By Dan Reynish

Chapter Four: Moving Forward

May 4, 2020 | 11:03 AM

I was hiking a route on a narrow path through the woods in the Rocky Mountains recently. On the uphill portion heading towards the finish a tree had fallen across the path. It was a tall tree and went a few metres to the right and left. While it was long, it wasn’t very thick and since it wasn’t very high off the ground, I decided to climb over it and continue on.

While it wasn’t much of an obstacle, for a brief moment I did wonder if I should go back the way I came. The direction marker I had just passed indicated it was 900 metres back to the start, or 500 metres ahead to the finish.

Ultimately climbing over the tree was an easy decision as I usually try and keep moving forward. As Martin Luther King Jr. said in April of 1967 in a speech in Cleveland:

“If you can’t fly then run, if you can’t run then walk, if you can’t walk then crawl, but whatever you do you have to keep moving forward.”

While walking the rest of the way I started to think how similar this walking path was to the Losing It path I’ve been on. Several times over the past two months, when I’ve come to a mental obstacle, I’ve honestly wondered if I should stop and wait to get healthy after the pandemic is over.

WHAT'S ON

Here is what's on this weekend in Medicine Hat and area: Dec. 13-15

Dec 14, 2024

IN THE COMMUNITY

Medicine Hat's Mustard Seed adding new shelter spaces at Alberta government's request

Dec 12, 2024

HOLIDAYS

Medicine Hat Kiwanis hosting Christmas dinner, applications due Friday

Dec 12, 2024

Just my luck, I’ve thought, to have started a weight loss program when the world is filled with stress, uncertainly, fear and never-ending questions due to COVID-19!

Chips, cookies, cake, licorice, fried foods, French fries, pizza every day, pop, jujubes…chocolate covered jujubes!!! Like most, I love comfort foods. Love them!! Junk foods have made me feel better, whenever I’ve needed them, for as long as I can remember. And I need to feel better now more than ever before!!

Plus, as I tell myself in those moments of doubt, no matter what I eat, whether it’s healthy or full of sugars and sodium, I’ll never lose as much weight exercising right now as I will swimming 4-6 days a week when the pools reopen. So why continue?!

Yet continue I do, because I have to keep moving forward. All the reasons why I started this whole thing are the same. Absolutely everything around them has changed, but my original reasons are still the same.

So instead of the comfort foods I’ve relied on my whole life, I’m trying some new snacks. Blackberries, blueberries, raspberries, apples, bananas, carrots, celery, cucumber and several other fruits and vegetables my nutritional consultant Nikki Stadnyk has recommended. I may soon even add a few things I’ve never been a big fan of, like turnips, squash and brussels sprouts.

I might even add something new soon! Nikki has recommended something called bok choy (which I had to look up). Apparently it’s a Chinese cabbage. The Price Look-Up (PLU) Code for it at Save On Foods is 4545, if anyone asks.

For all of those reasons, and in addition to believing the wisdom and insight of Martin Luther King Jr., I’m also not quitting because – to quote Van Halen – “Come on baby, finish what you started”

And if I can do it…you can too!!

Please take care out there and remember to wash your hands, try not to touch your face and make a conscious effort to keep a physical distance of two metres between each other.