A Dry January is a wonderful thing. And we’ve just had one of the driest on record. It meant I could get out every day and do my steps; sometimes I managed to get out several times in one day so I was delighted to clock up an average of 10,000 steps a day.
We rarely get such mild weather in January so I made the most of it, fearful any day the weather would change and I’d be stuck indoors for days on end with horrible cabin fever.
Whether all this extra walking is what helped me shed my Christmas excess weight I can never know for sure. I remain convinced exercise makes little difference to weight loss. But it does make some. Weight loss is achieved mostly through eating less. However you can help the process if you do at least some kind of exercise.
Walking every day definitely improves my mood and gives me a lovely sense of well being. It’s a great stress buster, lowers blood pressure, reduces likelihood of strokes, heart disease and some cancers. Also may help prevent developing Type 2 Diabetes which can be genetic. It’s in my family on both sides so I’ve always been aware I’m at risk. I like to think, though I’ll never know for sure, being a keen walker has kept Diabetes at bay.
No special gear needed
By keen walker I don’t mean I don all the gear and go trudging off in the hills all day. I just walk around the block where I live and add bits to it depending on my mood. And I try to go out at least twice a day, sometimes three or four times. Much the same as dog walkers. In fact I’ve become quite friendly with a number of them. Regular walks every day are good for the soul but only do this if you want to. You have to enjoy it or you won’t stick to it. Regular exercise is something I love and always have, even at my biggest. It may account for my low resting heart rate and low to normal blood pressure. I’ve heard it said a walk every day has the same effect as a tranquilliser. Walking works for me.
As well as finding some kind of exercise you enjoy, if you can, you also have to try to enjoy the process of losing weight. I realise this sounds counter intuitive but look at it this way: how many people enjoy bingeing? Eating to excess. After the first few chocolates, biscuits, crisps or slices of cake self loathing often kicks in. It sets up a horribly vicious circle. You keep chasing the feelgood from food but it’s long gone after the third or so chocolate. How much nicer when it’s just an occasional treat. You allow yourself one or two chocolates every now and then and boy, don’t they taste great! There’s a lovely sense of control when you can eat just one or two and not polish off the whole box. I still have quite a few chocs left in a box of my favourite kind bought just before the festive season. That gives me such a thrill.
I appreciate not everyone can do this. It’s quite normal to be unable to eat just one or two chocolates. The jury’s out on whether sugar is addictive but I’m firmly with those who think it is, even if not addictive same way heroin or alcohol is. It’s perhaps better described as compulsive behaviour rather than addictive. My point is, if you know you really can’t resist don’t have them in the house. If you live with people who like to have chocolates or crisps around ask them to keep them away from you and, preferably, not eat them in front of you. If you know you can’t ever have just the one don’t have the one!
Don’t give up!
If you haven’t yet got all your Christmas weight off please don’t despair and don’t give up. These first two months of the year are the toughest to try to lose weight. The weather tends to be miserable, many of us feel a bit low after the high of Christmas - and if we didn’t have a high at Christmas we can still get the low!
Keep going and if necessary accept being a stable weight for the time being. Last year with several stone to lose I only lost seven pounds in the first four months. It wasn’t till after April that it began falling off me and I lost two stone in six months. January is over and February is the shortest month. It’ll soon be Spring and then it’ll get much easier. Till next week.