I’m under the weather today. Body aches, tired, etc. I could blame it on a lot of things–getting older for one. My wife try to get up at 5 each morning with the intention of exercising, but for one reason or another it doesn’t always happen. We chose 5 because she works in Fort Worth, 45 minutes away with traffic, and so she needs to hit it early. Today was our first time back to exercise since last week.
Another thing we are trying to do that’s good for us is juicing. The cool thing about juicing is that you can get down the nutrients you need to have without adding empty calories, and so you end up losing weight while getting healthier. You could eat all this stuff–beets, bok choy, cabbage, etc.–but mix it with some fruit, blend it with apple juice and it goes down a lot easier. Well, we’ve slacked off from that too. Having company who didn’t juice and just being tired after getting home late made us fall back on our old habits.
I have just gotten free of two months of stress, and if you are anything like me, the stress tends to hit me AFTER you’re done with it. So that could be another factor. I got some stuff done in order to clear the decks for NaNoWriMo, which starts in a week. And that stuff’s done, so I am good to go–If I felt better.
We made an effort to get to bed early last night too, but that didn’t help. Oh well, whatever.
The point I am making with all of this whining is that there is a direct relationship between the state of your body and the state of your mind. If you want to accomplish great things as a writer, you have to take care of your body–for a variety of reasons. Writers are prone to depression, and staying healthy is one of the best ways to fight that. Eat right (like I should be doing), exercise (ditto) and get the proper amount of sleep (got that down) and you will think more clearly and be able to accomplish more.
One of the favorite exercises for writers is running or walking. Stephen King walks regularly, I imagine for his state of mind just as much as for his need for exercise. Another writer–I can’t remember a name at this point–runs marathons.
Of course, there are bad examples as well. Orson Scott Card tells in the foreword of one of his books about trying to lose weight on a diet of Diet Coke. I don’t advise it.
I try to eat right and exercise because I need the energy to do all the stuff I want to do in a day. I also do it because I have many writing projects I want to be around to finish. And then there’s my family, of course.
Even though I am not a good example today–just being honest here–I advise you to do what I say, not what I do. Take care of yourself.
The Great Adventure 