My nervous system is crocked. I’m slow. But everything else is working. Time to focus on the other parts of me that are still ready for action.
February already! How did your January go? Kept all your new year resolutions? Nah, me neither. That’s because I didn’t make any. But I have made a few tweaks. I didn’t go totally dry or vegan but I did go dry-er and a little-less-meaty, and I do feel the benefits.
We’d got into this cosy little routine that involved cake, wine, crisps, chocolate and cheese pretty much every day. So of course, I was putting on weight. It’s what my late mother-in-law would have called ‘contentment’. Simply rationing it to only one treat a day has helped me lose six pounds, without the hairshirt imperative of ‘giving up’ altogether. I’m still cooking and eating the meals we both love.
It’s taken me a while to realise that although my degenerating nervous system is rubbish at sending coherent messages to the rest of my body, my heart, lungs, bones and muscles still want to come out and play. So, little by little, I’m trying to pay them more attention, measure their activity and reward their effort. Now I’ve finally unpacked my Garmin instruction booklet, I can press more buttons and measure more things.
Tweaking is good – small, achievable interventions beat long-term goals any day. Don’t manage them one day? Try again tomorrow. I’m not a huge fan of Dr Michael Mosley, but I do like the idea of changing Just One Thing at a time. Still not sure about green tea, though.
It’s working. Last week I pruned two minutes off my parkrun time. Yes, I’m slow – but I’m still faster than the people who stayed in bed. Today I rowed 2,000 metres in a time I haven’t achieved since my diagnosis nearly five years ago. It places me 21st in women 70–74 worldwide on the Concept 2 rankings (out of 26, but who’s counting?!).
What one little thing are you going to change in February?
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