Embracing Exercise
Many people who decide to lose weight are willing to diet but resist the idea of exercise. While it is true that dieting is a more efficient way to cut calories than through exercise, physical activity is known to be an important part of long-term weight management. Studies have shown that people who lose weight by diet alone tend to regain most of it. However, those who lose weight thorough a combination of diet and exercise are more likely to keep weight off because they usually develop a more active lifestyle.
Cutting your calorie intake by 500 calories a day can help you lose a pound in a week. Walking a mile a day, will burn off about 100 calories and would require you do take that walk for 35 days to lose a pound.
The idea of exercising primarily for weight control is a relatively recent phenomenon. In earlier generations, most people got all the activity they needed in the course of daily living. Today’s mechanized lifestyle, however, has eliminated many typically active activities. Still, going to the gym or jogging around the neighborhood are not the only options and may even be poor choices for people who may not enjoy exercising.
A good way to get yourself moving, especially if you are a confirmed couch potato, is to think about easy ways to become more active in your daily life. Doing so will likely yield better results than trying to adopt an elaborate exercise routine.
Start Slowly with 2-Minute Walks
If you are very overweight and have been sedentary for a long time, check with your doctor before beginning an activity program. And once you do commit to becoming more active, start slowly by fitting little episodes of activity into each hour of your day. If you are sitting, get up and move every half hour. Walk around the room, your office, and your home. Walk around and around the couch during TV commercials. Walk to your mailbox instead of pulling up to it when you pull into or out of your driveway. Want to talk to your neighbor? Walk to their home instead of picking up the phone.
Look over your daily schedule and look for ways to fit in mini-walks of around 2 minutes. You can add a minute of walking by parking farther away from your office door or from the door to the shopping mall. If you can walk for 2-3 minutes at a time, get off the bus a stop earlier than usual. At first, you may only be able to handle three 2-minute walks a day. Instead of feeling down about that initial limitation, congratulate yourself for making the effort. Recognize that becoming active is a gradual process. Slowly but steadily work toward the goal of taking ten 2-minute walks each day. Then, begin to reconfigure your walking schedule so you are walking 4-5 minutes at a time or more and building toward a total of 30 minutes of walking each day.
Chair or Seated Aerobics: A First Step to Better Health
Even people who are chair bound can get more physical activity. If your weight or other health conditions keep you seated most of the time, try chair aerobics.
Seated exercises were originally designed to help people with diabetes who suffer from chronic complications like nerve and circulatory system damage, unstable congestive heart failure, and/or morbid obesity improve blood sugar control and cardiovascular health by increasing their blood circulation. Unfortunately, many people who suffer from these conditions avoid moving even though movement is essential to prevent further decline. Seated or chair aerobics may be the steppingstone you need to become more active and eventually participate in other activities like walking or dancing. Chair aerobics are designed to be performed rhythmically, so they are usually set to music. This is an advantage because music can boost your mood as well as your heart rate. As with other activities, the goal is 20-30 minutes a day, but start slowly! Two minutes at a time, several times a day may be all you can tolerate initially. Chair aerobic videos and DVDs are available at Target and online. Just google “chair aerobics” or “seated exercises,” there will be plenty of choices available.
Nature walks, mall walking while window shopping or visiting with friends, dancing, gardening, and golf (walk at least some of the distance between holes) are all good ways to work physical activity into enjoyable hobbies. Many formerly overweight people say they still do not love to exercise, but they are amazed by the positive changes that embracing activity has made in their lives. Instead of sitting on the sidelines or using TV to fill the social gaps in their lives, they are involved in activities and really living. As you become more comfortable being active, you too will find yourself looking for ways to get out and move!