As soon as I corrected my eating habits, which by now you probably know consisted of Fanta and junk food, I lost a little weight. Though going down to 68 kilos from a staggering 74 kilos was a big achievement, at 5'2" I had a lot more to lose if I wanted to be healthy and fit.
I started off with an hour of aerobics, six times a week. And for a month or so I was regular at it. Then I started skipping a day here and there till I was doing it about thrice a week. Most of you will agree that when you decide to lose weight, you are determined and give it your best shot; for about a week or so. Then life takes over, exercise just seems to get in the way, and you fall back into your old schedule.
That's what happened with me. I had an ambitious start and I couldn't keep up. The thing with exercise, I realized, is that it only works if you are regular at it and you can't be regular if you plan to do the same thing day after day. First, it gets boring and second, who has the time or the patience to head to the gym every single day for six days a week?
So I broke down my exercise routine. From six days a week, I cut down aerobics to thrice a week. This was more realistic and I didn't run the risk of getting bored with the repetition. On the other days, I made sure I did something on my own. Now this is not something many people will like. Most claim that when they exercise alone, they lose the motivation too soon but that only happens if you plan to exercise alone for an hour or so. If you exercise in spurts, then it doesn't really matter.
So this is what I did. For three days, I went for aerobics classes. And on the other three days, I skipped, hula-hooped, did the seven minute exercise, cleaned the house thoroughly, jumped around with my dog, ran up and down the stairs, danced to a song or several depending on my mood, did some light yoga, and anything else that got my heart pumping.
I didn't do all of these things every single day. I'd have to be Wonder Woman to manage all of that. But I did do at least three things, and one of them would always be the seven minute exercise. If you didn't know already, there is this great app that has put together a series of simple exercises from jumping jacks and crunches to step-ups and planks. You can do a single set that takes seven minutes or repeat it if you have the time (and energy).
This app is amazing. At the end of the seven minutes, I'd be sweating like I'd been on the treadmill for half an hour. This I'd do in the morning, as soon as I woke up, on the days I didn't have aerobics. And I'd supplement it with skipping, hula-hooping, or some yoga. I took a break on Saturdays. It's important to give your body some rest because it can only take so much. And too much of a good thing is bad and all that.
However, a conscious effort on my part was to remain active throughout the day. Simple things like running up and down the stairs a couple of times every two hours or so, going for a short 10 minute walk during my lunch break, cleaning the house on the weekends, dancing to the new item song etc go a long way. It might not seem like much but it really does add up. In three months, I'd lost almost five kilos. Being active definitely has its perks. You have to try it to believe it.
The writer now weighs 51 kilos and gets complimented on her fit figure.
Related story
Know your inner self
