Exercise.....Who Needs It? Well.....

Apparently, we all do. We all need exercise. As busy wives and moms, though, it's sometimes (for me most of the time) hard to find the time to actually do it. I will tell myself that I'm going to start an actual routine for exercise, but when it comes down to it, something else either comes up, or I make some lame excuse not to do it. Like right now, my lame excuse is that I'm waiting on my husband to finish switching my tae bo tapes to dvd, since our vcr quit. Anyway, exercise is sooooo important. Why? Well....
As a nurse, I used to see all kinds of heart patients come in with so many health problems, and a lot of it stemmed from not eating right and not exercising, and it just "added up" over the years. We used to dread the holidays because after a huge holiday like Thanksgiving, patients would call in with so many problems, due to their eating habits, and there were so many more heart attacks. The doctors could anticipate being very busy. What you think may not hurt you now can actually build up until you have a serious problem on your hands. (Believe me, I'm telling myself all of this right now because I need to hear it) We may think that a heart attack or even cancer or a stroke couldn't affect us, but did you know this.... Incidence — 1,200,000 new and recurrent coronary attacks per year. (National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute's Atherosclerotic Risk in Communities [ARIC] Study and Cardiovascular Health Study (CHS). About 38 percent of people who experience a coronary attack in a given year die from it. (http://www.americanheart.org/presenter.jhtml?identifier=4591)

That's pretty scary. And not just that, but studies are showing that our children are going to suffer the effects of our bad health habits; heart disease is making a debut in many children's lives as we speak and is going to get worse if we don't do something about it. So, what can we do?
Eat right? Many people think that we can just eat right and forget the exercise part, but exercise is so vital to even our everyday health. Exercise can actually give us more energy, it can make a huge difference in our mental and emotional health and moods, it can help to prevent cancer, it can help to build up our immune system, and it can help us get better sleep, as well as reduce our stress levels.
But how do we find the time, and what do we do to exercise? Well, we have to make the time. We have to realize that this is not just for us, but for our families as well, so that we can be around for a long time to still do their dirty laundry and pick up after them, etc. No, I'm just kidding. You're doing this for them so that you can be around for your little girl's wedding, so that you can be there when your son graduates from high school and college and when he has his first child. By exercising, we're not only helping ourselves by all of the aforementioned positive effects, but we are helping our families, and we're setting an example to our children.
To exercise, you can do any number of things. You don't have to run out and join a gym, which can be quite expensive. You can get a video; you can get out for a power walk or even a run, you can ride a bike, you can get involved in either a sport or some kind of activity that you love that involves fitness (for example, my husband and I were doing ballet for a while, and yes, I know, that's hilarious to picture, but it was truly a workout). You can even get outside with your kids and just move! I myself love Tae Bo; it works about every part of my body, but for now, I'm kinda stuck on what to do. I am still going to commit to do something at least 4-5 days per week, though. Whether it's situps, walking, whatever, I will commit to it. If you read this, share a comment and tell us what ideas you have for exercise. Keeping each other accountable is always good too. For now, have a great day!