MOM'S HEALTHY PLAN BACK FIRES - AND SHE'S HAPPY

MOM’S HEALTHY PLAN BACK FIRES – AND SHE’S HAPPY

It was summer and I was furthering my health and fitness education by taking on line courses. With limited time and in the midst of a few horrendous heat waves I planned for cool salads, fruits and veggies. It was time again anyway for my inactive and sluggish family to “get the health and wellness talk!” I expected backfire as usual, however, something much more interesting happened.

One afternoon I sat in my study and overheard them sharing tidbits of health information I had been blasting for weeks over the computer speakers. Then shockingly I heard stories of their new exercise activities and my jaw dropped as they discussed ways to increase metabolism and the energy benefits of foods. As if that wasn’t enough to make my head spin that night my girls joined me outside for some exercise. We pushed our way breathlessly through a turbo fire-cardio-kickboxing program that soared our heart rates to 250 bpm (ok perhaps a slight exaggeration). Right beneath a quick undercut and high jump I saw through the sliding glass doors my son enter the garage, then his friend, then another friend, then my daughter’s boyfriend and finally my husband. 1-1/2 hours later I scraped myself off the patio slab of cement where we were finally stretching and I went inside to get a badly needed cup of cold water. It was the strangest sight. One dim light shone in the family room, the TV screen was black, the leather couches were free of bodies, and there were no laptops illuminated. Then the door to the garage opened and I caught a glimpse of what was happening inside. There was a room full of TESTOSERONE and SWEAT. It was the most bizarre thing: All the family, including guests, were EXERCISING!

My youngest daughter, 22, and her boyfriend were now jogging with their West Highland Terriers, Chester and Chloe, because they wanted to lose weight. My oldest daughter, 23, was now walking her dog Marley (the girl dog who was supposed to be a boy–another story for another time) because the plants and grass in the yard had no chance of survival if “Marley-cakes” continued to frolic and romp through them like a crazy horse. My son, now 20, started a strength training program, a regular sleeping regimen, and stopped eating out because he was “tired of being tired” and didn’t want to spend every available minute feeling sluggish and sleepy. The biggest surprise was my husband. He put an exercise program together for our son and while coaching him, he began his own exercise routine. Not only do they all physically look and feel better but they seem happier.

I don’t know how long it will last but I’m enjoying seeing biceps flexing, the fridge full of veggies and fruit, and don’t mind so much (temporarily of course) the sets of dirty tennis shoes strewn about the house!