There is definitely something wrong when a flu-bug hits after or over the Holidays. I’m never sure if it’s because we were all so busy doing this and that, that our bodies got neglected and tired-out. And, since the body was now in a state of weakness, bam, a sneak virus attack. Flu-bugs should be labeled as weapons of mass destruction. Flu shots should come with this warning as well since these preventive inoculations doesn’t stop you from getting the flu, just prevents you from getting it worse. . . .or so they claim.

January, for me, has always been celebrating New Year’s day, then my birthday and finally, Chinese New Year. However, this year Chinese New Year doesn’t appear until February 16th.  My birthday arrived as it always does and Hubby made it a special day. By evening, my poor guy was feeling ill and by the next day, we knew it would be a bad one. I held out a bit longer but one day later, it was my turn. My one positive thought was, “Goody, I can now lose a few pounds without exercising. . .”   Mother Nature had other ideas because when the worst was over, I hadn’t lost one single pound which just goes to show that I’d be the ideal person to land on a deserted island.

My good intentions of joining a gym and being active with my two gym buddies fell by the wayside. They, too, were victims to the onslaught of the insidious flu-bug. So we all agreed by email that we would meet after the bug attack was over. Well, by mid-January, no one had moved a step. That gung-ho-let’s-do-it attitude seems to have left the building, along with the bug.

I sent out another email suggesting we meet at the local coffee bar, closest to all of us. It turned out “Timmy’s” was our favourite place for coffee because there were doughnuts and chocolate croissants and healthy muffins.  Needless to say, we managed to grab a table, settle in with our coffee, doughnuts and chocolate croissants.  No healthy muffins for us as we were needing sugar for our brain-storming our exercise strategy. Comparing symptoms, we discovered none of us had lost any weight despite not eating for 3 days. Mazie impishly remarked, “If we meet like this every time we do a gym session, none of us will lose anything!” Jan and I laughed as we both chorused, “”We have to keep our strength up!”

By the end of our meeting, we decided to try “walk-and-talks.” This was our favourite way to exercise. We would meet at various sites and do a 5-8 kilometer walk, eventually increasing to at least a 10-kilometer walk. So far, this has worked  well. Each of us have set a route and we have all enjoyed our walks and conversations. Besides choosing a route that is scenic and interesting, there has to be a coffee-bar and/or cafe at the end. Next Wednesday will be our 4th walk and we are discovering different local neighbourhoods and experiencing new eateries. Best of all, walking is a form of exercise that keeps us out of a stuffy gym and into the fresh air. Dressed for the West Coast Winter weather, we have all stuck to this exercise strategy despite the sometimes freezing temperatures, cold winds and always relentless rain.  Our positive mantra is “Spring is just around the corner and we’ll have the best-looking legs in our Summer shorts!”   Amen to that thought. . . . .