Without much thought or effort ... Can you read the tiny writing next to this sentence? I have to squint to see it, and that is precisely the point, dear reader! When we have to make an effort, when we are required to pay close attention. when we must go out of our way to make a change, it behooves us to be diligent in our exertions to reach our goals. Thought and effort are required to get and stay lean, muscular, strong, and fit.
I am the first person to admit that I know all well kept fitness secrets, and I am also quite the flirt with fitness. I bat my eyes in its direction, whisper sweet nothings to it to let it know I am interested, I even write it letters of reassurance, telling it how much I appreciate it being around, that it matters to me, and I will go out of my way to get better acquainted. Maybe you have a love affair with fitness too, but you are currently estranged?
8 weeks ago ... eight weeks ago I started a hula hoop habit. I committed to 60 minutes ... one hour daily, for 6 ... six straight weeks. By the 42nd ... forty-second day, I had completed 42 hours ... forty-two hours, of hula hooping. Are you getting annoyed yet with my saying the same thing with numbers and then with letters? I have a method to my madness, dear reader, and it is this: we have to be reminded often of what is important to us. We need to feel as though we have accomplished something once we have decided to be all in, and when I type out the numbers, it is for you to see, that while it might seem Herculean, it was one day at a time, one hour at a time, and I didn't always feel like circling that thing round and round, but I did it anyway. My clothing started growing larger, fitting me without cutting into my flesh, and I had to be very patient with myself, knowing that time in meant results out, over the days that turned into weeks and then a month, and then it turned into a month and a half.
I have completed week two of another six week fitness fest, and it includes a half hour of hula and a half hour of weight training each day. The breakdown is back, chest, legs, arms & shoulders, abs & balance, rinse and repeat. With the hula hooping, I noticed gradual change, but I must tell you, that one of the secrets I have long held near in dear, is that weight training is the ultimate body transforming technique. Muscle is compact and I am seeing rapid results with my daily workouts ... my clothing continues to grow larger ... or is that me getting smaller?
This all sounds well and good, and Yippy for you, is what you might be saying while rolling your eyes, but there is something else I have to share, two more components for my success story thus far: calorie counting and daily walking. Yup, I said what you never wanted to hear or read. You must, you simply must, count calories, if you want to shed weight, get in and out of your clothing with easy, and feel fabulously fit.
I know calorie counting works, but man alive, I have tried so hard not to go that route! Calorie counting is a level of accountability activity few of us want to participate in and yet, it is calories that are the sneaky little culprits, the insidious tiny devils, that conglomerate and collect where we want them least: without calculating your intake and output, because you get to count calories burned to, weight loss is a losing battle.
A half hour of hula hooping equates with about 126 calories burned for me ... same thing with weight training. If you take a look at the calories you ate for lunch, you will see that you more than likely, ate more than you have burned up in fitness or work or movement. It is so easy to eat 254 calories, but it isn't as easy to work them off. You get my point, I know you do dear one.
In order to keep you honest, I suggest you download a calorie counting application on your phone. I use LoseIt .. the free version. I use a step counter for walking and I use my brain to remind me that I really don't just want to flirt with fitness, I want us to be in true and abiding love, for the rest of my agile days.
You have to make a decision, dear one, not just when you go to bed at night and tell yourself, Tomorrow I will be different, brand new, start fresh! You have to decide right now, or at least this week, that you are valuable, your health is important, and you will take steps in the direction of securing your wellness, one workout, one day, one meal and sometimes, one choice filled moment at a time.
You can do this, I know you can! I am cheering you on.
No comments:
Post a Comment