look exhausted,” the grocery cashier commented.

“Yes,” I confided, “and I still have to work tonight.”

“At least you work at home,” she smiled, “so you can shower and change into something comfortable.”

It seemed a little odd that she mentioned showering at 9:30 p.m., but after she mentioned it three more times, it was obvious she thought I need a good scrubbing. Must have been the sweat-soaked hair framing my face and the streams free-flowing down my cheeks and neck. Another hot, humid Florida night in what has seemed to be an endless series of heat waves.

Dorothy Gale would have nothing to fear living here. The Wicked Witch of the West would melt on arrival.

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People often make weight loss more difficult than it has to be. All you have to do is take in fewer calories than you burn. Uh-huh … easier said than done.

If you’re finding it difficult to get control over your food consumption, maybe all you really need is to learn how to show the food who’s boss. Just take the same approach as when your kids are misbehaving, your coworkers are getting on your nerves, your dog is chewing your slippers, and the customer-service rep is trying to deny your refund: Give that food an icy stare.

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If you’re like most people, you jumped into 2011 resolved to rev up your career, rekindle important relationships, right wrongs … and of course, remake your appearance.

So three weeks into the new year, how are those resolutions working for you?

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Eureka, that’s it! That’s it!

They’ve finally found the cure for the common cold!

Okay, well, not exactly. But researchers have figured out how you can get fewer than the two to four colds the average American adult catches each year, and how you can ensure those colds are less severe: exercise.

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These are treacherous times in the United States … for those trying to watch their weight. For a week they’ve been scraping themselves off the ceiling—either from the sugar high of sneaking into the Halloween stash, or from the frustration of trying to back away from the candy. And now that the jelly beans are finally gone, it’s time to start planning the annual Thanksgiving gluttony-fest.

So how can we enjoy the holiday food season without reaching January in the shape of a Butterball?

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All three of my cancer diagnoses involved multiple surgeries and treatments initiated in rapid succession. Because of previous health issues, I was used to asking doctors questions, taking notes, making sure to get a clear understanding of what to expect during and after procedures. But the information is only as good as the doctor doling it out. And while most of my doctors have been blessings, a couple were not.

One had the bedside manner of a slab of marble. He resented questions and answered in monosyllables … if he answered at all. He responded to my inquiry about a complicated surgery with a short video. The production, with its idealized cartoon renderings, failed to mention the potential circulatory complications, long-term back issues, and other serious risks common to the procedure. Those I discovered only after suffering major complications that took three years and several operations to correct. So I was surprised after leaving Dr. Marble to discover he’d noted in my medical records that he went over those complications with me in detail prior to surgery. Had that been true, I might have taken a different path.

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A group of us were sitting around having a good laugh when three disembodied heads flew past the front window in quick succession.

“Did you see that?” I asked.

“The Segways,” someone replied. “They rent them downtown.”

Ohhhh, the Segways. Well, it was just a bit early for Halloween.

A Segway is a two-wheeled, self-balancing motorized vehicle that can transport a single rider in a standing position at speeds up to about 12 mph. Though I’ve never had the pleasure, they look like an absolute blast to ride. But as I watched the Segways roll by and considered the motorized carts supplied by most stores and the ubiquitous ads for motorized chairs, I couldn’t help wondering if humans are unlearning how to walk … and what consequences that might have.

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If there’s one thing all children in the American South have in common, it’s the joy of running barefoot. I was 10 before we moved to a paved street. Until then, I ran free on dirt roads, prickly yards, and sandy lakefronts. In summers, we visited my grandparents in Alabama, and each year I’d wander into a clover patch, step on a bee, and suffer terribly until Daddy pulled out the stinger. But not even my annual bee encounters could persuade me to put on a pair of shoes.

Somehow Southern kids manage to walk, run, tumble, skip, jump rope, ride bikes, and even play baseball and football in our bare feet. But then we grow up, put on a few pounds, decide to get in shape, and suddenly it’s all about THE SHOE.

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As a small child, I was so afraid of heights I was scared to go up on a teeter-totter. So I only got on with children much smaller than I was. That way I could control the experience, keeping myself in the middle and bottom ranges and sending the other kids soaring to the top. Naturally, they were thrilled with the view from on high. The view from the bottom wasn’t so great, but at least it didn’t come with a panic attack.

The other day, I realized I’m back on the teeter-totter, sitting at the bottom and hating the sucky view. Only this time, I don’t have the same level of control. That’s because the teeter-totter is my life, and I’ve somehow seesawed out of balance, becoming focused on work to the exclusion of almost everything else—including my health and well-being.

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