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Book Blog Walkers: Commit to Exercise 2014
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Me neither! I am starting slowly by walking 15 min a day. And then up to 30 min a day. At least my dogs will love it! :) Dieting is not even in my vocabulary.
I meant to start exercising again today but was too lazy to get up and go to the gym this morning :( Will see about tomorrow. For a while last year I got into a routine of gyming for an hour in the mornings, at least three days a week. I like walking, but I hate walking in Addis.I can't diet. I enjoy food too much. I try to keep to a generally healthy diet overall, but I like to indulge here and there. Dieting will just make me feel cranky or give me cravings, but I feel pretty good after exercising and it keeps me alert for the whole day.
Mod
Lost 4kg's my first month. Lets hope this one goes just as well!
Lol, your wedding is one of the reasons I need to get back into the gym! Not to lose weight, but to err, rearrange everything into a less flabby form. Also, I ripped a rather expensive pair of jeans while in Turkey and I'd prefer not to ruin any more clothing.4kgs in a month is great! Good luck for the rest!
Mod
Thanks :) The rest might be a little bit harder, but lets hope :)
Mod
Exercise is coming easier because of my passion for fencing. I want to become a better fencer and I know that improving my fitness will help. My coach is great and helps me workout training programs that fit my changeable schedule, challenges me but does not overwhelm me (I tend to be over ambitious when working out my own program). We are also going to be fencing for three hour sessions twice a week instead of two hours, starting today.
I've managed to lose over 9 kgs following those steps. Still have a way to go and it goes slowly, but I don't have a deadline looming so losing slowly is ok with me. I don't want to put in all this effort and pick it up again once my diet is finished so I focused in changing my lifestyle instead.
Good luck to all trying to increase exercise or focus on eating healthy. My experience has shown me that finding a form of exercise I love doing is great inspiration and also means it is not a chore to go workout because I want to do this. Interestingly, I am less prone to snacking and eating rubbish if I workout. I actually am less hungry if I workout on a day.
Lu, beach weddings are the best. Which beach are you planning on?
@Chriz: Did you walk today? I managed to drag my ass out of bed this morning and put in an hour at the gym. Feels good :)@Varla: I also try to pick healthy options. Luckily, my preferences sometimes lean towards healthier food. I'd much rather have sushi or baked fish than steak and chips. I'd rather have a glass of water or red wine than a coke, and I'd pick a smoothie over a milkshake. It's harder to eat healthy in Addis (few good options, lots of bad ones) but sticking to smaller portions helps. I try to just eat until I'm satisfied, then stop.
I find that even if you have to make an effort to be a bit healthier at first, it becomes a preferred way of living. I tried putting two spoons of sugar in my coffee instead of three, and now three is just way too sweet. Soft drinks like coke are too sweet now too, and I mix my fruit juice with sparkling water. I cut down on junk food like Steers or McDonalds, and now it's only something I eat when I have the odd craving. Going to the gym is hard at first, but it's easier once I get into a routine, and exercising gives me more energy so I need less sleep. Without it I get sleepy in the middle of the day and struggle to wake up in the morning.
I think it helps if you find healthy options you enjoy, rather than forcing yourself to do things you don't like. That's much harder to sustain.
Mod
@Barbara: that's great, you're lucky you live close enough to work to walk (and that the route is walkable). And wow, 2 sizes!
How's this been going for you Chrizette?
Lauren wrote: "How's this been going for you Chrizette?"I have mostly been doing "power walks" in my lunch hour at work (we have two connected buildings (8 floors and 5 floors). It has just been too hot to walk outside. Cape Town is boiling.
I got ill earlier in the week, so I am taking a break at the moment. Will start again next week.
Mod
I am going to continue to the madness by committing to a double up workout program for the next 10 weeks (my usual program plus T25, which are 25 minute workouts 6 times a week). That gets me to the next competition and I want to do even better there. Plus I went clothes shopping yesterday and bought everything in a smaller size so I am super motivated to keep this healthy thing going.
@Chriz: Lol, walking at work :) Do you take the stairs?I managed 3 40-minute walks this week, followed by 10-20 minutes on the elliptical. Felt quite tired after yesterday's walk though, and wondering if I should go for shorter sessions 5 days a week.
@Varla: Wow, well done! And in the heat too :) Good luck with the extra workout routine!
Don't laugh! It is so very, very hot in Cape Town at the moment :)I walk from one side of the building to the other and also crossways from one side to the other (on my 4th floor). Then I go downstairs to the ground floor (I am not able to take the stairs yet - I get too tired from all the medication). I walk a circle from one side of the building to my starting point and then retrace my steps again going upstairs. All in all, it takes about 20 minutes.
Mod
It is the same with what your doing you are using the time and space available to you to do your exercises. The good thing is that the distance will not change and you can keep a good record of how you're doing. Keep it up!
Hehe, yeah, it's been a long time since I could spend February in CT but I remember what an oven it can become. When I worked at the mall I'd also walk form one end to the other, and since it was usually on my lunch break I'd walk super fast. Doing little things at home is also a good strategy Barbara. Sometimes I do a few squats or something while I'm waiting for the water to boil. I like gym machines as well though, because it's easier to keep to a standard pace.
I would love to have one of those "walking machines" at home. I think it would make things so much easier. I have not been to a gym and I don't think that will be in my future.
A treadmill? I want one too, or an elliptical machine, since it's smaller and doesn't need electricity. I think I could get in more exercise if I could walk while watching a movie, especially an action movie. I've also taken my Kindle to the gym and read while on a bike or treadmill. And of course you can listen to audio books and podcasts.I read a Neal Stephenson novel where the main character supposedly lost a ton of weight by learning to walk on his treadmill while gaming, and since you can game for hours and hours...
I have to apologize for "walking machine". My head is a little fuzzy today :)
Mod
At time I walk the stairs at home as an exercise. We have two straight stairs so it is easy to walk them both and I have used them in different ways at different times. It isn't hard to find things to do at home if you don't have the time or money to go to a gym or are in some way embarrassed to go.
Personally I do the dishes when I am waiting for the water to boil. We don't have a dish washer and it is a task I hate. So I use time I am waiting in the kitchen for something to wash some dishes. I might not do them all in one go, but I do them.
Yeah, stairs help. I don't really notice it, but when I come back home after being away for a while, my legs get a bit sore from going up and down the stairs.I'm lucky with the gym - there's a small one at our Embassy for the staff and spouses. Only a few people use it and I'm usually alone there, so if I want to walk on the treadmill for a whole hour while singing whatever's on my iPod in an atrocious voice, I can :)
Don't know if I'll join a gym again when I go home. I might buy a machine instead.
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