On the Move

Getting older can be very unkind when it comes to the body. I always used to wonder when I should start using wrinkle cream. All those commercials for a smoother, younger face left me confused. I wish they would have just said, "hey you! The girls who doesn't think she will ever get old enough to have wrinkles, yeah you, go get this cream!" There were also all kinds of warnings like, "enjoy eating like that now because one day your metabolism is going to slow down." I would usually just shrug that off and think, "not likely." I'm not sure what happens, but when you hit mid thirties it seems that the body just says, "I'm out! I'm tired of all the abuse." This is when suddenly you get every kind of "old person" injury, the "character lines" become visible and the metabolism takes a nose dive. I thought I was supposed to feel all wise and wonderful....I guess that is the mid forties??? Because this is the stage where I am beginning to panic. "If this is what late 30's looks like, what the heck am I going to look like in 10 years. Will by body even hold out?"

Hit with the reality of my metabolism, I have 2 choices. Eat less, or move more. Although I think I will have to do both to do anymore than maintain. Blaahhh. To monitor my level of activity per day I decided to wear a pedometer. It is a pretty helpful reminder to not sit down for too long. I have managed to rope a few people into doing this with me because a little friendly competition is a great motivator. Plus, it is pretty hard to fail at just walking. It's not like going to the gym or taking up some kind of exercise routine that makes me feel resentful at having to do some sort of formal exercise. You can't get through the day without walking, the only thing I need to do is make sure that it is enough. My goal is to get 15,000 steps in a day. You need 10,000 for a healthy level of activity. I seem to get 10,000 pretty easily so I upped it, but that might be an out of reach goal. We'll see. The harder thing will be to cut back on all the crap I eat, but in the face of turning 40 I've got to give it a good try!