Ok, so we are journaling and drinking the right amount of water. Noticed anything yet? At this point some of you may realize that even though our challenge has not tried to change your diet certain things have popped up such as being more thoughtful of eating or drinking something and maybe even pushing away certain things that you normally would not have questioned before. That is the idea, to become aware of what you would normally do, realize that some things need to change, and then slowly change them. Keep up the journaling and the right amount of water and we will now add activity.
I don’t think you need anyone to tell you that daily activity is crucial to being healthy so we will just jump into what our challenge is this week. Make sure you consult your doctor before beginning an exercise program, especially if you've been sedentary or you have any chronic medical conditions.
KIT Fx - Week 3: Add up to 10% amount of activity to your daily routine to 30-60 mins a day
Your journal should report how much activity you actually accomplished last week. If this was a pretty average week then use it as your base. If not, then average the last 3-4 weeks and that will be your starting point. If, for example, you went on 3 1-mile walks then this week you will go on 3 1.1 mile walks, or add 1 more walk of .3 miles. While this can also be done by measuring time (say 3 20-minute walks) I tend to use distance as much as possible as it accounts for extra effort. For example if I did use time I could say I walked 20 minutes, add 2 minutes and that would be fine IF I used the same effort as I used last week. What if I decided to speed walk where last week I only meandered? Then my 22 minutes this week would cover more distance making the effort actually more than 10% of last week. So whenever possible use distance especially since your efforts last week or this should be quite lower than your effort over time.
Your end goal will be between 30-60 minutes of daily activity. Get there slowly by adding only 10% or less per week.
For those of you that are just starting an activity program, I suggest you choose an activity that is considered “cardio” raising your heart rate over time, something that will make you sweat a little, and to try it outdoors. Make sure you will enjoy the activity because as we all know, if it's fun we will do it more often. Don’t over do it the first few weeks out. For example, try walking briskly, a hike through nature trails or a fun game of basketball, with the kids.
I know some of you may want to push it and increase by more but I want to remind you what happened last time you “pushed it”. Did it stick? If so, you wouldn’t be reading this :) What we are trying to accomplish here are small incremental changes that will easily fit within your existing schedule. The extra effort is barely noticeable and will incorporate into your daily routine easily, and over time, those efforts will show great rewards that can be sustained. Be patient and work with me here.
maylene
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