I will often tell people that when I stopped growing up, I started growing out.
If they giggle, I’ll usually follow up with – I’ve noticed that a lot of people are afraid of heights…I’m afraid of widths. (thank Steven Wright!)
If they’ve stuck around and found my robust, self-deprecating humor somewhat entertaining I’ll conclude with an I’m twice the man I used to be.
At this point in my life, I’m not necessarily a candidate for Biggest Loser…but I’ve definitely got something to lose. I believe that life plays off of itself – if I am in better shape physically it will also improve my mental, emotional, and spiritual health.
So here’s my confession: I know what the best weight loss plan is for me…but I don’t follow it as much as I should.
In my situation, based on my metabolism, and my body type, my best plan to lose the unwanted and unnecessary weight is this…
movement
As I write that one word, I wish I had a more creative answer. I would love my best plan to come in the form of a pill, or CD you listen to while you sleep, or simply more sleep. But for me, it’s not as much a matter of what I eat, but how much I move in relation to what and how much I eat.
I think you have to come to a place where you realize that exercise is not a dirty word (unless your style of exercise involves some form of mud wrestling).
Actually I don’t have any trouble moving. What I do seem to have difficulty with is engaging in the type of continual movement that causes me to get out of breath, or stretches my muscles (I often feel like a ceramic tile with hair), or makes me sweat. Yet that’s the exact kind of movement I need in order to cause my love handles to not look so full of love (big, mushy love).
I’m not even going to bring up diet here. I think the key for me is movement that trumps diet. I need to burn off more calories than I take in. That, of course, doesn’t happen on a typical day.
Here’s some examples of what I would consider to be ineffective movement:
· Walking back to the cafeteria line for seconds
· Pacing the frozen food aisle at the grocery store to find just the right pizza
· Fluffing the pillows on the couch before I lay my fat butt on the cushions for the night
· Shaking off the urge to get out of bed
· Rolling around the office just because my office chair has wheels
· Getting in my car to drive to my next door neighbor’s house to borrow some sugar (unless you need more than a pound of sugar)
· Kicking my feet up
· Actually lifting “a finger” around the house
The reason I know that these are types of movements are ineffective is because I have firsthand experience with each of them. Maybe you do too. Maybe there are other ineffective movements that you can share in the comments.
My personal challenge is to move everyday in a way that enhances my physical health. In my earlier post on What To Do Today I referred to this as lift something. It’s not enough to move once a week…I’ve got to move daily. Being physically fit opens the doors to other opportunities. I get to play with my kids. I get to walk up a flight of stairs without being winded. I get to live longer.
My best weight loss plan is movement. It’s that simple…and that hard.
What’s yours?
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