| Every year I make a new resolution that this is | | | | exercise gradually so you are moving at levels |
| the year that I'm going to stick to my new | | | | that feel comfortable to you. |
| exercise program for the long haul. And every | | | | The best way to do this is to start at a low |
| year I start out strongly only to give up a few | | | | intensity for around a month until your body |
| weeks later and I know I'm not the only one. So | | | | starts adjusting to your new level of activity. |
| why is this? Why do we start with good | | | | Walking is a good start for most people since it's |
| intentions only to drop out before we even see | | | | free and is just a matter of stepping outside and |
| any changes to our bodies? | | | | committing to 20 or 30 minutes of your time. |
| Most often people are full of enthusiasm which | | | | Then once you start to feel good about including |
| gets them through the first week or so but after | | | | walking into your routine you can start to |
| that goes away and they still haven't lost 20 | | | | incorporate more challenging exercises such as |
| pounds by the weekend their expectations are | | | | weight training or an exercise video for a bit of |
| shattered by the reality that it really is hard to | | | | variety. |
| lose weight. Despite what many gyms and diet | | | | Always make sure to allow a couple of rest days |
| programs will tell you, you can't expect to lose | | | | each week to allow your body to recover and |
| large numbers of weight in the short term. | | | | rebuild any muscle it needs to. Rest days also |
| Television shows like The Biggest Loser give us | | | | keep your mind fresh so you can maintain |
| unrealistic ideas of what is possible and when we | | | | motivation for the next day's activities. |
| begin to only see slow results we start to wonder | | | | You don't have to become an exercise dropout. |
| if all the effort is worth it. | | | | By starting slowly and building up the amount of |
| The good news is that by having realistic | | | | exercise you do gradually you can be sure that |
| expectations you can be successful with your | | | | you'll stick to your new exercise program over |
| exercise program. Start slowly and gradually | | | | the long term and pretty soon you'll start to see |
| incorporate exercise into your lifestyle so that the | | | | the weight melt away and your health and fitness |
| changes happen over a period of weeks rather | | | | improve. |
| than days. This also allows you to build up your | | | | |