I don’t have an excuse anymore. The weather is not quite so cold and some days are really nice. I need to start walking.

If you are anything like me, we have let the severe winter weather keep us from getting our exercise. Maybe also like me, this dereliction of exercise has caused a few pounds to appear here and there… mostly there!

It is really hard to get back into the routine after being lazy for so long. So tempting to stay inside when it is so very cold outside. No matter how many clothes I put on, I am still cold. Winter holds no motivation for me.

 The other day it was a little milder, and I went outside to give it a try.  Surely I can walk a mile with no problem! Just a few laps and I was tired…very tired. I was shocked! I suppose I thought once I started walking I would hop right back to walking a mile without any problem. It didn’t happen. It will take some days of practice to get back to my post-winter state.

To be honest with you, I’m not much on exercise. I do enjoy walking, but as I have aged I have even slowed up with that…unfortunately.

I’ve been thinking a lot about exercising and tell myself that I need to do it, but somehow I can always find an excuse, especially when it is cold. Then it will be summertime, and it will be too hot. Excuses are plentiful.

Exercising is good for us. We know that. Exercising strengthen our bones. We know that. But knowing and doing are two different things.

I also need to get rid of those “few” extra pounds. Dieting is so hard. I really would prefer not to think about it. I went so many years with no weight problem. I ate anything I wanted and never gained weight.

As I have aged, all that has changed. Dieting is particularly hard for me because if I let myself get hungry I get a migraine.

Hopefully with warmer days on the horizon, many of us will be at least thinking about beginning to exercise following a winter of inactivity. Unfortunately, thinking about it doesn’t get the job done. For me, it involves getting back in the routine. Otherwise it is too easy to skip.

If we were still plowing the north 40 every day as our forefathers did, we wouldn’t have to worry about exercise, but with our mostly sedentary lifestyles, we need to get moving. I don’t mean just walking to the mailbox, which has pretty well been it for me for the past few months.

Even though I hate to exercise and I hate to diet, I will feel better and maybe all those clothes hanging in my closet will fit me again.

That should be motivation enough!

Retired Lifestyle Editor Bob Ann Breland writes a weekly column and may be contacted at bobann_b@ yahoo. com.