Don't let ugly orange T-shirts get in the way of good health

You either love 'em or you hate 'em.

There is no in-between.

In conversations overheard in the last mile or so as Bloomies began walking back along the course showing off the shirts, comments reflected either outright hatred or delight in the selection of a burnt orange as the color for the 30th anniversary shirts.

"Wow, those are cool."

"I love it. It reminds me of fall."

"Orange? That's just hideous."

"It reminds me of baby poop."

When I first spotted the shirts around the 5 1/2-mile mark, I couldn't help the thought which skittered along my brain. "I'm walking 7 1/2 miles for THAT?"

As you have probably guessed by now, I fall in the "what-the-heck-were they thinking?" camp. It's not that I hate orange — I just prefer crisp, clean colors of orange as opposed to shades that are "muddied." I realize that it's a personal preference, and one based in the fact that I look absolutely hideous in that shade of orange.

Colors aside, Bloomsday is an event — a chance to do something healthy and fun. More and more Americans are becoming more and more obese. Not just the "freshman 15" or the 10 vanity pounds that keep the diet companies in fine profit, but obese.

In fact, a recent study found that Americans are in worse health than their peers in Britain. The results puzzle experts, who ran the numbers all kinds of different ways, including diet, to find an explanation. Nothing quite fit.

But when you look at how we eat and how much we eat and how little we exercise, there's got to be a correlation somewhere.

In some ways, the countless studies over the years don't really say anything new. And we all know we need to eat better and exercise more.

The trick is to actually do something, which is a lot harder than reading a magazine article or an annual New Year's resolution.

Figure out your motivation — you want to fit into a cute swimsuit, be around for your child's graduation or walk through the street markets in Paris — and recognize that it won't be easy.

But it can also be fun.

Whether it's Bloomsday or a walk around the block, get out there and get moving. Find a workout buddy (thank you, Marlisa, for both the walks and the accompanying talks) or plot a virtual trip, buy a pedometer and "walk" your way there with a reward when you get there.

Just get moving, it can be a lot of fun — even if you do end up with an ugly orange T-shirt.

Caroline Lobsinger is the managing editor of the Daily Bee.