falling by the wayside

Falling by the wayside

I exercise regularly. This usually means walk/run with the dog for around 4-5 kilometers a day. One day, my son said’ There is a marathon in Chennai, why don’t you take part?” My daughter lives in Chennai and she said ,”go ahead.” That started me off. Exercising regularly and running half marathons gives you a false feeling of invincibility. All your peers get frequent attacks of “ viral infections. ” They say things like “My neck hurts when I look at the computer for too long.” “I have to always wait for the lift. I can’t climb stairs.”

They are tired a great deal of the time and don’t seem to do much apart from their regular work. They complain loudly about that also. And the gossip! The sit down everywhere , on chairs, canteens  culverts and even the parking lot, talking about everyone else!

I found many of these complaints unbelievable. I had a strange disinterest in their tales about others.

I ran 5 miles (8 km) every morning with my dog. I then tried to swim two to three days a week. For 60 I was incredibly fit—or so I thought. I also regularly oiled my skin with a concoction of coconut oil and sesame oil. My skin was unwrinkled and silky smooth –no wrinkles. I ate a couple of neem leaves, tulasi and mint every morning. I also ate phyllantrus niyuri to protect my liver. In retrospect I am glad I did not get leptospirosis. The phyllantrus  plant grows very close to the ground and there are all kinds of diseased wild animals wandering around in non urban areas. The neem eaten over years meant that I also was not bitten my mosquitoes. (I think my sweat was bitter). My children awarded me some respect. As my son said,” I have nothing to say to a lady who runs four hours non stop.” I was feeling good!

I started to take part in national aquatics. In older people, the competition is much less. I took part in butterfly, backstroke and individual medley. No one in my age group did these events. I went on to hold three national records.

As you get older no matter what you do, you have to watch your diet. I did not. Anything was an excuse for eating.

“I ran a marathon so I have to eat. I am depressed so I have to eat. I am bored I need to eat. People  gave me a whole box of chocolates. Instead of rationing it out, I ate the whole thing, in one shot! I did this not once, but several times.

My weight slowly crept up and I was not able to run as fast. In the case of swimming weight does not really matter. The water takes the greater part of your weight. As long as your arms are strong, you can move!

Also whatever you did, something occurs despite exercise. The wisdom teeth for example will painfully erupt eventually

, teeth develop caries and require root canal treatment, there are the problems of menopause and worst of all your stomach slowly starts to stick out.

Somewhere along the way, I decided I was a freak. I exercised 2 hours five days a week. I was still fatter than my peers. People started commenting about it. “When you exercise so much, why are you still fat?” It was a mystery to me too! At least I thought, I do not have lifestyle diseases!

Even that was a short lived delusion. I contracted a terrible viral infection. I was so sick I thought I would die. With the fever a terrible rash appeared and all the joints in my body got painfully swollen. There was blood in the urine and diarrhea. I could not walk, only hobble around grabbing anything I could get a hold of for support. My blood tests were all abnormal, with elevated sugars triglycerides and the lowest HDL I have ever seen, a record breaking 19.

It just goes to show. Now matter what I do I have to diet exercise and take my tablets regularly. There is no escape from this reality. I am not a freak, just a lady who exercises more than required, eats more than required, and can run 21 kilometers!

To encourage myself I keep saying

·      A half marathon runner with a cash price and a trophy under my belt

·      A national level swimmer with 3 records

·      A black belt in Karate with 3 stripes and weapons trained.

·      A successful private practitioner

·      A health columnist  for 15 years.

To all of you out there, there is no difference really between those who exercise and couch potatoes!

Dr Gita Mathai is a paediatrician with a family practice at Vellore.