Adjust Your Standards When Walking to Lose Weight
We have an idea of what someone as cool as we’d like to be, would do and look when exercising. Walking may not cut it for them, we think. In reality we don’t ever know what someone else is really doing about their exercise or weight loss, even Oprah, so hampering your weight loss efforts by imagining it uncool gives an advantage to those who are doing it, just not advertising it. Except for weight loss advocates this is generally something we all lie about. Keep the details to yourself except when speaking to someone online who you feel comfortable with and who has similar goals.
Getting back to walking to lose weight, it is the easiest way to start losing weight and feeling better generally. That very fact makes it unattractive to some. If you would rather be running marathons but are so far from that it seems impossible remember everyone starts somewhere-it’s where you end up that is important. The same with weight loss from walking- after having yo-yo’d many times from losing weight and then putting it back on, I knew that I needed to structure my life for ongoing weight maintenance after the weight loss. Weight loss is not the hard part! That’s keeping going in a way that doesn’t just put it back on.
This is a life adjustment. After many years of personal experience of having been a gym member, had personal training, dieting, done various classes, I know that activity is the key for me. Daily action which means my body is “naturally” trim.
I’m on my way but the difference from the past is that I am fully supported in what I am doing. I have a platform upon which I stand.
It is amazing how strongly influenced we can be by what others are doing and this is the first thing that needs to go. Build something that is going to work in the short and long term. Walking does this by increasing well being straight away. Weight loss also starts as soon as you add an additional 20 minutes walking into your day every day. For the average person this needs to be done at the pace of 3,000 steps in 30 minutes (1,000 steps in 10 minutes). This may be more than you are able at this stage, if so, do it at your own pace, but get started. Then increase until you can at least meet this goal.
Weight loss is dependent upon the walker controlling calorie intake at the same time as adding in this calorie burning exercise. Don’t reward yourself by consuming more. If you can restrict your calories this will lead to quicker weight loss. Step 1 is starting walking every day.
