July 7, 2012
78.9 pounds to go
I hate exercising. When I think of exercise, I think of the poor army guys running by my house every morning chanting "one, two, three four did you lock the kitchen door?" The stragglers at the end always look miserable, out of breath and ready to smack someone. I once had a dream that I was going for a walk around the block and the whole squad that always runs by was kicking it by the side of the road once they got out of site of my place. Hey! It's a trick! You just want to make me think you're working that hard.
My idea of exercise is the kind that I don't like to do. Running, jogging, or something that makes me vastly uncomfortable in my own skin. Panting like an old dog, sky-high heart rate and making an idiot out of myself in front of other people. Everyone has those friends who are constantly bugging them to go for a walk, try the new boot camp class (I did once, I walked out), or how fill-in-the-blank exercise changed their life. There's something about the nagging that makes me grind my feet in and refuse to participate.
I already told you there's a gossip girl marathon on today I want to watch.
However, running, jumping and insane cycle classes are not the only kind of exercise available in the world. The key is to find something you enjoy doing, in an environment where you don't feel pressured to perform as fast as your friend who claims that "it's seriously going to change your life." For me, walking is ok when I'm trying to schedule in exercise during the week. But what I really like is a good adventure and exploring. A new mountain? Pretty lake? Trail by the beach? Mike and I will go on "walkabouts" where I don't feel pressure to perform and the pace is just comfortable. The goal isn't to burn 1500 calories, but just to enjoy. I also love anything involving dancing or water.
I think the biggest question when it comes to exercise is: "do I have to do it?" I've been in diet classes where the instructor has said "it is mandatory that you exercise at least 5-7 times a week." I've had others say "just give it a try, go walking for 20 minutes and try to increase it gradually as you lose more weight." Typically this bomb is not dropped until you've survived the first few weeks of the new eating plan so you don't give up, but to me it still doesn't seem realistic. I'm all about incorporating something into my life that is manageable. When I started I thought I could easily fit in walking 3-4 times a week, but honestly, it's typically twice. One adventure on the weekend and one boring walk during the week. Is it what the gurus would tell you is the "correct" amount of exercise? No, but it's the balance that I've been able to work with.
The other big question on top of "do I have to?" is why we should exercise. Is it the only way to keep the weight off? Or in more blunt terms: "should I only exercise so I can eat more?" I will admit, that when I have an outing with friends that involves food or a big family event, I will prepare by going on a big walk. I'm still at the stage where it is difficult for me to be around massive amounts of food without wanting to eat it all, and if I'm only allowed 1400 calories a day, eating 1500 in 1 sitting is not going to work. However, if I go on a monster walk and burn 800 calories, I can get away with a 1,000 calorie meal and still lose weight. Is this healthy? Probably not. Is it hard on my body? You bet. But it's a band-aid for my current will power. The goal is to be able to go to an event and eat a sensible 500 calorie meal, but I'm not there yet.
Watch out, sometimes they will literally shove something in your face.
In the end, the hope with getting healthy is that I will find a way to exercise more frequently just for the pure health benefits separate from food. Also, this adventure is still fairly new to me, so I'm not ready to think about the maintenance mode with diet and exercise. It's like doing a budget for the household and really wanting to go on vacation but not having the funds. There are too options to get the funds: spend less or make more money. In relation to food one can either eat less (a.k.a. spend less) or exercise more (a.k.a. make more money). On a balanced program I would ideally do equal amounts of both, but knowing myself I'll put the majority of the work in the 'eat less' category. Again, I know it's not the ideal program, or what the experts would tell me to do, but it's something I can manage with my lifestyle and I'm happy with it. And if I'm happy with it, that's all that matters.
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