A Friendly Nudge - Change How You Feel
...because we all could use a little encouragement!
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Unless I have a really bad weekend, I’ll turn 70 before next week’s newsletter. Now that I’m here, 70 doesn’t feel so old.
So writing and posting about longevity isn’t hypothetical, it’s personal. But as much as I’d love to live to some ripe old age, whether that’s 85, 90 or even 100, I’m a lot more interested in being healthy and active for however many years I have left. The idea of living to 100 while spending 25 of those years feeling frail and miserable doesn’t sound like much of a bargain.
A few years ago I posted a video of me getting up off the ground without using my hands and the response to that video amazed me. It was the first time I’d ever posted anything that went even remotely viral. So once I got past how many people were seeing the video, the thing that made the most impression on me were the comments.
I was struck by how many people were terrified of falling because they couldn’t get up by themselves and how often folks mourned the loss of their strength and mobility and the impact that had on their sense of independence.
I wanted to do something to help. I wanted to help people reclaim their strength and resiliency.
That video was posted at the end of November, 2021 and I’ve posted an exercise snack or short exercise video almost every day since then.
My health journey got started over 10 years ago with more of a rude shake than A Friendly Nudge. A routine calcium scan introduced me to the fact that I had 5 coronary lesions and needless to say, that got my attention. And just to make sure that I was paying attention, not long after that I found out that I had Stage III prostate cancer.
Even with all of that motivation, initially most of my focus was just on cleaning up my diet. I stopped eating gigantic servings of ice cream and sleeves of girl scout cookies and started focusing on stuff like meat, fish, eggs, veggies, fruit, some yogurt and cheese.
A 2020 pushup challenge with my sons introduced me to the magic of exercise snacks and that changed my relationship with exercise. I did 1100 pushups in a week, spread out over the week in sets of 10-15. I’m not recommending that you do 1000 pushups in a week but it showed me how powerful brief bouts of exercise can be.
Prior to the pushup challenge, exercise had always been sporadic for me. I’d get motivated and go to the gym for a while and then the motivation would wane and I’d stop going. What I like about exercise snacks is that it’s hard to convince yourself that you don’t have 30 seconds for a set of pushups or 10 body weight squats. Pretty soon I was adding chin ups and wall sits to the mix, but more importantly I was feeling different. I was feeling better in my 60s than I did in my 30s and 40s.
I started A Friendly Nudge because I wanted to help other folks change how they feel by making cooking real food and exercising doable for everyone. It’s why the paid version is only $50 a year or $5 a month. I want it to be affordable but I also want you to have a little skin in the game.
Improving how you feel is a lot more doable than most people think. I also think we underestimate how exhausting it is to feel miserable all the time. It’s one of those “choose your hard” decisions.
Pick 2 or 3 exercises from this week’s offerings and do them at least once this next week. More is fine but don’t beat yourself up. Our goal is to get you started and moving forward. If you want to use the suitcase carry for one of them, you can use a gallon jug of water as a place to start.
Your body is begging you to get started!
Now let’s celebrate with some watermelon salad.
Watermelon with Feta & Cucumber
Watermelon and cucumber just taste like summer and the feta, mint and basil take this to another level. Since this was enough for several days I added the pistachios to each serving so they wouldn’t get soggy.
Ingredients
Dressing
2 tbsp honey
2 tbsp lime juice
1-2 tbsp olive oil
1 pinch of salt
Salad
½ watermelon cubed
1 large cucumber or several smaller ones cubed - about 2 cups
½-¾ cup crumbled feta cheese
1 handful mint - chopped
1 handful basil - chopped
Garnish - pistachios
Make the dressing in a small bowl by combining the lime juice, honey and olive oil and a pinch of salt. Taste and adjust as needed
Add the cubed melon, cucumber, crumbled feta, mint, and basil and mix. Add the dressing and stir to combine.
Top with pistachios.
Enjoy!
Now let’s put together some exercise options for the week.
Not everyone of these exercises are going to be doable or appropriate for where you are in your exercise journey. If something feels or looks too challenging, skip it and it might be more doable down the road.
Pushups and planks against the kitchen counter, suitcase carries with a jug of water, and wall sits at a depth you can manage would be a great group to rotate through this week if you’re looking for a place to start.
If you’re just starting out, don’t worry about trying to do multiple sets. Let’s get you used to exercising and as you get stronger you can dial up the challenge a little.