Participation: Get in the action, not

Growing up in the 80s, Hal Johnson and Joanne McLeod were the epitome of healthy living to me. Sandwiched between my Saturday morning cartoons, I’d watch their short Body Break infomercials, hanging on to every word they preached. Hal in his short shorts and Joanne sporty her big eighties hair reminded the coach-potato generation that a complete exercise program was important for strengthening our cardiovascular system and building strong bones. Throw in a few tips about following a healthy balanced diet, guided by the Canada Food Guide, and your life was complete, healthwise that is. Whether people choose to live that way or not, few would disagree with Hal and Joanne.

I’ve been trying to exercise regularly while on this challenge but I’m finding that I don’t have enough energy to sustain the required one-hour a day. I had no problems ice-skating on the first day, but of course I was living off the fat of the land, burning off all the junk that I dumped into my body days before the diet started. By Feb. 5, a 15-minute game of laser tag left me feeling light-headed and thankful that I had arrived late and had missed the first two games. Today’s ice-skating adventure lasted 15 minutes before I was defeated by exhaustion, hunger pains and zero tolerance for the winter sport that I normally enjoy.

I can’t imagine how difficult it would be to work a strenuous job where you had to be on your feet all day. I’m lucky I’m a desk-jockey who sits at computer all day. How would one concentrate and stay focused?

I’m determined to figure out a way to fit exercise into this challenge so I’ll have to adjust my diet. I’ll probably fuel up on more potatoes, rice and whole-grains. High on my priority list is meat, if I can afford it. Certainly, I will have to make choices. What’s going to go? Fruits? Milk?

Breakfast
1 cup of oatmeal
1 orange
1 cup of milk

Lunch (I cheated. My explanation to come in my next post.)
mashed potatoes
Gravy
broccoli
Meatloaf

Dinner
Baked potato
meatloaf