Getting Healthy vs. Losing Weight - Part 4: Get Off Your Ass and Move

Part 2: http://lefthandedwriter.posterous.com/getting-healthy-vs-losing-weight-part-2
Part 3: http://lefthandedwriter.posterous.com/getting-healthy-vs-losing-weight-part-3
Over the holidays, I took a bit of a break. I was less stringent about snacking and, to be honest, I didn’t get much exercise in. Of course, I’m still looking at my hands every time I eat... the net result being over the holidays (three long, self-indulgent months) I only gained seven pounds.Before the holidays, I promised I’d dig a little deeper into the “Get Off Your Ass and Move” portion of my strategy. Let me see if I can make this make sense.I love being active, but I hate exercising.
I know it sounds counter intuitive, but it’s the truth. The repetitive nature of regular exercise routines simply drives me nuts. There is nothing I hate more than being bored, and repetitive exercise bores me to tears. But I’ll hike through the woods for hours. Here’s a better example: I despise running. I doubt I’ll ever run a 5K or a marathon. But I played soccer two seasons per year for 12 years, then coached for another 4. What do you do playing soccer? You run constantly for two 45-minute halves. The difference between playing soccer and running for running’s sake is purely psychological... but that doesn’t mean the difference isn’t very real, with real implications.So, the idea of going to the Gym or doing PX90 three or four days per week holds little appeal for me. But I could just as easily pencil in a hike one day, play soccer with the kids one afternoon, Walk for half an hour while listening to an audio-book once or twice a week. I Admit I'm Writing This, In Part, As A Reminder to Myself
A study was done by physiologists on housekeepers in the hotel industry (I’ll have to see if I can find that study again and post a link). I used to manage hotels, so I can tell you that housekeeping is the hardest job in the entire hotel. These scientists discovered that, based on the physical nature of the job, these housekeepers should have been pretty fit. But on the average, most of the housekeepers were not fit. Why? The human brain is lazy. It likes to find shortcuts to make things more efficient... often at the expense of muscle groups that could benefit from more frequent use. The scientists came in, explained how many calories they should be burning... which muscle groups were being used... and essentially how to use their job in a way that would slim and strengthen their bodies. And that knowledge and applied focus enabled them to shed weight quickly. Think about your body when you move. Try to incorporate your large muscle groups in your day-to-day movement... you quads, your glutes, your abs, your entire back. If you sit at a desk shuffling papers all day, don’t simply move your arm, move from your core using your back and abs. If you’re at home using the vacuum, don’t use your elbow and wrist to drive it, use your legs and your back. Bigger muscles burn more calories.So there’s nothing groundbreaking here, right? If you’re like me, you KNOW most of this already. But knowing isn’t enough. GETTING OFF MY ASS AND MOVING is the only thing that’s going to give me the results I want.
Okay, so I had a pretty good feeling I was on the right track with this "rule of thumb" diet thing. But I wasn't going to expect too much.
I'm down 15 pounds over the last two weeks.