Day 5: Choose Your 30 x 3 Exercise | 30-Day Weight Loss-athon
Welcome to Day 5 of the 30-Day Weight Loss-athon.
Today we’ll be committing to — dun dun DUN! — an exercise program!!
Read the steps first, then take 10 minutes to complete them.
We only have 10 minutes, so move fast, act quickly and stop over-thinking. Just throw yourself in. Ready?
What You Need:
- Your diary.
Important Note: Get medical clearance if you need it
It’s a good idea to get the all-clear to exercise from your medical professional if:
- You’re new to exercise
- You haven’t exercised in a long time
- You’re significantly overweight
- You have a medical condition or concern
- You’re nervous about exercising.
Step 1
The first step today is to have a little talk with yourself and make peace with the idea that you are going to become a regular exerciser.
That might be something you’re OK with already. Cool – then this will be pretty easy.
Or it could fill you with dread and panic. In which case, take a deep breath because I’m going to let you in on a secret – one that anyone who’s ever lost weight will confirm if you ask them.
As you start to lose weight, you start to enjoy exercising. It may seem hard to believe now, but it’s true.
So comfort yourself that soon, a kind of pleasure will start to kick in. Maybe not a rocking good time, but a definite this-isn’t-so-bad-ness. You just have to get past the beginning.
Step 2
Next, let’s find out what you like and don’t like, workout-wise. Some questions can help:
- Do you prefer to be indoors or outdoors?
- Do you like to work out alone or in a group?
- Do you prefer high or low impact activities?
- Do you prefer a consistent or varied pace?
- Do you want to start easy or be immediately challenged?
- Do you prefer music, TV, or your own thoughts when you exercise?
- Do you feel most energetic in the morning, afternoon or evening?
Once you’ve considered your answers, you’ll find it easier to choose a type of exercise that will suit you.
Step 3
Bearing in mind those preferences from Step 2, you need to:
- Choose something active
- Be prepared to do it for at least 30 minutes at a time
- Be prepared to do it at least 3 times a week.
In total, that’s 1.5 hours a week. Less than a movie.
If you feel resistance welling up and find yourself formulating excuses why you can’t spare 1.5 hours a week, then gently remind yourself that:
- This amount of exercise is a small price to pay for looking good, feeling good and getting healthy
- If you don’t exercise, you run the risk of all sorts of expensive problems that will cost you a lot more time in the long run
- People with greater time pressures and more weight to lose than you have done it, and you can do it too
- There are wonderful rewards waiting for you, as you identified on Day 1.
Choose from the list below, or feel free to add something else. Just be sure your choice raises your heart rate and makes you sweat. Pilates, yoga and shopping can be added extras, but they generally don’t burn enough calories to be good weight-loss choices.
- Walking – brisk
- Walking – hills
- Running
- Jogging
- Skipping (with a rope)
- Cycling – outdoor
- Cycling – stationary
- Elliptical machine
- Treadmill
- Boxing
- Exercise classes – including step, combat, attack,
- Swimming
- Dancing
- Dance classes
- Sports that raise your heart rate and make you sweat – eg tennis, squash etc
- Exercise DVD.
Step 4
Now the part that makes all the difference.
Enter your exercise sessions for the rest of the month in your diary. Yep – put them right in there, at the times you’ll do them.
You’ve just made exercise dates with yourself. Please don’t be rude and stand yourself up.
Bonus Step For 52 Weight Loss Missions Members
Revisit Mission 9: Fit Exercise Into Your Life to remind yourself how to see exercise sessions as commitments. Prepare your answers for those times you’ve scheduled an exercise session and your boss/colleague/friend says, ‘Can you [stay late/attend a meeting/go out]’?
Check in!
And you’re done!
Be sure to leave your comment below to check in and stay accountable. If you’re reading this by email or in a reader then please click here to leave your comment.
See you tomorrow!
I’m committed to finding at a minimum 20 minutes of movement a day
Its going to be the bike – indoor….
(nordic) walking is a good excercise for me. Don´t like to go to the gym.
I like to exercise at home, there are many 30min exercises online that
you do while looking at the trainer, so you are not working alone, and
they include warming up and cooling down.
I’ve chosen walking twice a week for 30 minutes and belly dancing twice a week as well for 30 minutes.
I do my exercises 15 min every morning -. I have a personal trainer (my boss is paying it) once a week (but there was a pause for two month – starting again after easter, and I want her to be proud of me, so I have to push up and crunch and swing my kettlebell. And I do my one hour evening walk. I´m fine with my routine. When it´s not so cold and rainy like these days I go everywhere by bike – and I love it!
I´ve tried to walk indoors with a dvd (more than 45min) and it was too hard for me, I will start with a shorter time but I need to do something daily , maybe some dancing! I love summer because I can go to aquagym and swimming classes.
Were accountable.
Does shopping count?
I mowed the yard today, and ate less.
I know, I know, I know. This is my biggest hurdle.
Wait! What happened to the 10 minutes per day? I could DO that!