Better Than Davina
Damian and I are both in our 50s, and we have discovered that mid-life spread is a real thing. One day you are happily wearing your clothes, and then, almost overnight, all those clothes shrink. 'Tis a mystery!
Pre-Lilly we had joined a couple of gyms, but like most people, after the initial motivation wears off we tended to only visit in sporadic spurts. I also found fitness DVDs at charity shops, and tried them out at home.
During lockdown I was going great guns with Davina, Jayne Torvill and Hannah Waterman, that was until an antibiotic resistant ear infection made standing up tricky. Again I lost the habit and the enthusiasm vanished. Not even the flowing locks and gyrations of Joe Wicks could get us back in the swing. Then Lilly entered our lives just over a year and a half ago, and she has done what all the gyms, DVDs and enthusastic fitness gurus couldn't - she got us both out and moving.
Since getting her she has two biggish walks, and two smaller walks each day. I like to do the early afternoon shift, and do the days when Damian is working at school or away at car launches. This may seem unfair, but we made a deal before we got Lilly that Damian would be the main walker (because I wanted another cat), so he does most of them.
This has really worked in Damian's favour. Just by walking Lilly he lost over 2 stones, and because he started feeling fitter, due to the weight loss, he then re-joined the local gym, and another stone is almost gone.
As for me, before Lilly I had started to develop a bit of a bad hip which was getting worse due to my unwillingness to move much. I found myself in a catch-22 situation - it was getting worse and more painful because I wasn't moving it, but I didn't want to move it because it was painful!
Getting Lilly meant that I couldn't avoid moving anymore no matter how I felt. She is an active breed and would happily spend the entire day wandering about, until she dropped if we let her, and because we don't have a garden she forced me to get out and move.
I've also lost over 2 stones, and even though some of that is due to a change of eating habits after a coeliac diagnosis, most of it has come from getting more active.
If you fancy getting fitter I would definitely recommend getting a dog, but if you don't want an extra mouth to feed, Lilly's jumped on the celebrity fitness video trend, and her two brand new workout DVDs will be heading your way soon.
Move over Davina, there's a new fitness bitch in town!
I have mentioned in the past how Lilly has managed to inadvertently damaged both of us, and it has happened again when she was wandering across the big lawn on the local park.
She was heading over to what looked like food litter discarded by the patrons of the first May bank holiday funfair, and when food is involved her focus doesn't involve me. After a bit of calling, to try and stop her, I headed off-track and strode quickly to head her off before she got to her fish'n'chip quarry, but due to the park having just been mowed and all the cuttings lying on the surface, I missed the rather deep hole. In I went, and straight over on my ankle.
I have pretty weak ankles due to many years of sprains, so when I felt bones grind I knew straight away it was going to be a painful one. Luckily we weren't that far from home, so with a happy, chippy-tea filled Lilly duly tethered, I hobbled my way back.
I iced it, thinking it would be the usual '3 days of swelling' affair. I wasn't that concerned about it, but a good 3 weeks on and it is still bothering me - I think I properly twanged a ligament. So knowing the damage that can be done, maybe ignore my earlier mutterings about dog walks being better than Joe and Davina, and stick to working out in the safety of your own lounge.