Exercise
Exercise is Key
|
I have found that exercise is the key to maintaining my weight loss. I just bought a treadmill so I can keep jogging even in cold weather. Now is a great time to commit yourself to an exercise program! Here are some great buys currently available for top of the line fitness equipment: Sole Elliptical Machines |
I lost my first 60 pounds without any exercise at all. Frankly, when you weigh 244 pounds, exercise just doesn’t feel very good! To lose weight, I just ate less food. I was using Slim Fast for breakfast and lunch, and also counting WW points. I think I was eating about 25-30 WW points per day, which equals about 1250-1500 calories per day.
When I got to 185 pounds, I stopped using Slim Fast and started following the South Beach diet. I lost 6 pounds on the first phase of the South Beach diet, then had trouble losing any weight after that. So, I started counting calories, in addition to following the South Beach diet principles. I was eating 1200-1400 calories per day and still not losing any weight. I figured that 1200-1400 calories per day was just my maintenance level of calories!
I did not want to lower my calorie intake, so I decided to start exercising to burn off some calories. I started a program called Couch to 5k, which is a training program designed to slowly work up to being able to run a 5k (3 miles). It took me 7 months, but now I can run 3 miles! I also lost 25 more pounds along the way!
After 7 months of running, I added biking and swimming to my workouts. I completed a Triathlon on April 16, 2005. I then went on to do another triathlon, two 5k road races, a 5 miler and a 1/2 marathon! You can read all about those races at my triathlon training blog!
I am an exercise freak now and can’t stand the way I feel if I miss a workout. Several years ago, my gyn doctor told me that I needed to find an exercise that I enjoy, and keep doing it until I reached a point that I couldn’t stand the way I felt when I skipped doing it. That was excellent advice, and I am so thankful that I have gotten to this point. It doesn’t take athletic ability, speed, or a lean body. All it takes is setting a goal and persistence doing whatever it takes to reach that goal. In the beginning, there were lots of times when I didn’t feel like going out running. But my goal of completing a triathlon made me go out and run anyway. Now, I still set new goals, but it’s not hard to motivate myself to workout because I am addicted to it!
I am an avid exercise participant. I also travel a lot for business. Most times the hotel gyms are unreasonably expensive and as fall temperatures are starting to come around it is harder for me to run outside. Do you have any advice as too any other workouts I could do in my hotel room and/or exercise equipment I could purchase to stay fit while on the road?
Thanks