Vote in This Week's Poll: What's Your Biggest Health Regret?
From the title of this post, you might be thinking - "Gee, thanks for bringing me down on a Monday, Debby Downer." I realize that thinking about regrets isn't the most enjoyable activity but, every now and then, getting reflective about the past can be cathartic - especially when it comes to health and fitness.
I say that because, for many situations, it's never too late to turn things around. So, even if you regret that you've worked too much and exercised too little, or that you've spent too much time following silly diets, there's no reason you can't change that. Some regrets go deeper than others and it helps to learn how to let go of them so you can move forward.
What do you regret about your health and fitness past? Would you change some of your decisions if you could? What have you learned that might help people avoid health regrets? I realize there are so many possibilities, I couldn't possibly include them all in a limited poll so, vote if you find one that fits and, if not, leave a comment to tell us about it.
Avoid Regret
Comments
For me “didn’t start exercising sooner” and “haven’t taken better care of my body” are interchangeable. I have regrets that I didn’t start running in my teens, instead of my 40’s, when I then found out I have arthritis and that running is a no-no. Prior to that discovery, I loved running (even though it hurt), and I’m sad that my arthritic knees won’t let me do the thing I love. But I can walk .. and I do. So, I let myself get into bad shape, and that’s a simple fact, but I can move forward *now* and make changes that will affect and improve my future so, on that score, I don’t have regrets that I found out now/before it’s too late, so that I have no further cause for regret!
Many years ago, when I was at my fittest, I went on vacation — and, for some reason, stopped exercising when I got back home! Years went by; I gained a lot of weight. But at least I’ve lost most of it now.
I can only imagine what kind of shape I’d be in now, if I had kept it up!
My regret was “Other” because I was active during most of my childhood, exercised or was active through manual labor during most of my college life, and now at 24, I’m eating healthy 90% of the time and in the gym regularly. My regret would be not eating healthier earlier in life. My mom had always made sure to have healthy options in the house and we had great family dinner options, but cookies, candy, and chips were also never refused. It took me finding a personal trainer who forced a food log on me to see how much crap I was regularly putting in my body because before then, I never really thought about it or never recognized exactly how much I was eating of it on a daily basis.
I regret being so hard on my body when I was younger. Horseback riding was my passion and I’m paying for it now….in spades. Thank heavens for chiropractors and rolfers or osteopaths.
That I started smoking in college and that it took 20 years to quit.
Same as Yosh–smoked for 25 years (quit 9 years ago). Also have issues from “sacrificing the body” in football.
I hate that I smoked for 25 years before I finally wised up three months ago and quit. As a result, my cardio strength has never been up to par and probably never will be. I never had to watch what I ate until just recently. I guess that is a good thing because I have never been overwieght and now that my weight is creeping up on me I am forced to eat healthy!
I regret that I allowed personal issues (divorce) to take such a toll on my health. Living on potato chips and chardonnay for a year with no exercise is not good! I wish that I had gotten help earlier so that I could have been kinder to my body. It took about a year and half to get myself back to a good healthy lifestyle.
I was always fit until my dad shot me right after coming out of service. Since then I tried to stay fit but as the years went by my health went away. Wish I could change it but have to deal with what you got.
Like some other folks, I regret having smoked for 38 years. I finally quit this past May, but only after I couldn’t walk my dogs anymore, take a bike ride or do any exercise, even modest. Since we can’t change the past, I’m going forward with a healthier attitude.
That I thought I was too old at 30 to have children anyways, so when misdaignosed with terminal cancer agreed to “protect myself against uterine cancer” and had a hysterectomy. I would have loved to have children and I didn’t give my body the chance to do it. I trusted the medical establishment with my life.
I regret that I picked up that 1st cigarette when I was 12 or 13 years old. I stopped at the age of 60 but now, at the age of 70, am paying the price with a recent diagnosis of emphazema. So urge your kids not to pickup the 1st one.
I’m 44 and after having many, many years of symptoms that I attributed to my own neglegence, have I only recently discovered that I have had Multiple Sclerosis since I was an infant. For those who don’t know, MS is an autoimmune disorder that destroys your central nervous system.
As you can imagine, this was quite a shock, and simultaneously a relief to know that I’m not “just lazy,” as sooooo many people in my life have attributed my lack of energy/willpower to improve myself to.
So the only thing left to regret at this point in my life, knowing what I know now, is not having enjoyed more of life/exercise/work/play while I was really much more able to do so. But as a caveat to this regret–it’s time to start enjoying it now! La Chaim!
I was so focused on taking care of my husband who had cancer and my stepson that I did not take care of myself for years. Now, I am taking care of myself but the damage has been done and it is taking years to correct.
Biggest regret is that I let a doctor push drugs on me that I didn’t need and that nearly killed me instead of educating myself on what my body really needed – nutrition, exercise and quality sleep.
That I smoked. Biggest regret…bar none.
I had always been stick thin growing up. That changed after having babies (one set of twins plus a singleton). I regret not exercising during my growing up years – I was skinny, what was the need? It took 20 years (after having my kids) to see the importance of exercise, any kind of exercise! Now that I’ve gotten my head around “lifestyle change” it’s been easier and I have to say I’m enjoying the results. I’m feeling better physically and emotionally. It’s definitely NOT about being skinny, thin, whatever. It’s about being healthy and hopefully my family will see “healthy” as “doable.”
That I spent so much time in the sun when I was a teenager.