Just For The Fun Of It

By Cheryl Hansen

I tend to get very serious about health and fitness—which is probably why it hasn’t stuck with me (so far). There’s a lot of all-or-nothing thinking and black-and-white thinking—neither of which is very fun.

Wait what? Fun?

My 9-year-old son had to be at camp by 8 a.m. last week. And since his camp is less than two miles from home, I had the brilliant (seriously!) idea that we should ride our bikes there. So each morning, he and I would ride there and lock up his bike. And I’d ride home. All. By. Myself.

I can’t tell you the last time I rode my bike by myself.

It was fun. Like for real. FUN! Most days, I took the long way home, and each afternoon, my daughter and I would hook up her tagalong and ride there to get brother. Look at me! Setting a good example and all.

By about day three, I realized that this whole effort of mine to make some serious change doesn’t have to be so damn serious. With a little research, I can actually find fun recipes that don’t derail me—maybe make a happy face on my sweet-potato pancake. I can jump on the trampoline with my kids (have you tried this? It’s no joke). And when I’m finding my inner peace at YogaPod, it’s OK to giggle a little when I completely flop at my dancer’s pose.

The whole idea, of course, is to make changes that I’ll stick with forever. And if said changes aren’t any fun, what are the odds I’ll do any of it for a year, much less forever? So here’s to getting healthy and having a little fun (or a lot) along the way.

Who knows? Maybe laughter tones the abs. It’s worth a shot, right?