I'm with my General Practioner about a week ago and it turns out that I need to lose a little weight. I remember thinking to myself, hmm, I'm raw, mostly. I wonder why I still have this paunch around my middle?
She recommended an hour of exercise a day. Now, I have been a fitness junkie on and off, but, lately, as in the last two years, mostly off. I'll be good for a week or two and exercise 3 or 4 times a week, then I'll forget about it and not do anything for a week or two. And the cycle continues.
That's not going to cut it anymore.
An hour a day, I thought. How can I make that happen? I said I'd try. Well, it has happened for 8 days straight now. All right! And even though I've walked the local reservoir with Lisa, spent time on the Nordic Track, and even gone body boarding, the number one activity has been - mountain biking.
So, since I truly love to mountain bike, I decided to go ahead and spring for a new trail shredder on Sunday. And on Monday I was oh so glad I did. Did about 20 miles all over Wildcat Canyon and Tilden Parks over the course of 3 hours. Up some massively steep hills. And down some massively steep hills, too. Beautiful country, the Berkeley Hills. Highly recommend it.
Three things I love about riding the trails:
1) I'm in nature. To be in nature is very, very healing. The trees, the clouds, the blue sky, the sunshine, the fresh air. It's great for the soul.
2) You cover a lot of ground on a bike. I love to hike, for all the same reasons. But I cover so much more territory on a bike. There are more vistas, more people to meet, more sights to see. You get around on a trail bike.
3) It's awesome training. A lot of fitness experts have touted the benefits of interval training as of late.
Interval training intersperses high cardio activity with lighter cardio activity, back and forth. In keeping your heart rate varied, up and down, your heart lung rate is constantly changing, with no preset schedule - thereby providing bursts of intense activity with periods of rest. These are ideal training conditions.
So, incredibly, after 8 days of at least 45 minutes of cardio a day I'm feeling much stronger, and am actually shedding a few pounds. It's working.
The other thing the doctor mentioned was to stay away from sugars, including that found in high glycemic index fruit.
Now I love fruit, and usually eat a ton of it, being high % raw.
So what I'm doing is eliminating or reducing my intake of some of the fruits with the highest glycemic index. So, no more snacking on lots of dates, big slices of watermelon, or big bunches of grapes.
That's ok, though. I still love apples and oranges, and I'll continue to make fruit a big part of my diet.
And I'll still have dates, watermelon and grapes, just not as much. I'm going to become an expert on all kinds of apples, though. Maybe I'll become an apple connoisseur!
Anyway, I can always use some encouragement in keeping inspired and motivated to work out every day. If you have tips and tricks that keep you motivated, I'd love to hear them. Post your comments below and let's all inspire each other.
I'm sure that I'll be ok with taking a rest day once or twice a week, but for now, I'm trying to stick to finding time every single day for a minimum of 45 minutes, preferably an hour, and 2 - 3 on at least one weekend day.
I have to say it feels really good to get out there. I come back energized, with a healthy appetite for healthy food, and my mood has definitely brightened.
So get out there, everybody. Use it or lose it!
That's not going to cut it anymore.
An hour a day, I thought. How can I make that happen? I said I'd try. Well, it has happened for 8 days straight now. All right! And even though I've walked the local reservoir with Lisa, spent time on the Nordic Track, and even gone body boarding, the number one activity has been - mountain biking.
So, since I truly love to mountain bike, I decided to go ahead and spring for a new trail shredder on Sunday. And on Monday I was oh so glad I did. Did about 20 miles all over Wildcat Canyon and Tilden Parks over the course of 3 hours. Up some massively steep hills. And down some massively steep hills, too. Beautiful country, the Berkeley Hills. Highly recommend it.
Three things I love about riding the trails:
1) I'm in nature. To be in nature is very, very healing. The trees, the clouds, the blue sky, the sunshine, the fresh air. It's great for the soul.
2) You cover a lot of ground on a bike. I love to hike, for all the same reasons. But I cover so much more territory on a bike. There are more vistas, more people to meet, more sights to see. You get around on a trail bike.
3) It's awesome training. A lot of fitness experts have touted the benefits of interval training as of late.
Interval training intersperses high cardio activity with lighter cardio activity, back and forth. In keeping your heart rate varied, up and down, your heart lung rate is constantly changing, with no preset schedule - thereby providing bursts of intense activity with periods of rest. These are ideal training conditions.
So, incredibly, after 8 days of at least 45 minutes of cardio a day I'm feeling much stronger, and am actually shedding a few pounds. It's working.
The other thing the doctor mentioned was to stay away from sugars, including that found in high glycemic index fruit.
Now I love fruit, and usually eat a ton of it, being high % raw.
So what I'm doing is eliminating or reducing my intake of some of the fruits with the highest glycemic index. So, no more snacking on lots of dates, big slices of watermelon, or big bunches of grapes.
That's ok, though. I still love apples and oranges, and I'll continue to make fruit a big part of my diet.
And I'll still have dates, watermelon and grapes, just not as much. I'm going to become an expert on all kinds of apples, though. Maybe I'll become an apple connoisseur!
Anyway, I can always use some encouragement in keeping inspired and motivated to work out every day. If you have tips and tricks that keep you motivated, I'd love to hear them. Post your comments below and let's all inspire each other.
I'm sure that I'll be ok with taking a rest day once or twice a week, but for now, I'm trying to stick to finding time every single day for a minimum of 45 minutes, preferably an hour, and 2 - 3 on at least one weekend day.
I have to say it feels really good to get out there. I come back energized, with a healthy appetite for healthy food, and my mood has definitely brightened.
So get out there, everybody. Use it or lose it!
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