Be Consistent

An important thing to remember regarding good health is to "be consistent."  No, this doesn't only apply to relationships where we want our better half to be consistent and dependable, but it also applies to how we maintain our health.  Being consistent in this sense, means to systematically and regularly exercise.

A colleague of mine complained that she had been exercising but to no avail. The weight stayed on.  So I asked her how often did she workout?  The answer was only roughly once every two weeks.  If you want to lose weight or maintain your health, this is not enough exercise.  I read in Runner's world magazine that if you stop your workout for just a few days, you already lose half of the benefits.  If you stop for a couple weeks, the benefits completely disappear.

I only run around 2-3 times a week and give myself rest days in between.  This was especially important when I started out my weight loss plan as I didn't want to force myself to exercise too much.  Most importantly, I made sure to be consistent and not just stop my plan for a week or so because I got tired of it.  I'd run on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays and give myself the weekend off.  It felt great. I treated myself on weekends and had a good rest.

I still do the same routine now as I did when I was on my weight loss plan.  The only difference is that I now run faster and eat more food.   For the first year in my life, my goal is just to maintain weight and not 'lose weight' which makes the experience so much more pleasurable.  I've actually started to enjoy running (which is something I never dreamt about) and especially enjoy getting a good workout. 

If I don't sweat, I don't feel satisfied.  :D  It makes feel great and relaxes my mind.  I forget the stresses of work and politics and just feel calm.  I feel so calm and happy, that a stressed colleague of mine actually stopped and asked me,

"Why are you so happy?" 

I replied " I've always been a happy person, and now with exercise, I've even happier."  :D

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