Walk your cat?

So I’m sitting in a lecture by Dr. Arthur Agatston, creator of the South Beach diet. It’s just before lunch and I’m getting distracted by thoughts of food, as often happens before ‘feeding time.’ As he’s closing, Agatston throws out two statistics that catch my attention:

1) Dog owners live longer than cat owners
2) People who live in walking cities like NYC and San Francisco live longer than people who live in driving cities like LA and Atlanta

My initial reaction is “Duh! Isn’t that obvious?” But that is quickly followed by a moment of internal pause as I realize I fall on the shorter-lived end of things on both counts: I have two cats and I live in LA.

Hmm.

A little put-off, I get defensive and think to myself, “What’s a girl to do? Walk her cat?”

Even as the thought crossed my mind, I found myself confirming something I’m realizing more and more everyday:
We lead crazy lives in crazy times. Squeezing in career (often several of them at once), our family priorities, our extensive social commitments, and endless to-do lists, who’s got the time to be healthy? Let alone the resources?

And the odds seem stacked against us: environmental toxins creeping into our air, water, and food supplies; economic downturns requiring we think twice about booking that much-needed massage; daily agendas so packed I sometimes have to schedule in a shower or it just doesn’t happen.

Is getting healthy even possible in this kind of world? And what does this have to do with my cat??

Well, what I realized while pondering the logistics of walking my cat is that being healthy even in our crazy lives is not only possible, but can be a lot of fun and an opportunity to get creative. In fact, out of pure necessity, that’s becoming my specialty: finding creative ways to incorporate healthy choices into all aspects of even the busiest day. Amidst all this craziness, we might as well get our bodies working FOR us instead of against us, don’t you think? Hence the title and theme of my blog: Walk your cat. Check back often for creative and unusual ways to get healthy.