Three things to not sweat over when you’re trying to become fit
Lessons learned by an unfit mom
1. Do not pay attention to those who stare or cast a side-eye at you.
My trainer advised me to do at least 45mins cardio a day to complement my weight training to achieve optimal muscle gain and weight loss.
I love swimming, and there is a pool in my building. So I thought, why not?!
I understand the pool in my building is more of a social scene than a place for a serious workout. But I felt I’m fat, and I need the exercise.
So I dug up my old TVR two-piece bathing suit that I unknowingly had severely outgrown to get ready for my aquatic cardio. It still managed to do the job of covering the essential bits of my body. But there was so much fat bulging along the sides, all sides!
One trick I’d learned to make you feel happier about yourself instantly is to avoid the mirror. So I dashed out of my apartment and headed straight to the pool.
One lifeguard manned the pool who looks like he’s in his twenties. That was the first time I went swimming in my building. The lifeguard greeted me with a little nod then hurriedly ran into the shade to hide his giggles. True that I couldn’t see him laugh, but I could hear him.
My heart sank a bit, and along with that, I sank my body into the pool. I shared my experience with my husband after my first dip.
He told me to stop going. I refused to heed that advice.
The next morning I showed up as soon as the pool opened, in my another pair of outgrown TVR two-piece bathing suits.
The lifeguard gave me a nod. But this time, he seemed to be saying, “ok, we’re doing this.” After my first week of daily swim, I lost 2 pounds, and the fat around my waist had visibly shrunk.
I continued to lose 2 pounds a week by sticking to this regimen.
2. There’s this thing called inertia, but do not let it hamper you from your exercise.
When you start to exercise carrying 30%+ of your body weight as fat, you’ll realize your fat has a mind and will of its own.
And not surprisingly, it decides to move in the exact opposite direction to where you want your body.
I had that feeling when I first jumped onto the elliptical. My body might be moving up, but the fat in my stomach would be moving down. I might be stepping firm on my left foot, but my left butt would aspire to swing up.
It felt like my body was summoning every of its tissue, begging me to stop. I have to admit that it’s not a good feeling.
It felt like you have an internal pendulum that swings at a slightly delayed rhythm, and in the opposite direction of your body movement. I imagined it looking like the inner working of a swiss watch that the tiny pendulum is busy swinging back and forth to regulate the watch’s accuracy.
Only in this case, if I succumb to that internal regulation, the only thing that it is exacting is my body fat percentage.
So I pressed on, focusing on finishing 45mins cardio a day. The inertia subsided after a few weeks. After that, every bit of my body finally moves in unison.
3. Don’t get set back because you skipped a day of exercise. Just get back at it tomorrow. That’s OK.
I’d done it, and I’m sure everyone has done it too. I’m too tired; I’m not in the mood; it’s too late; the gym is closed, etc., are the common excuses that we throw around to dissuade us from exercising.
Because sweat means it’s hard work.
It’s counter-intuitive for us modern-day humans to want to sweat.
We spent most, if not all, of our brainpower to create a comfortable idle life. We want to allow as much free time as possible to binge on Netflix in our couches’ comfort.
It is way easier not to exercise than otherwise.
Remind yourself that following the least resistance path created the passage for fat to enter into your body.
It is ok to skip a day or so once in a while. But don’t make a habit out of it. You might feel set back because you’d fallen behind your fitness goal.
But the only way to combat that set back is to get back at it.
