Sweet Saturday Samples - Nov 12

Happy weekend! Welcome back to our little corner of the world where we are following one of the characters from  I.O.U. SEX on her journey to get healthier. Peggy has vowed to make better food choices and begin an exercise program, and she’s just set off on her first early morning walk around her Dallas neighborhood.

I'm taking my first steps toward a healthy life, she thought, smiling as she stepped onto the front driveway.

Barely half a mile later, sweat coated Peggy's body and her breath came in gasps.

"Whew. Walking's harder than it looks." She stopped and held her side.

Remembering what she'd read about starting gradually, and determined to complete her route, she slowed her pace but still forged ahead. Right away she realized why so many walkers and joggers wore headphones. Listening to music would be a welcome distraction, make the time pass faster, and probably lift her spirits too.

She thought back to her days as a Rayette and an Apache Belle.

Dancing and performing to music was so much fun. Of course, I was also a hundred pounds lighter back then.

She made a mental note to buy a portable CD player and some country western music. Ken always hated anything with a country twang, but she could listen to whatever she wanted.

Peggy stopped in her tracks.

That's the first time I've thought about Ken all morning.

That thought gave her a stab of guilt. Then she remembered something else she'd read about physical exercise—it was good for body, mind, and spirit—and she could think for herself now.

Peggy completed her first walk with an ache in her back, a twinge in her knees, and a smile on her face. When she returned home, she went straight to the refrigerator for another bottle of cold water, lifting it high in a toast to herself and her accomplishment. She finished the water and then climbed the stairs to her bedroom, eager to record her feat in her food journal. If what the weight-loss books and articles said was true, limiting her calories to 1,200-1,500 per day, drinking plenty of water, and exercising should result in a one to two pound weight loss each week. She just knew she could do it. In fact, she wrote that on the bottom of the page.

I can do it!

She underlined the sentence with three bold strokes.

Losing all this flab might not be as quick as a hiccup, but by golly, I'll stick with it no matter how long it takes.

Short term, all these things—eating healthy, limiting calories, exercising, keeping a journal—may seem like simple solutions. But the pathway to health is a crooked one with many turns in the road. Most people need an inspirational goal to keep them on the straight and narrow. What will Peggy’s shining light at the end of the road be?

Check out “Walk Off Extra Weight” and other inspirational articles on the Real Age website.  This site is the creation of Doctors Mehmet Oz (Oprah’s diet guru) and Michael Roizen, co-authors of YOU: The Owner’s Manual. Here’s the link: Walk Off Extra Weight 

To connect to all the other Sweet Saturday Samples participants, click here: Sweet List

Photo source: East Kessler Park (Dallas) Neighborhood Association

http://www.eastkessler.org/cgi-bin/photos.pl