Rein Yourself In, Or Let the Chips Fall
What do you do; have a healthy diet, exercise, or spending habits; or Do you LET THE CHIPS FALL and devil take the hindmost. What do you do and how is it working for you?
I constantly vacillated from one to the other with a lot of anxiety about a few extra pounds, some lack of muscle tone and energy. and where my money was going and how much was left and for how long. i never went too far off, but was just careless enough to have a lot of concern a lot of the time.
Recently I found a diet and I totally like the plan and I try to stick with it and I am so much happier. Then, I made a financial plan and I am happier with that. I know what my consequences will be and they stay in my head.
I still have to work and commit to the exercise plan, but I am working on being more active, but I am not succeeding too well. I will just have to make a plan then stick with it. I know I will be happier when I do.
I was brought up with good habits but I kept thinking in the back of my mind that being a grown up means you get to break the rules. I think I am past that; being a grown up means knowing what you want and doing what it takes to get what you want.
I know I can break a rule, but I also know that I will have the consequences to pay. I have always known that, but I know and practice it better now.
I would love to hear from you all about what you do and what motivates you to do it. I am in my 8th decade and I can still do almost anything albeit not as fast, as often, or as long. I am happy and now I just have to get myself committed to an exercise plan, not this slipshod one I have been using most of my life.
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An old military maxim:- “No plan survives first contact with the enemy”.
In this case the “enemy” is life.
I therefore tend to work on the deal with it when it happens and to hell with plans.
Waylander, I love that Quote. The military either are vanquished or rally and make a new plan of attack and that is how we play “the game of Life” and stay strong.
Hi Rose, I think we are all sensible enough to know what is good and what is bad for us to a degree…….but we are all still here so I’m reckoning we are getting it right somewhere…….I don’t make plans, I don’t want any rigorous time schedule going on in my head………I don’t want to live my life with food menus stored in my brain……..we get less active and mobile as we age, but as long as we still potter around and don’t sit all day stuffing our face with food we will do ok……..I would say you are doing very well so why change…….all the media and stuff on what we should and shouldn’t do isn’t always correct…….life is to short to focus too much on strict regimes…….but if you have found something that suits you and makes you feel better then go for it…
Drummer, I believe you are asking for more. More of the same. [g]
Starlette, I feel as you do, but when the uneasiness is a problem, it is better to “rein it in”. You sound like you already have a pretty good plan in your head.
Hello Rose – A very interesting Blog and it is right on the money for me at least, I guess I would sum it up with the old adage A little of what you fancy does you good – for myself I eat well, have a daily Gin & Tonic and exercise regularly when my bones (and the weather) allow it. and enjoy music at all times. Now in my 89th year I feel I am blessed – I also have a lovely wife – whho could ask for more!
Drummer
Sounds great. Many Americans have some really unhealthy lifestyles. Fast food and sitting a lot.
Hello Rose,
be convinced in the natural fact; one can never call the time of youth back no matter what one does. Michael
You are so right, vonMichael, but people may feel much better and have more energy.
I know people who have made changes and gotten off most or all medications.
Hi Roseinbloom,
Rein yourself in, or let the chips fall??? You are missing the third option my friend. Yes we all need some discipline but we all need some carefree relaxation of mind and body. Elsewhere today I made a comment that I had given up on religion, that is organized official religions. I am presumptuous enough to have worked out my own meaning of life just for me, In my ‘book’, you have a duty to celebrate life and all the gifts that Gaia provides. The biggest gift is life it’s self, we have a set number of minutes to live so make them count. We live every minute until the minute we die. Don’t waste time fretting to and fro from every other person’s theory on how to live. and eat…it may work for them mainly because intellectually they have invested their opinion into it. It will not necessarily work for you. Just check out those endless shelves of, get well, get thin, get happy books in the bookstore. Each one has a different guaranteed plan to achieve these goals, really?? There is no one plan but a lot of guys are getting rich selling these books. In our modern world of over consumption foods are easily available but because it is available does not mean we have to eat to excess all the time. It is lobster time here, I’m going to have my annual lobster meal, with the potato salad and homemade mayonnaise, I’m going to eat it all and enjoy every bit, and not count a single calorie or work out the fat content LOL! I think I should enjoy this wonderful gift from the sea, take great pleasure from it and it will do me good. Now if I did that everyday??? not good. There is nothing wrong in having a great hamburger occasionally, it is just that no one needs half a pound of meat everyday.
Same goes for exercise, do what you love to do, when I was young I swam a mile four days a week because I loved it and yes I felt good. Never belonged to gym’ in my life but I did hard physical work in a huge garden. I walked dogs a couple of miles per day all because I loved doing that. I just can’t do these things now and I miss it but I’m not beating myself up over it, I do what I can.
