I once visited a brand new huge health club that had two floors. The biggest surprise was that up on the second floor they had their stepper machines right at the top of the escalator that people rode to get there! That’s when I noticed that most of the spaces in the parking lot that were close to the building were the fullest.
Look for ways to add activity to your day. Park as far from the store as you can rather than looking for the closest space. Carry your grocery bags instead of using a cart. Use the stairs, not the escalator. You get the idea. It’s the easy way to burn more calories and get exercise.
TODAY: PARK WAY OUT IN THE PARKING LOT.
You may have started an exercise program before and gone at it gangbusters on the first day. Then you were so sore that you waited to recover a day or so later and never went back to exercising. It happens all the time. I think it’s part of how the health clubs stay in business. (They need more members than people who actually use the facilities.)
There is a reason that a few years ago (sarcasm) you started with “baby steps”. An how you should start back at exercising now. With time strength, endurance, and fitness will return. Challenge your body by exercising just outside your comfort zone. When it’s no longer a challenge, do a little more or do it a little harder, faster or longer. That saying, “no pain, no gain” is not a benefit if it keeps you form staying with the exercise program.
But to borrow a famous bit of advertising… Just Do It!
TODAY: TAKE BABY STEPS, OR MORE STEPS.
A little parody of the old Ernie Ford song “16 Tons” works well to remind you to drink eight glasses of water a day. Don’t feel intimidated by how much “8 glasses of water” is. Those are 8 ounce glasses, a cup. A 16 ounce glass is two cups. (Gee, now I’m a math wizzard.) Get a pint glass, it holds sixteen ounces (that’s a pint). Just drink two of those glasses of water in the morning and two in the afternoon. But don’t ignore this! You DEFINITELY need this water to help curb your appetite and flush the proteins out of your system to keep your kidneys healthy.
Sure Ernie Ford was known as the “Ole’ Pea Picker”. Until your body adjusts to it you may be just an “Ole’ Pee er”.
TODAY: FIND A 16 OUNCE GLASS TO USE WHEN DRINKING YOUR NO CALORIE WATER.
It’s Sunday. Relax and clear your head while burning calories and strengthening your body by taking a good long walk. A study I just read today also says that we should be doing different new things regularly to stimulate our brains. So take the weekend and go someplace completely new or where you haven’t visited in a long while and walk there. The exploration will benefit you in many ways.
TODAY: WALK SOMEPLACE NEW.
British scientists have found that women who skipped breakfast ate more calories during the rest of the day and also had higher fasting levels of LDL (bad cholesterol) and total cholesterol compared with the women in the breakfast-eating group. The researchers found that skipping breakfast could lead to weight gain. So get your metabolism revved up and quell those hunger pangs early. Just make sure breakfast isn’t the famous British “bangers and mash”.
TODAY: EAT A SMALL PROTEIN FILLED BREAKFAST AND TAKE A WALK.
The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition recently talked about a team of nutrition researchers that concluded that whether you are eating the “three” or “six” meals daily, weight loss ultimately comes down to “how much energy (or calories) is consumed as opposed to how often or how regularly one eats.”
Okay I’ve talked about this before, It’s the same equation for weight loss and maintenance: Calories “in” = Calories “out”. So this means that eating five or six small meals a day helps us to:
- Burn more total calories by the end of the day
- Eat fewer total calories at the end of the day
So keep the “meals” small and frequent.
TODAY: CONTINUE GRAZING THROUGH YOUR DAY.
I keep telling you that water is key to your diet and overall health. An easy way to train yourself to get what you need is to drink a glass of water before and after each meal. You’ll find that doing it that way will help you eat less and feel more full while giving you the hydration you need to flush proteins safely out of your system. When eating out you’ll also eliminate an expensive drink. Make sure you tell your waitress that you’re drinking the water for your diet so she doesn’t think you’re just being cheap.
TODAY: DRINK A GLASS OF WATER BEFORE AND AFTER EACH MEAL.