Good morning! How is everyone? My week was pretty good.

Monday- I spent the day with a friend and didn’t get exercise in.
Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday- 50+ minutes of treadmill, weights, and physical therapy exercises.
Friday- combined against me. I had things to do from the moment I woke up ’til 10pm. Exercise didn’t happen.
So today, I’m going to try for the treadmill, PT, and weights to bring my exercise up to four days. I did it last Saturday, and I think I can swing it again.

I’m up a couple pounds this week. I’ve been eating ok, so I’m thinking this may be increased muscle mass. I know I can feel it already in my pecs, quads, and biceps. I know I’m getting somewhere with my core strength, too. I’m FINALLY experiencing significant progress from these PT exercises. I would imagine my abs are looking pretty nice under all the padding. Wish I could see it.

And now, a soap box speech.

I’ve had some email correspondence with one of my favorite knitbloggers out there about exercise this past week. :-). I’ve had email conversations like this before with others of you, and as I was exercising last Saturday, I was thinking that it is something I’d like to talk about.

I love exercise. LOVE it! I haven’t always. Exercise used to be that dreaded activity that I’d just as soon avoid. Now, I’m about to spout opinion. I’m not an expert. Keep in mind that these opinions are coming from someone who is still obese. However, this obese person has been talking to people, trying things, listening and working on losing weight for over 10 years. I think I’ve learned a few things. (And this obese person DID lose 25 pounds last year, and kept it off, despite the major plateau she’s experiencing).

First of all, I’ve learned that everyone needs to find out what their particular body needs and is lacking. So keep that in mind. Secondly, with one three month exception involving the Atkin’s induction diet, I’ve always acted on my belief that HEALTH is the first objective, and the only weight loss I’m interested in comes through being good to my body, not abusing it.

Today, I only want to focus on ONE of the aspects of becoming healthy, which is exercise. If you want to read a long missive discussing many other aspects, check out this entry from New Year’s Day.

Exercise is certainly an acquired taste for most people. I think a lot of the problem is that when we start, we overdo it. We hurt ourselves and burn out. I had an aerobics class in my last year of high school that was wonderful. We had units. I don’t remember them all, but I know there was a jogging unit, a bicycling unit, a water aerobics unit where we walked next door to the pool… I know we did some things in the gym too, but I can’t remember what they were specifically. This class really opened my eyes to some things. First of all, the instructor was all about target heart rate. What we learned was how easy it is to go over without knowing it. In our jogging unit, we had to stop frequently to check our heart rate. Ridiculously so. I remember being annoyed and wanting to just get on with the jogging. During those frequent heart rate checks, I found that mine was above the “aerobic zone”. She made me slow down. I didn’t want to slow down. I felt I could go faster but she didn’t care. She made us slow down. The amazing thing is that I was able to jog longer than I thought was possible. Also, I found that my stamina increased dramatically, and it increased FAST. I couldn’t believe how quickly I was able to do more. That made such an impression that here I am, twelve or so years later and I can remember it like it was yesterday. Now, I know that some of the physical success happened because I was 17. Older bodies take longer to do ANYTHING than younger bodies do, but the philosophy works in age’s favor. It plays right into it. Pay close attention to your body. Listen to what it’s saying. Make adjustments. Slow down. You aren’t going to hate exercise, at least not as much, if you respect your body.

Example- I have a friend here locally that is very heavy. Her life is in serious danger in fact (and it isn’t anyone who reads this blog, so I’m not talking about you). She has a treadmill but hates to use it. When I was talking to her about why, she says that she just can’t do it. That after two minutes, she almost collapses. In talking to her further, she said that she’s trying to exercise at the speed and intensity that she worked out at when she was still the skinny little cheerleader in high school. I told her to slow down. To try for 10 minutes at a comfortable pace and then stop. This worked for her. She was able to build off of that .

I always want to jump in and workout too hard after being sick, or whatever else has made me stop exercising for awhile. I have to make myself slow down every time I start back up. Once I’m exercising regularly again, I don’t have that problem.

My Health teacher in 9th grade said that we should be able to hold a conversation while exercising. He said that if you’re too out of breath to carry on a conversion, you’re no longer working aerobically, and you’re working too hard. I have found that to be very true. When I’m in my target heart rate, I can manage a conversation amidst my breathing. When I’m over it, I can’t.

Another aspect besides intensity is duration. When I first started seriously walking, about four years ago, I could only manage 30 minutes. And I stayed at 30 minutes for some time. After awhile, I could tell that my body would be able to handle more, so I changed my route and made it 45 minutes. I’m currently walking on the treadmill for 50 minutes. If I weren’t also doing weights and physical therapy exercises, I know I could do it longer. But I can’t spend all day exercising :-). So now what I’m working up to is increased speed and increased incline on the machine.

It is widely said that you shouldn’t feel like death when you finish exercising. You should feel tired, but energized. My experience is that energization is of the mind, and it’s true, and I feel it. I have come to NEED it. If I stop exercising, I can feel physical awareness decrease and yuckiness move in. I love how exercise feels and what it does for me, regardless of the scale. (I didn’t think “energization” was a word, but it isn’t getting spell checked. Hmmm).

I know I can be long winded, but my POINT is that if you’re out of shape, start slow. Start slower than you want to. Even to the point of feeling like you’ve wasted your time. In the long run, it is so much more beneficial. You will feel better, you will progress faster, and you will be much more likely to continue exercising.

Of course I want to lose weight. But my motivation to exercise on a day to day basis isn’t exclusively weight loss. You don’t lose pounds every time you work out. There has to be another reason to do it on the days you’d rather not put forth the effort. I have come to love how exercise feels, and what it does for my self confidence and optimism.

I’ve learned a lot from you, and from many others over the years. Little things here and there that have molded my habits, opinions and philosophy. While I’m still obese, I feel much more educated and able to positively change my body.

There is so much information out there. It doesn’t all agree. I find it frustrating to know what to believe, what to try. I have found that trying different things and seeing how my body responds has brought my biggest successes. Working with my body as opposed to forcing it. Respecting my body. (That revelation came from a Yoga video). Working “in oxygen” or aerobically came from the high school teacher. “Working easier longer is better for weight loss that working harder shorter” came from the physical trainer type guy who sold me my weight system. Holding stretches for a full minute came from my PT. Drinking obscene amounts of water came first from a Kinesiologist (I ignored him) and second from my primary care physician. Little things here and there that I hear that ring a bell inside me. Something tells me to give it a try. Some things I dismiss, and some things I adopt and fit into my life.

I am reminded of the time last year when I couldn’t understand why consistently, after a great workout, feeling fabulous, I’d all of the sudden crash hard as soon as I stopped. I could tell I wasn’t over-working myself as I felt wonderful right up to the end. A few of you suggested eating protein before or after my exercise, and that made all the difference. Thank you!

I have certainly enjoyed this Health Group. I love the association with you all, the conversations we’ve had, and the help you’ve so frequently offered. Thank you, and have a great week.

How did you do this week? Tell us about it.