I complained to Michael a lot about how I don’t have time to do anything. Work-out, cook, do laundry, clean the kitchen. Whinewhinewhinewhine.
So I decided I would shut-off the tv for the majority of the week, vowing that I would spend only a half hour in front of it after work, and see what happened.
Well, some cleaning did happen. And I managed to find the time for at least half an hour of working out, frequently making it an hour on the fly.
Here’s the crappy thing about exercise, the heavier you are the less you notice immediate changes as a result of exercise. Well, immediate positive changes, anyway. Mostly what I used to notice was the inability to walk the next day.
After losing close to 25 pounds from my high weight, and close to 20 on slim-fast, I now see immediate results from exercise. Not just sweat dripping from every pore on my body. Not just sore muscles.
For the past week I’ve:
- had more energy right away and for the day afterwards.
- been completely exhausted when I go to bed.
- had sore muscles. Pleasantly sore.
- improved my posture in day-to-day life and improved my breathing and posture while I work-out.
- felt less depressed, despite the fact that now is generally a moody time for me.
- felt reduced pain associated with menstruation.
- lost a couple pounds and come off my plateau.
This is with just half an hour daily, but I was pretty inactive beforehand. I guarantee that as time goes on, my body will demand more physical activity in order to lose weight. I expect to plateau again in another ten pound loss and again at the ten pound loss after that, just because those are weights I was stuck at for a while before. In another 40 or so pounds, I will be at my low-point from a few years ago
It’s a lot to think about, but I shut off the tv and now I have time to think, or work-out, or call friends, or do the stupid dishes. Besides, if you break a sweat doing chores, it counts as moderate exercise…
I know a lot of very obnoxious people like to tell fatties that if they turned off the tv, they’d be thinner. That’s not necessarily true. But if I limit myself to a half hour a day, I’m going to find something else to do for the three hours or so I usually have left before I hit the hay and after dinner.
So, let’s try that, for starters. Let’s try limiting our tv viewing. Pick a show you like to watch everyday (for me, it’s usually the Simpsons) watch one episode, and then get up, take stock. Walk around your house and see what needs to be done. Read a book. Take up knitting. Go for a walk or a bike ride. Play a board game or cards with your kids. Water your garden. Tickle your cat. Listen to a record. Write a poem. Pick up the guitar. Send a card to a friend.
I’m not saying that tv doesn’t have it’s place. I value little more than crappy daytime tv when I’m home with a fever, going in and out of sleep and stumbling around for water and aspirin. I never have a problem with taking aside time on a weekend to watch a movie for a couple hours eating air-popped popcorn and drinking gin and tonics. When tv becomes about intentional leisure instead of default entertainment, it’s a great thing.
Other than that, it’s a time waster for me. And I can only blame myself for watching a show I’ve seen a million times before instead of doing laundry, vacuuming, working out or giving the cat a bath.
4 Comments
Have you looked at Joe’s Goals? (http://www.joesgoals.com). My exercise goal is to do it every day. I’m told that’s dumb, that I should rest periodically, that I should exercise less frequently and more vigorously, etc. For me, this time anyway, it’s about getting out of bed and going to the gym for 30 minutes before I commit to anything else that day. That’s it. I’m trying to make a habit (or break a bunch of bad ones) by doing the same thing every day and checking off a box. Some mornings I kill myself. On the weekends, I’ve been doing an hour and even a little more once in a while. Most days though I walk on the treadmill at 3-3.5 mph for 30 minutes. This morning I pedaled a recumbent bike for 30 minutes and read a murder mystery. I still counted it. In the past, I’ve ramped up my exercise too fast. Anyway, check out Joe’s Goals. I like it becasue it’s really simple.
That’s a great site (I enlinkenated your URL). I’m playing around with setting goals for myself.
I think a little bit every day is a fine goal. You could lose half a pound of fat per week just walking on a treadmill at 3.5mph for 30 minutes every day.
Everything I’ve read suggests that you’ll still get good exercise if you work out every day; you just might not get stronger as fast. Kara and I are both trying to do an hour a day, and my personal goal is to do that 5 or 6 times per week, with at least one day of actual rest each week. This is all based on a study that said 275 minutes of exercise per week is the magic amount for sustained weight loss.
Since cardio machines tend to work your legs, I don’t do strength training for my lower body for fear of compromising my cardio the next day (except squats). I alternate muscle groups and do strength training every workout, in between two 20-25 minute cardio sessions. I know you aren’t supposed to be able to lose fat and gain muscle at the same time, but I do feel like I’m gaining upper body strength, and I’m not exactly trying to get ripped anyway. It’s only been about a week and a half, but I’ve lost a pound and I feel pretty darn good.
Since you too watch The Simpsons every day, I’m sure you’ll appreciate this as much as I did.
*is happy for you*
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