When I was young I weighed 128lbs for years and thought I was fat!? I agonized because I was not 5ft.8inches and 118lbs. I cramped my enjoyment of life because I was not the shape I wanted to be. What a waste of fun time, thanks Twiggy! When at university there were a group of 10 couples, we were young, married at the same time, had our kids at the same time, remained friends a life time. All but two of my fellow wives have died and I am one of the survivors. We often went on holidays together and I would return somewhat depressed and guilty because I did not do all the various regimes that the other girls did.They went to the fancy gym’s, had beauty treatments, took fistfuls of supplements. They followed every fashionable medical theory that came up with the dedication of some prophet but it did not save them. I wish it had because I miss them.
Yes live a good sensible life eat what makes you feel well. Seek out the friends with generous spirits. Have fun, laugh and find beauty and remember to have the good things of life sometimes. We all need pleasure and we are supposed to have it, Enjoy! celebrate LIFE, we are dead a long time.
rockflower, I like your way of thinking and I agree. The last paragraph sums it all up. Eat what makes you feel well. I will focus more directly on that and I have been doing that and I find that sugar and highly processed foods don’t make me feel good It is all about finding a balance and what works which is a process and keeps changing as you have mentioned.
Thank you for your comment. I am a member of a Unitarian Universalist Church which is about everyone finding their own path but loving and respecting others and the earth . You may find it interesting.
Good blog, Rose. On the subject of exercising: Here, in Chicago, there are 3 programs back to back in the earlier hours of the weekdays. In case you are interested, they are on WYCC, our channel 20 here, PBS.
6 AM – Classical Stretch
6:30 AM – Body Electric
7:00 AM – Wai Lana Yoga
You can videotape them or DVR them and play them at your convenience. This is Central Standard time and you should always start out slowly! I’ve not gone outside my home to exercise. Just went for tap dancing, jazz dancing and very good Yoga classes. I love the Yoga!
As far as eating goes, I cook just about everyday. I try to make what my husband will eat as his appetite has really gone down since his hospitalization and the results changed and that great big appetite is teeny now. We eat pretty healthy I think. I don’t fret about food. We both grew up with moms that gave us what was healthy and we are still here and enjoy our food. All these research projects….I don’t believe in. One day eggs are bad for us, the next day we can eat all we want. I trust our bodies and mostly our immune systems. I don’t trust the medical field very much anymore. I will be 74 years old in a couple of months. I know pretty much from where my owies come. Either old injuries that left scar tissue or what I did or overdid 24 hours prior to the muscle aching. I won’t go near an xray machine! I think by these older ages we know our bodies more than anyone else and I trust that God gave them the ability to heal….well, except for those pesty organs that go bad like appendixes, etc. …..well, that’s it for me.
I walk 45 mins a day…I really don’t have healthy nutrition..I drink protein shakes..etc…I think that regular exercise is the key to a healthier life esp as the years pass..I have certain skin care products that I think are very good and never leave my house without sunscreen…I am in one of the hottest places, Houston, and also very humid. My husband and I enjoy our grandkids and have been very involved in their young lives..but now we have 2 teenagers and the baby is 9…so they are growing up in the blink of an eye..we need to get involved in something, hobby or travel…my husband retired last July and we’ve been busy getting our ducks in a row..but I think we seriously might need to work some part time…it’s easy to become isolated if u aren’t careful…I’ve enjoyed senior Chatters ..
Rose 43, thank you for the tip on the exercise programs. I know we get programs an hour earlier and we don’t have a box that records but we may get one. I need to do more, X-ray radiation is a lot more dangerous than a lot of us realize.
Twilight, you sound like a sensible lady and I am surprised that you say you don’t have healthy nutrition. Maybe a few changes could be considered. Remember, you set an example for the rest of your family. I watched a documentary last night and it seems to say eat only plants. That is extreme, but maybe some of the highly processed food could be avoided. I just started buying a healthier type hotdog when I buy them which is not often.
You sound so smart to ‘get your ducks in a row”. I just made a plan with my partner to get the cleaning done, or get a cleaning person. We need the exercise but it is too much for me.
I like to feel balanced. I go to the gym 3 times a week. It makes me feel good and calm. I think balance is important. I like to exercise my mind body and still enjoy life.
So a little red wine, enjoying work and keeping my body working with good times with loved ones and remembering that I am a small part of a very big world helps me feel balance.
Marjory, you sound like you got your life perfect and balance is the key. Wine gives me a headache and I need to make myself exercise. Almost any alcohol gives me a headache. I drink every once in awhile anyway.
You sound like you have a plan and you are happy with it and that is where I hope to be soon as I “rein myself in properly.
I use to plan everything and I mean everything. Now, pffff , I am a fly by the seat of my pants girl. I just let the chips fall and sometimes it works out well and other times not so well. But I see it as a 50/50 gamble either way you look at it.
Hi. I have a new habit. Anything tastes okay in salad. So, if I want a cheeseburger, pizza, French fries, steak…I chop it up and mix it with green stuff. I add garlic, olive oil and a touch of yummy dressing. this way I get a tons of vegs and just enough of “real” food. then, when I slip up, I don’t feel so guilty.
Smiles, K.
MsK. It sounds great. That is an idea that would work with a lot of things. Good to hear from you Ms. K.