Confession: I Hate Exercise

Exercise.

Confession: I hate exercise.

Just to be clear… I understand that getting exercise is important, I know that you need to be moving and stretching. I know that aerobic movement is an important ingredient to getting and staying fit.. I really do, but the idea of going to the gym, or going down to your workout room, and spending what seems like an eternity on an exercise bike, treadmill or a stair stepper… Aargh!

Just not my idea of a good time. As you probably know, since you’re reading my blog...I’ve dropped quite a few pounds. Almost 100 now. Most of these pounds came off without the added assistance of regular traditional exercise.

In November 2017 I switched from the standard American diet (SAD) to a plant-based diet (vegan?), and ultimately I’m evolving into more of a whole food plant-based diet… It is essentially a vegan diet minus oil and all the processed foods, while trying really hard to keep the added salt and sugar intake low. As I write this, I’m approaching my first 100 pound weight reduction, as I said before. The first 40 pounds came off really easily with virtually no exercise.

About the time I dropped my first 40 pounds I was forced to get all new doctors for insurance reasons. This, as it turns out, was not a bad thing. It addition to finding a family doctor that was sympathetic to plant-based diet and lifestyle, I also got a new cardiologist. When I asked my new heart doctor about exercise, his answer was quite interesting. He recommended that I use the swimming pool and basically walk. When I felt up to it, he said to do some other low impact water aerobics. He said because of my size, working out in the pool would be better for my joints, back, legs and knees.

This was really great news, I had already joined a gym and was regularly going there to use the hot tub and the saltwater pool for other reasons, mostly relaxation and to help relieve back and joint pain. These days I spend 3 to 5 days a week at the gym and have come up with an exercise routine that I use in the pool. It consists of walking, jogging, jumping and some other exercises I created that loosely resemble sit ups, pull-ups, and crunches, along with other various stretches and aerobic movements. I honestly think that if my doctor told me I need to go to the gym and use the exercise bike or the treadmill, or do any other types of traditional exercise routines, I probably would’ve quit. It’s just not my thing... or at least it wasn’t…

Recently I have noticed that I’m showing interest in some other forms of exercise. I recently took a tour of the gym with my son and his girlfriend and I discovered I was very interested in some of the other exercises available that resemble things I’ve seen people do on TV shows like the Biggest Loser, a show I tried to get on a few times. (Maybe I should write about that?) On that fateful day at the gym, I actually pushed a Big NFL-style training camp sled around and did some things with ropes and free weights. I could see myself getting into stuff like that in the future, but I still don’t see myself ever jumping on the treadmill, the stair stepper, or the exercise bike… I’d probably do a Zumba class or play basketball or some other sport first.

I was recently having a conversation with a doctor friend of mine from Canada, and she suggested that I talk more about the importance of exercise when I post on Facebook or write blog entries like this. To be honest, I’ve been having trouble with that request, as I don’t really get into the whole exercise thing… Not really… Not traditionally. I’ve had great results so far without much of it.

Long term? Maybe it’ll help to keep weight off and keep my body functioning in a much healthier way. How could it not, right? But, I’m just not there yet. In my opinion (but remember I am not a doctor I’m a guitar player), I don’t think you necessarily need to start exercising right away if you just want to lose weight. I don’t think most people’s bodies are ready for it. I also don’t think most people’s minds are ready for it. I think that a new person… a new you… will probably arrive or evolve as you go on your journey. Baby steps.

In the meantime, there are many things you can do to get moving and get more “exercise”. Here are some suggestions to help you get you started…

Find ways to move more, walk more, bend over more, stretch more...basically do more in your daily routine every day. Parking a little farther away than you usually do when you go to the store (this is something I really need to work on myself), put the things that you use the most in the kitchen at the lowest cabinet or the highest cabinet. This will help you burn a lot of calories and become a lot more flexible without ever stepping foot inside a gym or buying exercise equipment you never use… except to hang your clothes from it!

The more weight I lose, the more exercise I get. Weird how it kind of works that way.

If you have a lot of weight to lose, it’s probably best to start with what is going in your mouth. Try not to overwhelm yourself with too many things at once... the rest will follow.

As far as exercise goes, yes it’s important but it’s also important to find ways to exercise your body that you enjoy doing and look forward to. Forcing yourself to do everything that you hate all at once is pretty much a one-way ticket to failure. Remember, there are so many different things you can do to lose weight, get and stay healthy.

Find what works for you and do it. Never stop.

Exercise.

Confession: I hate exercise...or do I?

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Thanks for reading, I hope you liked it.

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