Action

No more rushing off to work, no more traffic every morning, no more work schedules, deadlines and meetings. At first, it feels wonderful.

Finally, you can sleep a little later. You can enjoy a slow breakfast. You can read a book when you feel like it. You can have that extra cup of coffee without watching the clock.

But then something happens.

You start noticing little changes.

Perhaps your trousers feel a little tighter around the waist.
Or maybe you are finding it slightly harder to get up from your favourite chair.
Perhaps your balance is not quite what it used to be. You may even notice it when you lift one foot in the shower to dry it.
And then there is the stiffness.
Your lower back complains. Your knees feel a little less cooperative and walking upstairs leaves you more breathless than it used to.

Can you relate?

Retirement can change more than your daily routine.

When we retire, our daily activity often drops without us even noticing.

For years, work may have provided a natural structure to our day. We walked to the car. We climbed stairs. We moved around the office or workplace. We went shopping. We rushed to appointments. We were simply busy.

Then retirement arrives. And suddenly, there is much less reason to move.
Because we have more time at home, another temptation appears. …Food.

The retirement snack trap.

Now that you are home all day, it becomes remarkably easy to snack.

A rusk or two with your morning coffee seems harmless, then perhaps a few biscuits with your ten o’clock tea. When you walk past the cookie jar, you think, “Why not?”
After all, you are retired. You deserve to spoil yourself.

Later, you settle down with a good book. So, naturally, you prepare a little snack bowl. A few pieces of biltong, some nuts, a few blocks of chocolate, perhaps some chips and dried fruit. Nothing seems excessive on its own.

However, add those little extras together every day and the story can change.
Before long, you may find that your waistline is expanding along with your free time.

Your body needs a little more help as you get older.

There is another important part of the story.

As we age, our bodies change. Our metabolism can slow down. We can lose muscle mass and flexibility. Recovery can also take longer.

That means we cannot always rely on our bodies to keep themselves in reasonable shape.

When we were younger, we could sometimes get away with being inactive for a while.
Now, however, we need to become more deliberate.
We need to move because we want to keep moving.
That may sound obvious, but it is an important retirement lesson.

Less movement can become a downward spiral.

Think about what can happen when we become less active.
You move less.
As a result, your muscles may become weaker.
You become less flexible.
Your joints may feel stiffer.
Walking becomes less comfortable.
Your balance may deteriorate.
You become less confident about moving around.
So, you move even less.

And there is the danger.
What started as a comfortable retirement can slowly become a less active lifestyle.

Add frequent snacking and larger meal portions to the mix, and weight gain can make movement even harder.

It becomes a downward spiral.

Less movement leads to less confidence, which can lead to even less movement.
The good news is that you can break that cycle. Retirement requires ACTION.

This is where the word ACTION becomes important.

You can make a decision today that you are not going to become a retired sloth, but a decision without action is merely a wish.

A decision must be followed through by action.

That does not mean you need to become a gym fanatic.
It does not mean running marathons or spending hours lifting weights.

Instead, it means becoming more intentional about your health and your daily movement.

Most importantly, remember this:

Good intentions do not change your lifestyle.
Action does.