The Non-Athlete

 In these times when appearances are everything, it is a joy to witness the age where the photo-shopped truth has been revealed. It is a relief to know that everyone isn’t picture perfect. The media has been a friend and a guide, serving as an eye-opener showing the unfinished and un-airbrushed behind the scene reality.

 On one hand, this has helped us become more accepting of ourselves, more forgiving of our imperfections, less in denial of our genetics and more tolerant of the hand we were dealt in the looks and body-types department. The reverse tide has been equally strong. Such that it has grown to the proportions of a tsunami of fad -diets, cosmetic treatments, beauty packages, anti-ageing gimmicks, but most importantly, it has created an entire breed of non-athletes.

 In case you aren't already a member of this pride of (lions and) lionesses, we are the average, regular professionals, who have spent the earlier half of our youth collecting degrees and nurturing families and in general , steering clear of any form of physical activity. Now, we have turned over a new leaf. We have embraced a starkly different lifestyle, a new philosophy. We have chosen to reshape our minds and bodies. We have chosen to rediscover youth. We have introduced ourselves to healthy food and an equally healthy dose of exercise.

 There are those who walk amongst us, blessed with the genetics (and years of physical activity) that determine a fit and lithe body that lends itself beautifully to sports and such. These people are the bane of our existence. All of us have that one friend who never gets fat no matter what she eats, that one friend who doesn’t count their glasses of wine. These are the people who we wish we were!

This fit and fab variant of the human race is seen everywhere:

-at the waiting line for the changing room

-at the powder room in the club

- on the dance floor

-the next bar stool

-the office cafeteria

-the beauty salon

-the next treadmill

Even at the checkout at the grocery store!

I am not them.

And that’s alright.

Yep! After a very long period of denial and defeat, I can finally accepted that, its ok!

-I may plump or chubby

-I may need to workout harder

-I may need to do more reps

-I may need to run more kilometers

-I may need to count every calorie

-I may need to refuse dessert more often that not

-I may need to read more about the right workout

-I may need more changes of outfits to feel confident

-I may need to measure every centimetre

-I may need to delete every excuse from my vocabulary

-I may be the non-athlete

-But that’s not going to stop me!