on exercise

[Guest guest]

Somebody in Alaska inquired (on another WLS list) about exercise and

whether it could help keep up the pace of weight loss. Here is my

reply to her:

.... think of exercise as something more than a weight loss assist.

When you get in the habit of regular exercise, your mental acuity

will increase. You will feel generally better, more alive, and

probably will feel better about yourself. Also, as you lose weight

and your skin starts to hang from your frame, exercise is about the

only thing short of plastic surgery that will help to make your skin

shrink to fit your new body. Regular exercise will do more to

improve your general health than just about anything else that you

can think of. So, if you can push the youngster's pram around the

track for a mile 4x/week, that is a great start. Walking briskly and

swimming are the best all-round exercises you can do, and walking is

a weight-bearing exercise that will help you keep your spine from

demineralizing (losing bone mass) as you grow older (especially

important to us DSers, because we malabsorb calcium). Once the

weather in Alaska permits, try walking outdoors to soak up some sun,

because that's how the body gets to produce its own Vitamin D, and

Vitamin D is necessary for calcium absorption.

In December, I could not do even a single push-up. Now, I can do 10.

I am shooting for 50. At the gym, there is a counter-weighted

pull-up machine. I can do just three pull-ups with the maximum

weight assist. I am shooting for at least 10, maybe even 20, without

any counter-weight assist. It will take time. I did not get weak

and flabby overnight. With the twin luxuries of having grown kids

and having just retired, I can devote much more time to getting and

keeping my body in shape, and that has become my pledge to myself.

But, as you noted, any exercise you can do is better than none.

Good luck,

Steve (just back from the gym)

At 6:21 PM -0500 3/11/03, <somebody> wrote:

>How much excercise is enough to make a difference? I know that ANY is better

>than none. I am wondering though if I walk a mile 4x/week will that be

>significant enough to speed up my weight loss?

[Guest guest]

Somebody in Alaska inquired (on another WLS list) about exercise and

whether it could help keep up the pace of weight loss. Here is my

reply to her:

.... think of exercise as something more than a weight loss assist.

When you get in the habit of regular exercise, your mental acuity

will increase. You will feel generally better, more alive, and

probably will feel better about yourself. Also, as you lose weight

and your skin starts to hang from your frame, exercise is about the

only thing short of plastic surgery that will help to make your skin

shrink to fit your new body. Regular exercise will do more to

improve your general health than just about anything else that you

can think of. So, if you can push the youngster's pram around the

track for a mile 4x/week, that is a great start. Walking briskly and

swimming are the best all-round exercises you can do, and walking is

a weight-bearing exercise that will help you keep your spine from

demineralizing (losing bone mass) as you grow older (especially

important to us DSers, because we malabsorb calcium). Once the

weather in Alaska permits, try walking outdoors to soak up some sun,

because that's how the body gets to produce its own Vitamin D, and

Vitamin D is necessary for calcium absorption.

In December, I could not do even a single push-up. Now, I can do 10.

I am shooting for 50. At the gym, there is a counter-weighted

pull-up machine. I can do just three pull-ups with the maximum

weight assist. I am shooting for at least 10, maybe even 20, without

any counter-weight assist. It will take time. I did not get weak

and flabby overnight. With the twin luxuries of having grown kids

and having just retired, I can devote much more time to getting and

keeping my body in shape, and that has become my pledge to myself.

But, as you noted, any exercise you can do is better than none.

Good luck,

Steve (just back from the gym)

At 6:21 PM -0500 3/11/03, <somebody> wrote:

>How much excercise is enough to make a difference? I know that ANY is better

>than none. I am wondering though if I walk a mile 4x/week will that be

>significant enough to speed up my weight loss?