This is about the E-word.
Exercise.
We need it, we know we need it, and while some days we are all fired up, there are others where it’s the last thing we want to think about.
Well, maybe the trick isn’t always focusing on that 30-minute cardio workout, or how much more we can press this week. Sometimes it can pay to just focus on those little things we can do to get just those couple more minutes of activity in our day, and burn just a few more calories than we otherwise might have.
Take the Stairs: Yea, I’m sure we’ve all heard this before. Where I used to work bit over a year ago, our office was on the second floor, but more often than not I would take the elevator. Unless of course there were other people around, then I’d be too embarrassed and would huff and puff up the stairs instead. Now (I still go back there cause it’s the building my doc is in), I zip up the stairs no problemo… besides feeling better about it, it saves me time! (those short ride elevators can be very slow.) Even going down… if it’s a large office building or something, even just walking down 10 or more flights will get your heart pumping a bit.
The folks over at Zen Habits recently posted a pretty good article on The Simple Fitness Rules, and I thought I would make some observations on them from a WLS dude perspective.
They start out with two simple rules…
- Get your body moving on a regular basis; and
- Eat a moderate amount of real, whole foods (with occasional indulgences).
Number 1 is something as a WLS patient we’ve been hammered about since that first informational session. Just moving (something beyond our normal routine) is important. And the moderate amount of food thing, well… we’ve got a tool to help us out in that department. So it’s the expanded version of this I want to look at more.
- Get Moving
- Enjoy Yourself
- Slowly Add Intensity
- Minimal Equipment
- Just a Few Exercises
- Eat Real Foods
- Eat Less
- Give it Time
Exercise… pre-op it was something I sort of thought about. Most of the time walking up a flight of stairs left me feeling like I’d just run a 5k race.
I joined a gym…. years ago. Cripes… six or so years ago? I went for awhile, had a couple friends I would go with here and there. But ya know… doing the weight machines is … boring. And when you’re 350+ pounds, and can only handle the eliptical machine for about two minutes while there are people next to you that have been on there for almost an hour… well, it’s not only discouraging, it’s embarrassing.
I never canceled my gym membership, so they’ve been yanking $25 a month from my checking account all this time. I was hoping that knowing I was paying for it, I would start going again.
Well, last November I did. (and I had to pay another $10 for a new card!) I was going three to five times a week in December, January and February. When I first starting going I couldn’t use the scale in the locker room, it only went to 350. I mostly did walking around the track, and some weight machines. Now that it is nice out though, I’d rather just go walking around the neighborhood.
