Daily Exercise Requires Inspiration and Innovation

In the beginning... Isn't that how it always starts? In the beginning we made a Facebook group to lose weight. Several friends who from distant corners of two states joined in cyber space to support and encourage each other in eating less and moving more. We decided it wasn't a diet or forced workout it was a lifestyle change; we weren't going to deprive ourselves we were going to control this aspect of our lives just as we tried to control all the others.

Two weeks ago a local friend voiced interest and joined the group. She was off and running, quite literally. She counted calories, exercised, and posted results daily. We decided to exercise together for additional motivation. While I want to stroke out in the middle of the first half hour she is thinking about what she can do for an additional one. Not to worry, I make up for it in the muscle control and flexibility portions of our exercises. In the past I have had slow but steady success with consumption control and minimal exercise, losing over 40 pounds. Once I got to my goal I went back to my old habits. My friend admits to starting off like she's shot out of a cannon but quickly fizzling out. When we get together we balance each other out; or maybe we cancel each other out but whichever it is, it's working.

The other night my BEF (Best Exercise Friend) was previously engaged. I could have skipped exercising but I was inspired by the thought of what she might be doing without me maybe that bouncy, aerobic, sweaty stuff that burns tons of calories. I think twenty minutes of yoga is tantamount to peaking Everest but I got off the couch, put the bon-bons away and laced up my walking shoes.

I walked my usual route, powered and puffed up the incline and was halfway home when I looked at my pedometer. The day before we had walked 2.75 miles at the track; I was only going to be at 1.15 miles if I went home in a straight line. For all I knew she was in the high tech Russian gym from Rocky IV. I decided to zigzag back down the road less travelled to add distance. At the bottom of the drive I was at 1.45 miles. I did some quick math and figured if I zigzagged back up and down the hill I would be around 2.5 miles. My BEF would have nothing on me!

Out of sheer vanity I had given myself a slightly intensified but still comfortable workout. I even broke a sweat! The zigzagging was a relief from the slapping and slugging of a straight line walk. The twisting and turning every eighth step was a workout for muscles I hadn't been using and a relief for the ones I had. Best of all instead of dwelling on how hard the walk was I relaxed into it and concentrated on my core and breathing. I controlled my inner control freak, it was practically meditation. I love the idea of using my safe, close to home route in a new way even if I look like a nut case doing it. Losing another pound this week puts me a zigzagging 16 steps closer to eating some Nutter Butters.