This year, for the first time, I can feel my body actively aging. My feet hurt to walk on when I first get up. I noticed this week that my left eye is not seeing clearly anymore, even with my glasses or contacts. My muscles are stiff. I’ve easily put on 20-25 pounds in the past six months. Yikes!
I’m torn between resisting turning my body into a project and really wanting to feel (and look) good. The psychological gymnastics around it are tricky. I don’t care about how other people look: they can be fat, wrinkly, and slow, and it 100% does not matter because I can easily accept that everyone is just human. Why can’t I extend that grace to myself?
Admittedly, I’ve let myself go, which is a loaded phrase but an accurate one: it’s as if my body were a house that simply hasn’t been cleaned or paid any attention to, a sin I’d never allow to fall upon a physical space where I reside.
So, it’s time to clean up. My body is my home, after all. This morning I followed a yoga video, and it was hard, a new experience for me. I’ll get my eyes checked later on today. And I’m going to have to eat in a way that “cleans” me as well, rather than stuffing every inch of my digestive system with too much sugar. I’ve been most successful eschewing it completely, and I think that’s what I’ll need to go back to: treating it like an alcoholic treats alcohol.
I’m okay with getting older, but my goodness, not with feeling uncomfortable all the time. A poem I read once had the author referring to her aging body as “this old cat,” which I like: older, maybe a tad lazier, but always able to find what feels good, and always elegant. To cathood!
Sarah DeVries 
Dear fellow Xalapaphile, when surprised with the realization of many pleasant years and a wealth of family and friends I realized I would like more enjoyable years of this adventure. Balanced eating, balanced supplementing, a healthy sleeping pattern , some stretching and daily walking led me to let go of 40 pounds over a six month period. Nopales, mixed green “jugos”, frutas and much more are readily available options in Mexico. Just watch out for tortilla addiction, especially warm off of the “comal”. Best wishes for a renewed, more energetic, aches and pain free life.
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My wife and I went on a six week holiday to a gorgeous location with great hiking. We did ten hikes in that time, some taking about four or five hours at a comfortable pace. After this I felt fitter and maybe ten years younger. It was encouraging to know that I had come across a way to roll back the calendar and have lots fun doing it. My wife, who is dealing with a terminal condition, was invigorated by the experience. Of course, not everyone can do what we did for a variety of reasons, but I suspect the road back is not as blockaded as we might have thought.
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Spot on. Four weeks in and lots more to go for me.
Thanks for sharing some of your thoughts. Much tougher than many might think.
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Have your thyroid checked please.
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I have! …and everything is fine, I think it’s just my bad habits! đŸ˜€
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If is was just the basic tsh test, it may not be an accurate indication of if it is functioning correctly. They have changed the recomendation of what tsh levels indicate as a problem. Some labs still go by the old standards. But taking better care of yourself is always a good thing!
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Thank you for this. I
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Regular maintenance can be a pain; but as folks often say, it’s better than the alternative, which is death. For me the trick is finding ways to make the maintenance less odious. Like: The gym I go to has a beautiful view of the mountains that surround QuerĂ©taro. Without my time at the gym, I probably wouldn’t bother to enjoy the view.
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Sounds very nice! QuerĂ©taro has got some spectacular views. đŸ™‚
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Your comment re too many gringos well taken.
I have been going to Rocky z point since 2000, and live 3 mos. each in Spring and Fall.
RP is full of gringos in 3 seasons, and we overpay everything. But wages here are much h higher here than other parts of Mex for waiters, handymen, house cleaners, etc. I paid $100 us to remove sand from my patio as an example. Most workers would rather get paid in dollars. I think we have raised the standard of living for Mexicans. The Sams club here is mostly Mexicans.
We do live well here. My dr. Charges $40us per visit as an example.
I go between Phoenix and RP at will, a4 hr. trip.
My biggest complaint about the gringos here is that they make no effort to speak Spanish. Some have been here for 20+ years and can’t say one word. I worked in S. America in Brazil so had n advantage, and went to language school in Cuernavaca a for a month when I bought my house in Mex. But every store has at least one English speaker so one doesn’t need to know Spanish here. And it is getting more gentrification and Anglofied. There are dozens of high rise condos here and more going up. Next to my beach they sold 3 23 storey towers, and are starting 3 more. (A 1
bedroom condo is $500k us).
I’ve said enough about the wonderful life Mexico is providing us. You sound like an interesting person.
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Thank you, Bill! It’s a delicate and confusing balancing act for sure, and it’s hard to say what’s the chicken and what’s the egg! It sounds like things are happening fast where you are…I guess time will tell what goes down in the end! Sorry you had to comment over here, by the way…MND doesn’t have the comments working (and I’m not sure they’ll GET working any time soon, haha).
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