Saturday, March 15, 2008

get fit for cheap

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I'm not an avid fitness nut. I know I should exercise, but I'm a long way from enjoying exercise. I have to convince myself almost every morning to get at least a little bit of exercise in. I keep thinking there has to be a way to get fit, even for those of us who don't like to exercise, and don't believe in "dieting." There has to be a way that doesn't require thousands of dollars of gym memberships, personal trainers, and equipment. I offer up three tips that cost nothing, and can substantially improve your life.

The best and cheapest fitness tip - go walking. You have everything you need. Even though I didn't know it at the time, this was the way I kept the weight off in college. I walked everywhere I went. Now, I sit on my backside most of the day. I did end up investing in a treadmill (found it on sale for half price), primarily because I didn't feel secure in leaving the house with Elizabeth to go walking for extended periods of time. I don't use it every day, but using it 3-4 times a week has me in better shape than before we had a baby in the house!

The best and cheapest nutrition tip - watch your portion sizes. Not only will this help whittle your waist, but it can whittle away at your grocery bill. Perhaps you've heard this before, but it bears repeating, because portion size is at the heart of the matter when it comes to America's expanding waistlines.

The best and cheapest tip for sticking with it - to borrow a line from Nike, "Just Do It." Seriously. There are lots of things we can control in our lives, and deciding to get fit is one of them. I have to decide every single day to exercise. It's not something I look forward to, but like many things in life, we do them because we must. Every day that I decide to exercise is one more day that I can look back on and say, "I decided to do it then, I can choose to do it now, too." It's easy to put up mental blocks and find excuses about why we can't exercise or eat right. The true key is to find the point in your life when you see your health and fitness as important enough to make and keep changes that matter.

4 comments:

Anna said...

You said:
I keep thinking there has to be a way to get fit, even for those of us who don't like to exercise, and don't believe in "dieting."

I totally agree! I did have to buckle down and do something, because I wasn't getting very far without it. I bought some weights, and I'm building some muscle tone.

Here's my favorite tip:
While I'm at the park with the girls, I exercise on the playground equipment. That usually means push-ups, chair dips and chin ups. If I'm lucky, there's a bar high enough I can do hanging sit-ups, and those are HARD!

Carrie said...

I think the thing about being fit and healthy is that for many of us, it's not easy or intuitive. So, the way to get fit is to do like you siad - just buckle down and do something.

Your tips are great - when I start taking Elizabeth to the playground, I'll have to incorporate that into my time.

Anonymous said...

I agree wholeheartedly with the portion sizes - that was the single biggest factor in my size reduction :)

As far as exercise for those of us who don't like to exercise goes... recognizing opportunities where we could be idle and turning them into a workout like Anna does at the park is great.

I think one of the keys is finding that "something" that works for us as an individual. For instance,I found a sport that involved walking (Disc Golf) and playing that has helped me!

Anna said...

You said:
I think the thing about being fit and healthy is that for many of us, it's not easy or intuitive.

***
More than that, it's just not natural! ;) If God had wanted us to sit in cubicals...

So, I tried really hard to transition into an active lifestyle. I'm not there yet, but I probably won't ever be the kind of person that exercises for the sole purpose of exercising.

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