The Exercise Experience - Walking

For the past week I've been trying to get some exercise in almost every day. Mostly it's walking, at least a mile.

I went and picked up a DVD by Leslie Sansone, of "Walk Away the Pounds". It has a one mile walk and a 2 mile walk on it, which can of course be combined for a 3 mile walk.

I picked this because walking outside in Florida at this time of year...I'd melt before I got two blocks away, even in the early morning. When it's 75 and humid at 5:00 AM...ick!

Anyway, the first time I did the one mile walk on DVD, I just about keeled over. I huffed and puffed and wheezed for the next half hour -- and that was indoors in the air conditioning!

The next morning I didn't want to do it, but I told myself I could quit at the half mile mark, which is called out when you reach it. The important thing would be to do it.

Surprise, surprise, I wasn't wheezing when I finished. Sweaty and tired, yes, but not wheezing. And I did manage to finish the entire mile.

So I've done it most days this past week, and I'd highly recommend it to any couch potato who wants to get moving at least a little. Hey, even if you do just a half mile to start (about 8 minutes), it's better than nothing.

Now Leslie is chatty on the DVD, and if you don't like chatty...well, turn off the sound after the first couple of times. I personally like it because I find it motivating. She talks like she wants you to succeed, and not to go beyond the limits of your body...but try just a little more each time.

You will need a resistance band or some sort of light hand weights -- even two 16-ounce bottles of water are fine. There is a little upper-body toning in the last 5 minutes. I happened to have all three (resistance band, hand weights and water bottles) but prefer to use the resistance band. What do you like best? It's up to you to decide.

And I think it was in her book that she said something that makes sense if you think about it. After a light to medium exercise, don't drink anything but water (no sodas, diet or otherwise, or juices) or eat anything for about an hour. The reason being that your body is trying to find energy to burn, so it turns to your fat for it. If you eat or drink anything but water, your body will try to use the incoming calories for fuel instead of your body fat.

Now if you are doing strenuous exercise in the heat, well, you may need some Gatorade or something in addition to the water. But let's face it -- how many of us couch potatoes are going to be running or biking marathons, at least for the time being?

So, I am finding the walking relatively painless. It takes less than 20 minutes for the mile. I try to do it 5 times a week, mainly because I want to make my goal of 30 pounds list by September 18 -- I'm half-way there, but only have 7 more weeks to go.