Jumping on a bandwagon is NOT an aerobic activity!
It is very
tempting to jump on the latest bandwagon in search of permanent weight loss and
fitness. Everywhere we look, headlines scream “easy” and “low-calorie” and urge
us to try this or that new (or not-so-new) product. I have spent many years at
this weight loss game (that I never really asked to play) and I can tell you
that there is nothing easy about permanent change. And if there really is an “easy”
solution, it is going to be costly. That is just the way it is. If you want to
improve your health and not spend a fortune doing it, just close your eyes and
stick your fingers in your ears until that particular tempting commercial is
gone.
The components
of fitness are aerobic fitness, endurance, and flexibility. You can work on
these things without a gym membership and without complicated, expensive
equipment. The components of a healthy diet include the macronutrients (fat,
protein, and carbohydrates) as well as a host of micronutrients (basically
vitamins, minerals, enzymes and the like).
Do your
fitness routine every day, or at least 5 days out of 7. Thirty minutes a day is
recognized as the bare minimum for fitness maintenance, so aim to do more if
you want to increase fitness, as opposed to just staying where you are. For
example, you could do 15 minutes of aerobic fitness (walking) and 15 minutes of
endurance/strength training (squats, push-ups, crunches, lunges, biceps curls
and similar stuff) and 15 minutes of static stretching or yoga. There. If you
do that every day, 5 out of 7 days, you will be ahead of where you are right
now. Or you could do 45 minutes of walking one day, 45 minutes of strength
training another day, and 45 minutes of yoga another day, and so on.
Although your
exercise routine is important for health, the real weight-loss secret is hidden
in the kitchen. Drink lots of pure water. Eat lots and lots and lots of
vegetables. Eat lots of fruits, especially early on in your program when you
are trying to battle a sweet tooth. Fruits and vegetables provide the
carbohydrates that your body needs. Eat a small amount of healthy fat (like
olive oil, not like bacon!) each day. It’s easy to do this; the hard part is keeping
to just a small amount of fat. Fat is necessary for health, but a lot of it is
not helpful. Protein comes in many forms. Some of them are wrapped up in fat,
particularly the less-healthy saturated fat. Dodge that saturated fat! Look for
protein from low-fat sources such as skinless, boneless chicken breasts,
well-trimmed eye-of-round steak, fish, kidney beans, quinoa, and egg whites.
Eat foods that are raw, or steamed, or grilled. Dodge anything canned, fried or
deep-fried. Eat foods as close to their natural state as possible. “Foods” that
are processed (dodge the cracker aisle at the grocery store!) contribute to
weight gain, and get in the way of your new, healthy lifestyle. Sugar, salt,
and most fats are going to do you no favours. Give them a miss.
Compare the
cost of a bag of apples to a bag of potato chips. How long would you feel full
if you ate a bag of apples? A bag of chips? You likely cannot eat a bag of
apples at one sitting, but some of us have no difficulty eating a bag of chips.
And we would likely need a beer or two, or some pop, to wash it down. And we
would be hungry again pretty soon and need to eat more! Healthy food need not
be more expensive than unhealthy pseudo-food.
