Summer Salads

Today was our first actual workout day at the gym. Other than some sore leg muscles, I’m feeling pretty good. Not being an anatomy major – I think they’re the quadriceps I’m feeling. Whatever. I used them, today. What a concept!

On the plus side, it actually went better than I thought. I’m 66, overweight, and haven’t been inside of a gym in 10+ years – and even then it wasn’t like I was serious about anything. The simple fact that I walked out alive, today, is a step in the right direction.  Our trainer is a great guy who is probably mid-to-late 50s – not a 20-something jockhead – and he gets it. He pushed but was patient, he explained things. His best sage advice was talking about training the mind to learn how to do all of this, because, while it’s all physical work, it’s the mind that’s driving it. That was my aha moment – and the moment I realized that I really can do this. Lord knows I’m stubborn, pigheaded, and obstinate – they’re the perfect qualities for this! The other thing is we’re in this for the long term. 3 days a week for a year. A whole year.

And, so… the food consumption is going to change, a bit. Not a diet, but a bit of a change in direction. In spite of the ridiculous desserts and such that I’ve made and posted over the years, we actually eat pretty well. We just eat too much. I make something and at any given moment, the neighborhood could drop by and there would probably still be leftovers. And being raised in the ’50s when there was no such thing as wasting food and the mantra was you cleaned your plate because of the starving children in China has had it’s psychological effect, as well. That needs to change. It’s part of the mind driving it – a conscious effort to pay attention to what I’m preparing and plating. Cook less. Smaller portions. Stop eating when you’re full. It’s okay to leave food on the plate. And that will help me hone my portioning.

Summer really is the perfect time for me to start this. The garden, plus local produce, is going to make for some great meals and there’s several months before we transition to fall offerings. I should have a pretty good grasp on this by then. We’re not counting calories, per se, but I am going to be paying a bit more attention to them – making smarter choices.

And it’s being realistic about our goals. We want to lose some weight, we want better mobility, we want better stamina, we want to be active at 80 – there are so many people we haven’t annoyed, yet.

And we’re not expecting anything to happen any time, soon. Nor are we expecting miracles and GQ Bods. I wasn’t buff when I was 25 – I’m not expecting I will be 40+ years later. On the other hand, it would be nice to see my toes, again.

I’ll settle for the little victories!