I moved from a traffic filled, noisy, hustle and bustle city to out in the country with dirt roads and tractors about 6 months. It’s been something I’ve wanted to do since I was young. Living out here does however come with an acre of land and a lot of yard work to do. Once every two weeks I have to go around and pick up all of the palm fronds that have fell in the yard, along with the hundreds of pine cones that have fell from the 20 pine trees I have in my yard. I pick up the pine cones because I don’t want the tractor mower riding over them. What does this all have to do with diabetes?
Well, one day I decided to do the yard pickup, cut the grass, weed whack, and use the blower to blow leafs off of the roof, and about halfway through I had to sit down and relax and felt like my heart was about to pump out of my chest and I started to feel a little nauseous. I knew at that time that if I can’t even handle doing yard work, how am I supposed to live a long healthy life for my daughter? It took some yard work for me to realize how bad it has gotten. No exercising, no controlling what I eat, just put it on a plate, shoot up some insulin and go back out and eat more. Then as soon as I’m done, just sit on the couch and watch sports because I’m too tired from sitting in my office chair all day long.
Typing this out makes me understand how pathetic that sounds and how many excuses I have given over the years and that every day that goes by that I continue to give an excuse, is probably another day I’m losing out on in the end.
My problem is that I don’t have a gym anywhere near me (closest store is 20 minutes away). So, I need to do things on my own at home. I hate going for walks outside during the summer because it feels like 95 degrees even at 3 a.m. down here in south Florida. Wait, I feel like I’m making another excuse. I used to have an exercise bike, but I rode that till I broke it, literally. The batteries went dead and leaked and ruined the electrical so now there is only one level that works, and I don’t see the point in that.
My goal is to purchase an elliptical machine, which is exactly what I use when I do actually go to a gym. Only problem is that they are so damn expensive, but the investment in my health is well worth it.
I read this and just had to respond. I feel your pain trust me. Like you, I sit behind a computer all day long. When I get home, I’m constantly on the computer or phone browsing the web. Instead of paying to have my grass cut, I choose to do it myself because it’s the only excercise I get.
I have close to an acre and cut it with an old red push mower. It doesn’t even have wheels that spin on their own. I also have some hills, doesn’t look bad until you get out and start up them. Today I had a hard time getting the weed eater going. I’m so out of shape my legs started trembling while I was kneeled down messing with it. It was even fairly cool out tonight in Tennessee and I had to take a break after weed eating. I couldn’t even finish the whole yard, I left the back for tomorrow. I know I’m out or shape at 31 even though I don’t look like it. My worry is I get so exhausted, I literally drop with sweat, soaking wet. I changed my shirt twice and took 4 breaks. By the end, I literally came in the house and fell on the floor and felt completely delirious and not with it. I’m not sure if I have a thyroid issue or what. All I know, is my father who is 69 years old can get out there and not take 1 break and he even had a quad bypass and 13 stents in his heart. I feel completely pathetic, but am worried something else is going on as well.
Yard work is the death of me!