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Oh, for a Guilt-Free Day Without Exercise

Posted on: Thursday, 7 July 2005, 09:00 CDT

It's a beautiful spring day and I should be outdoors, soaking up the sun while taking a walk, a jog or perhaps a bike ride. Yet dare I confess: I really want to start painting the shelving project that I'm working on. I've lain in bed at night mixing the colors, envisioning enhancements and melding my project into a "work of art."

However, my full-time job and evening engagements have left me bereft of time to sit and enjoy my craft. Today could be the day, but I feel guilty.

I know I should go for a walk. It's been drummed into my brain daily via all media. If I don't go for a walk, jog, bike ride or something, I will die. It may not be today, but definitely sooner than my friends and relatives who spend their spare time joyfully moving from one place to another and back.

Guilt wins, and I start walking down the street to get my exercise. I attempt the "brisk pace" that's prescribed to combat heart disease and a multitude of other ailments. I notice a combination of yellow daffodils and purple hyacinths in my neighbors' garden. It's so absolutely beautiful that I have to stop for a moment just to admire. Damn, there goes my "brisk pace."

I really want to just turn around and go home, but I'll get sick and die if I don't keep walking. So, on I go. When I finally get home, I do all those other little necessary things that we do and precious time slips away, leaving another day that I gave up the chance to do what I really wanted to do, because of guilt.

I start to read a novel before retiring for the night. I'm feeling guilty again because I know I should be doing a few hundred sit-ups or something. Instead, I'm lying in bed with a bottle of beer and a box of Cheez-Its beside me.

As I read, I reflect that the heroines in the novels written lately all jog, run marathons, lift weights and never get hungry. The heroine in the book I'm currently reading is a woman in her 50s. Two armed men chased her up a mountain. She broke a few bones in her ankle but managed to climb up the mountain and back down in frigid weather, waded through a stream, got caught in a rapids and swept up onto the rocks, then walked eight miles to her car and drove to the hospital. After getting her ankle bandaged, she went home, showered and continued on to dinner with friends. The next day she was back to work as usual.

As I read, the guilt engulfed me. I should be able to do that. I'm in my 50s. I start giggling. Two armed men chasing me up a mountain! Are you kidding? I'd just stop and drop -- dead.

I do watch my diet. I eat salads, eat a banana every day, use only non-fat milk and drink green tea daily. I've adopted other recommended behaviors in the hope that I will thwart the aging process that I am apparently empowered to stave off.

Guilt. Yes, I have a few bad habits. I love crackers, the saltier the better. I love chocolate, every day, several times a day. I really don't like to exercise. I don't jog or run. When I do take a walk, I seldom maintain the "brisk pace" needed for cardio benefits. I can ride a bike but it hurts. I can't swim. I don't really want to swim. I just want to sit and work on my projects. I want to sit for hours and work on my projects. And I want to do it without feeling guilty.

Roberta Tony lives in Buffalo.

Source: Buffalo News

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