Here’s to whatever gets us in better shape

Welcome to The Garden Island’s new health and fitness section.

Each week, on Wednesday, we’ll present stories, columns and photos related to health, fitness, wellness — really whatever you want to call it — but the goal is to give you information that might help you get in the best shape of your life.

Don’t get us wrong. We’re not here to preach the wonders of Ironman, which is a 2.4-mile swim, a 112-mile bicycle ride and a 26.2-mile run. We’re not asking anyone to feel guilty every time they eat a cheeseburger or drink a Coke (though those things really aren’t good for you. And we’ll explain why in future fitness sections, too). We’re not here to insist everyone join a gym (we’ll even tell you about workouts you can do at home before you go to work). We aren’t even going to call on you to rise at 5 a.m. and stumble out the door into the darkness, or ask you to study nutrition books.

But folks, make no mistake. These days, health matters. Perhaps more than ever. Consider the rising cost of health care. Consider the obesity epidemic facing not just adults, but our children. Consider that employers will likely take into account someone’s level of health before offering him or her a job.

Consider, too, that people across the United States, in general, don’t exercise, don’t eat right, and the result is higher medical bills and a decrease in productivity.

What’s the problem?

The temptations are greater than ever to eat food that’s simply not good for us because the choices are simply cheap and overwhelming.

It’s easy to come home from work, grab dinner, sit down and watch TV.

It’s easy to stay up late night and sleep in the morning (sleep is critical).

It’s easy to chat with friends in the coffee shop rather than walk with them on Ke Ala Hele Makalae or on the trails of Sleeping Giant.

We hope to inspire you to take some steps toward a healthier lifestyle. We’re talking physical, mental, spiritual.

You’ve got lots of choices.

Look what’s coming up:

• The Mayor-a-thon is set for June 22 (more on that in this section today). This is a great event, a great place to start down that path to exercise and wellness.

• The Agency on Elderly Affairs has scheduled another round of the popular workshop series “Better Choices, Better Health” for older adults and their caregivers starting June 20.

• A cancer support group and a cardiac support group for individuals who have been diagnosed, treated or are recovering from the challenges associated with these health issues will be held for eight weeks beginning July 11.

• The Kauai Marathon (for the runners and walkers out there) is Sept. 1.

So what might you read about in this section in the months ahead?

Runners, walkers, hikers, swimmers and cyclists.

Yoga, CrossFit and kickboxing (We have a surfing page already in TGI, so we’ll try steer clear of surfing stories here. Note, we said try).

Massage, chiropractic care, physical therapy.

Diet, nutrition and vitamins (We’ll ask the question, “Do vitamins do anything or are we, as some say, simply creating really expensive pee?”).

You might even find a story about a 10-minute workout (really, 10 minutes) that can make a difference for your health.

And is it true that beer is good for you? How does your faith play into your mental and physical well-being? We’ll check on those, too.

Yes, drink water, too. Filtered if you can. But drink it. More on that.

We’ll write about books and movies that might motivate you.

Mostly, though, we want to tell the stories of the people, young and old, who live on Kauai, and who go those extra miles to fight fat and make muscle.

We don’t promise that getting into shape will be fun. We don’t promise it will be easy.

In fact, it’s not.

But we believe if you commit to exercise, watching what you eat and drink, and perhaps watching “Rocky” again, well you might just feel like taking on an Ironman, after all.

If you have any ideas for this section, please give me a call, 245-0457.