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How much is quality of life worth to you?
Before my car accident a few years ago, the question of “quality of life” bears no meaning. All that matters was that I could fit into my skinny jeans. My body did not protest when I put it into motion after hours of inactivity without a proper warm-up. It could be that I am getting older.
Why is quality of life important?
Like most women, keeping my eye on the ball in my youth means making sure the scale is not ticking upwards. I was not obsessive nor did the number that shows up on the scale a reflection of my self esteem.
But nothing ages your body faster than an accident that limits your mobility. Emotionally I was not ready to be old and yet my body felt like it aged decades.
It is like trying to get over that mental block of driving a mini-van. How sexy can you feel driving a mini-van? You can still be a sexy mom driving a sedan because a sedan means one child. Your body can bounce back after one child? But a mini-van? All of a sudden you are a baby making machine pumping out multiple children. Your body is not going to retain any youthfulness after multiple births. Sexy and mini-van do not go together just like quality of life and poor health do not go together.
My body no longer feels invincible where I can prance with the grace of gazelle at the drop of a hat. Let me warm up first, throw in some light stretching; now I am ready to prance with the grace of a drunken sow suffering from food-coma after a celebratory feast. But guess what? I am moving. I am trying. Who cares if there is nothing graceful in my movements.
How is exercise going to improve my quality of life?
Exercise and healthy eating are the only means we have to improve our quality of life. If you ever get a chance to observe a toddler, notice how much joy she derive from just moving her body and playing. I am a firm believer that unless you move it, you are going to lose it. A body in motion stays in motion.
I am afraid that once I stop moving, it will become more difficult to start moving again. Everyone hates stop and go traffic because it is a waste of time and a source of stress to be sitting traffic. What make you think stop and go exercising is not a waste of time and a source of stress? Stop and go exercising means you are never going to be constant enough to see results which will add stress to your already plummeting body image.
When I think about quality of life, I think about being able to shop for groceries or taking a stroll through my neighborhood after dinner no matter what age I am. No matter how much others love and are willing to help you, there will be moments when you are alone. Can you take care of your most basic need such as a trip to the post office without assistance?
Until next time and thanks for stopping by Small Steps to Health.
Photo by: Southern Foodways Alliance.
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{ 1 comment… read it below or add one }
SO GRATEFUL to be able to do those basic things. Working at a vet clinic and seeing animals that need help every day really makes me appreciate how important quality of life is… to make our days comfortable and worth it and happy.
Sagans last blog post……The Run-A-Race-This-Summer Challenge