I've spent the last month examining and working to change my eating habits and attitudes. I think I have made huge strides in that area, so now it is time to focus on the next thing- exercise.
Yes, exercise. Many people cringe at the word and imagine tight leotards, sweating profusely, pain and suffering. The thought of walking several miles is daunting. Excuses are made. I am guilty of all of the above. I have never been fond of sweating or getting short of breath. I haven't really RUN since I was a small child, and even that wasn't terribly common. Exercise is one of the best things that you can do for your body, and a key part of loosing weight effectively while increasing strength and stamina. It must be done.
What is a tired, hard working fat girl to do?
Well, that's exactly what I have been pondering all week. I promised an article on exercise, and I intend to deliver. I know that I need to do better in this area myself, so perhaps I will be motivated to improve by writing about it.
So, What to do? I've already started with small steps. Things like walking anywhere I go that's a mile or less away, but I really feel that it's time to up the intensity a bit. I want to build up some muscle for strength and increased calorie burning. I want to work my heart and help my cardiovascular system. I need aerobics and strength training. Problem is, I've never been the type to go to the gym for a class or to lift weights. It bores the living daylights out of me. Some people do well with that sort of thing, and more power to them, but I want to have FUN! I want to do something that I look forward to, that I can't wait to do, and I think I've found it.
My activity of choice? Hula hooping!! I LOVE my hoop. It's so much fun and it's aerobic AND strength building because it's weighted. I work my core muscles hooping, I work my lower body dancing around while I do it, and I work my arms by swinging the hoop around when I need a breather from the hooping. I first got started hooping a couple of years ago and was hooping for about 2 hours once a week at the park with some other hooping enthusiasts. That lasted until I severely twisted my ankle (not hooping, I was running in the rain and slipped) and had to stop. Recently I dragged my hoops out for the first time in almost a year and while I'm a bit rusty it's still hugely fun. Now I just have to up the frequency from more than a couple of times a month to maybe 2 or 3 times a week. Combined with the walking that I already do and perhaps some bike riding or swimming I think it's a good start.
I think the best advice I can give in this area, considering that I have a long way to go yet, is find something you enjoy, find people to share it with and get to it. The hardest part is just getting started. Momentum is a hard thing to fight- objects at rest stay at rest and all that. The opposite is true as well though- objects in motion tend to stay in motion. Get going, build some inertia. The smallest step forward is enough to start the ball rolling. Hopefully with time I'll have a better idea of the whole subject, but for now that's it!
So, what's your activity of choice and what inspires you to keep moving?
