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Sick and Tired of Being Sick and Tired

By T.D. Jackson, Camp Atterbury Public Affairs

No sooner than I assigned a story about flu season, I came down with a cold. Not just the average coughing-and-runny-nose kind of cold, but one complete with fever, chills, headache and congestion.

Lucky me.

So as I lay on my death bed, wondering what I did to deserve such a wretched condition, it occurred to me that I probably needed to start taking better care of my body. While I don't have any particularly bad habits - like eating fast food everyday - I don't have any good ones either. I don't exercise regularly, I don't pay attention to what I'm eating and I don't try to supplement any of the nutrients that I miss out on because of my aversion to fresh fruit. It's almost as though I take my body for granted.

But I'm not 20-something anymore. In your twenties you can eat ice cream for breakfast and think nothing of it. In your twenties you can forgo a night of sleep and be okay the next day. At 30, if I sleep on the couch, I'll have a crick in my neck for two days. And at 30, a game of any kind - be it baseball, basketball, volleyball, the Wii - needs to be prepared for ahead of time; stretching, taping body parts down (or together), and even popping an aspirin or two in preparation for the pain to come.

You would think that as a former Soldier I should know better. Soldiers - and other servicemembers and first responders - are the primary people who need to keep their bodies in tip-top shape. In the blink of an eye on the battlefield you might have to carry your buddy, which is reason number two to take care of your body: you might become the burden to carry.

The sad part is, it's too easy for me to do better. Multi-vitamins are a dime-a-dozen and there's a free fitness center on post for Pete's sake! I bring my lunch to work almost every day so it's not like I don't have the option to pack only one 100-calorie snack instead of three.

So I'm back on the wagon again. I'm not cutting out the sweets or any of that foolishness but I am determined to drag my fat @!$ into the gym twice a week. On top of that I bought my husband an exercise bike for his birthday and he really believes it's for him. Baby steps, right?

Think about it: being overweight may affect only you directly, but it most certainly affects your family and friends indirectly. Once, during a cruise, my husband (who I affectionately refer to as "my big guy") and I went to the beach two days in a row. On day one it was just the two of us who went swimming but on day two, another couple tagged along and all of a sudden, somebody didn't want to go swimming. I don't know who felt sillier; him sitting in the sand fully dressed, or me, the third wheel half-heartedly splashing in the water next to the other two.

In my case, I love playing softball with my friends but I don't do as well as I could because I run out of breath quickly. That short sprint (or speed walk for me) from home plate to first base is a doozy! Another reason to get with the program is so I can stop hating on my girlfriend. Sometimes I don't like going out with her simply because she can wear skinny jeans and I can't.

Here is the ultimate indirect effect of being "extra curvy;" my brother's fiancée is having a mother of a time finding bridesmaids dresses to cover those double wides her girls - including me - are dragging.

But all jokes aside, I've got to do something because my body ain't what it used to be. For the sake of my health, my sanity and my vanity I have got to lose more than a "few pounds." I'm out of shape and I'm tired of making excuses. What about you?