When my two sons and I took a walk on the Brigham Young University Provo campus 4,500 feet up in the mountains a couple of months ago, I found myself running out of air. As we walked from the north side of campus to the south side then back to the very tip of the north end walking up quite a few flights of stairs I felt I had just climbed Mount Everest. It was a total of a few miles mostly uphill, but I realized how out of shape I was. By the end of the day, I needed an oxygen tank to keep from passing out. The mountain air is so thin these days compared with the thicker and more easily attainable air of Alabama. Somehow I needed to motivate my 56-year old body to exercise when we got home, but how?
With the summer half over already, I found myself anxious to get some exercise done in my schedule before the rainy season started in the fall. I knew my health would improve greatly if I participated in outdoor activities but I’m just not motivated. I need to get healthy. (meaning eating healthy food and getting regular exercise). This helps us to have more energy and a happier outlook on life. The health of our bodies has a great bearing on performance at work and play. We can’t function if we are sick or not feeling well.
Then I remembered a talk I heard during the The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS) General Conference last year in October 2014 by Elder Jög Klebingat who said “Take responsibility for your own physical well being. Feeling the Spirit while neglecting the body, which is a temple, usually leads to spiritual dissonance and lowered self-esteem.’
That caught my attention and I thought I better get going on this exercise business. Dragging myself out of bed a little earlier than normal (8am) to beat the heat the next day, I got myself on my bike and took off. I only made it around our small neighborhood block before I thought I better get home. Someone might be missing me. Then the next morning I managed to get up again at what seemed like the crack of dawn (8am) to ride farther. I biked longer this time and I actually felt pretty good. I somehow skipped the rest of the week for some major emergency: I had to pick figs from my neighbor’s yard before they all fell off so I can make some strawberry fig jam, a family favorite. But I did it! I biked for two days.
The next week I started again. Up at the crack of dawn this time, (7am) I again got on my bike and rode a little farther. I was able to carry this on for a few more days before another emergency appeared: I was invited to go horseback riding with some neighbors down the street. I felt pretty fit after almost two weeks of biking and went riding. I was proud of myself when I was able to pull 
myself up on what seemed like a 20-hand Clydesdale horse. I didn’t fall off and I really felt like I accomplished something after riding around for a half hour.
Each week I started with great intentions of biking every morning during the week but something seemed to get in the way of every day riding. (like sleep) But I did do it. I rode consistently a couple of days each week and I started to see some pounds come off.
Of course I wanted to eat healthy along with all of this exercise. Eating a healthy diet of whole foods, lots of water and no snacking late at night will help our bodies stay fit. Then the thought came to me: “If we are not supposed have midnight snacks, then why is there a light in the fridge?” Never mind about that, I just needed to keep myself on a healthy diet of salads, fruits, vegetables and whole food meats. No process food or sugary sodas for me.
Wise shopping helped keep our family from “empty calorie” eating and occasionally baking our own whole wheat bread helped too. Whatever fruit and vegetables were in season we bought. Blueberries, watermelons, peaches, and grapes are plentiful during our summer season.
It’s now towards the end of summer and I am so happy to report that even though I didn’t bike every single day of the week, I managed to get enough exercise to improve my over all attitude of happiness and make sure I was eating right and getting enough water. My menopause hot flashes occurred less and my body never felt so good.
To read more of Valerie’s articles, click here.
By ignoring the skipped days of no biking and moving forward towards my goal of healthy eating (even with a few midnight raids of Klondike bars from the freezer) I managed to get some good exercise and feel better about myself and my family. It’s not perfect but at least I keep trying. My goal is to continue into the fall as much as possible. Strawberry fig jam never tasted better.
Valerie Steimle has been writing as a family advocate for over 25 years. As a convert to The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, she promotes Christian living in her writings and is the mother of nine children and grandmother to twelve. Mrs. Steimle authored six books and is a contributing writer to several online websites. To her, time is the most precious commodity we have and knows we should spend it wisely.
To read more of Valerie's work, visit her at her website, The Blessings of Family Life.
good for you!
Another inspiring article, Valerie. I recently committed to getting up at 5:50, so I can be out of the house just after 6:00 to take a half hour walk around our hilly neighborhood. The fact that I get to see lots of bunnies out in the morning is a motivator (you take them when you can get them). But some weeks I commit to every day and I only make it once or twice. Other weeks, I’m there every day. I feel better when I do it. My energy is higher throughout the day and I’m not winded when I walk anymore. Thanks for the reference to Elder Klebingat talk, too. I mad forgotten about it but it reminded me when I heard it at conference, the Spirit told me “this is for you!” I will re-read.