A No-Nonsense Approach To Exercise for Weight Loss

The hardest part of exercise is the starting. Once you start, momentum takes over and continuing is easy. Not too long ago, I knew I had to move, it might have had something to do with my 91 year old father asking me "How far are you along?" on Mother's Day (No, I'm not pregnant). Despite a lack of energy, I had to get up off my office chair, put on suitable work out clothes and go. I drove to a beautiful park near my home, Phillipe Park in Safety Harbor. It is absolutely beautiful and it stretches along Tampa Bay with a 1 mile long scenic trek. I turned on MapMyRun on my iphone and began.

I started out with the intention of walking 1 mile up and 1 mile back. The first 5 minutes I walked at a brisk pace up this hill under a canopy of trees, looking out at the water. The breeze was in my face and I could practically feel the seratonin coursing through my brain. At the top of the hill there was this inviting downhill jaunt and, with my endorphins going, I couldn't help but think it was just begging to be run. I kicked it up a notch and started running, intending to just run to the bottom and resume the brisk walk.

This is where the endorphins kick in. At the bottom, i was feeling so good, I decided "Ok, let's see how far I can go." I quickly got to the end of the park marked by a bridge over a little inlet, and thought, "Let's go further."

Somewhere in the next mile, I decided that a 5 mile trip would just be fantastic and started looking to my MapMyRun's GPS for the 2.5 mark so I could turn around. 1 hour and 7 minutes from my starting point, I was brisk walking my way back to my car, sweaty, exhausted and exhilarated.

Since then, I've walked/run 193 1/2 miles since then. Here are some no-nonsense simple strategies I've employed to exercise for weight loss:

1. Check with you doctor to make sure you are fit enough for exercise. - If you've not been exercising regularly this is an important first step.
2. Just start to move. Don't wait till you can schedule an hour of exercise, start with a brisk walk for 5, 10 or 15 minutes. An hour or more of exercise can seem daunting, start with small, manageable blocks of time; you'll soon find yourself wanting to do more.
3. Do Something - Every day. Even if its nothing more than 10 jumping jacks or a 10 minute walk, do something. Again, something is better than nothing.
4. Track what you are doing. I love MapMyRun. It effortlessly tracks my distance, speed, calories burned and GPS's my route. Even better I can check my progress online. I hate seeing a missing day on my graph - That alone inspires me to go walk or run even when I don't feel like it.
5. Put it on your Calendar. We schedule everything else in our lives, nail appointments, hair appointments, business appointments, children's activities. Schedule exercise. Even better, schedule it with someone. My partner in crime is my mother-in-law, Marjorie. We decided to schedule our walks at 6:00 am. Every morning when I wake up, I think, "Just 15 more minutes in bed", and then I think of Marjorie, who's no doubt up and awake getting ready to go and I have to get up. Funnily enough, the same thing happens to her!

There's volumes more that can be said about exercise but rather than complicate and make it appear more arduous than it is, just start here with these five strategies and start now. Don't commit to starting Monday or tomorrow, or when you get the right clothes or the right sneakers, just start now. Hitch your dog to a leash, put your child in a stroller, get some rocking tunes on your MP3 or phone and go!