I was visiting a good friend the other day-we've known each
other for years. Our sons went to elementary school
together. I remember a time when the two of them weren't
talking, and we were upset. I think the logic was "if we
can be friends, so can they," and they defied our logic!
Kids.
She's been so good to me, and we've talked on many
occasions about health, nutrition and exercise. Being a
nutritionist, I'm a big talker in these areas, and as a
teacher (I teach nutrition to business students), I want to
make sure everyone agrees with me.
After offering all my sage wisdom on how to increase
activity (you know, start with something you like,
anything...just do it)-she looked at me and said "but there
is nothing that interests me. What can you do with someone
like me?"
My first reaction was "absolutely nothing, I'm afraid,"
figuring she was simply doomed to be inflexible (literally
and figuratively), having high blood pressure and hoping
she had paid up her life insurance.
But then I began to think about this conundrum. After all,
she's not the only person out there who can't figure out
what do to for activity. She's not the only one who is
bombarded with information (including mine) about the
health benefits of exercise and being active. And by no
stretch of the imagination (which may be the only
stretching she does right now) is she the only one who
feels guilty and angry at being made to feel like she is
doomed to die young. My friend doesn't smoke, she tries to
eat well, she has the occasional drink. She is a wonderful
friend who listens and has helped me out tremendously in
the past-and she deserves to have my attention and not be
written off as someone who has ""chosen" to be unhealthy.
The question then, is "what can I do for folks like her?"
The reality is that if she does want to be active, she has
taken the first step (asking how to do it), which is great.
However, she is just not interested in any activity that
seems to be "in"-fitness classes, walking, biking.
What she needs to do, I decided, is work on her attitude.
If deciding that "just do it" isn't for her, then she needs
to think more seriously about what type of changes she is
willing to make to find an activity to do. If we can't get
her started physically, we have to get started mentally.
The question is-how?
While I may teach to business students, I have learned a
bit about business from them. One concept I've begun to
understand is "cost/benefit analysis." The idea is that
you figure out the cost of an actions and weigh it against
the benefit of that action. If the benefit outweighs the
cost, then you've made a good decision. .
Perhaps I
should talk to my friend about this. Maybe I could talk
about the cost of walking (putting on her sneakers,
dragging herself out of the house, walking to the end of
the block and back) versus the benefit of walking (getting
outside in the fresh air, stretching some muscles, finding
out that 5 minutes isn't really a long time and maybe
walking longer next time). This is pretty "user friendly"
information-and maybe then she would be able to take that
first step-literally. I wouldn't have to go into the long
term benefits of burning calories, losing weight, reducing
heart disease risk, because she knows this, and all this
does it make her feel guilty.
I think I'll try that. Hopefully it will work for her.
Will it work for you?
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