How My Fitness Routine Helped Me to Lose Five Pounds This Summer

I must admit that I hate diets. I hate cutting back on the foods I love. This is the reason I know that it had to be my new fitness routine that help to lose five pounds this summer. Honestly, I really didn't cut back much on the way I ate. I still ate the foods I loved. I still ate that occasional brownie. I still drank that occasional soda. I just added exercise into my weekly routine. How much exercise?

Okay, I will also admit I didn't go overboard. It has been a busy summer. I really didn't exercise as much as I wanted or planned. But I did exercise.

I exercised on average about three times a week. I figured that wasn't bad. I read that the goal is to exercise three to five times a week. I figured I did pretty well. What did I do?

My fitness routine:

I began by stretching. Yes, I know you must do a lot of stretching. I would just do some basic stretching to limber up my arms and legs.

I would then move on to specific stretching exercises such as:

• Leg squats (kneeling on ground, holding a dumb-bell in each hand while bringing one foot forehead, as I bend the other leg downward, being careful to curl toes under)
• Arm rows while holding dumb-bells (in standing position, I would start by holding a dumb-bell in each hand then I would slightly bend forward as I lower the dumb-bell toward the ground, by arm would end up in a straight position. I would then return to starting position)
• Side to side squats (starting in a standing position, I would place a dumb-bell in each hand, I would then begin shifting by weight from side to side as I extended. My pose would then change to one leg being extended straight from the side and the other one being bent. I would hold that pose for a second, as I slowly return to my starting position.

After each session of stretching, I would then put on my running shoes and head out the door. No, I would not try to run. I never had much luck with that type of activity. What I would do is walk. I tried to add walking 10,000 steps during each of these days into my fitness routine. I did a lot of these steps right after my stretching routine.

How would I walk? I would walk in a fast pace and then I would begin to slow it down when I found it to be too much. Then once I caught my breath, again, I would speed up my pace again. This allowed my heart rate to continue to rise and lower.

This is what I did throughout the summer. Now, summer is almost over and I am down five pounds. I did not go on any diet. I did not really cut back on what I ate. I did, however, drink more water.

Could this summer fitness routine be the reason for my weight loss? I believe so. This is why I plan on continuing it until the snow starts flying.