Choosing Activities That Mirror Your Distinct Personality
Hello
Twinkle Toes!
The exercise bike rested in one
corner of the room as Dieter Jack sat with his head
in his hands, sweat dripping off his body as he contemplated,
"Is all this torture worth the loss of these 75
unwanted pounds?"
Jack had
just burned about 25 calories riding the bike - one
he was certain had been cursed by Dorothy from Oz. His
knees ached, his back was out of whack, and this bike
was beginning to become a pain in his butt, literally.
Before Jack
falls off completely from both his bike and his diet
plan, let's try to attempt a sweeping Diet Rescue!
Jack
really enjoyed his vacation last summer that he took
with his best friend, Frank. They spent a week
camping in the mountains, taking hiking trips, canoeing,
swimming and fly-fishing.
Since Jack
enjoys interacting with nature, if he shifted his focus
to enjoying the things that he likes to do, he will
be more apt to stay on his activity plan.
Whether
it's a walk around the local park OR the block, Jack
will burn calories while he is enjoying what he is doing.
As a Fitness
Note, Jack can burn about 184 calories biking on a flat
surface for about fifteen minutes. He can burn
about 173 calories on a fifteen minute hike. Eleven
calories spells the difference between "hate and
love". (Note that 'HATE AND LOVE" contain
a total of 11 letters.) (My, that's almost witty,
isn't it?)
Here are
a few other suggestions that may work for Jack and other
dieters in search of Pleasant Activity Time:
|
DANCING -
Per 15 Minutes 
|
|
WEIGHT
IN POUNDS
|
CALORIES
BURNED
|
|
110
|
63
|
|
115
|
66
|
|
125
|
71
|
|
140
|
80
|
|
160
|
91
|
|
190
|
108
|
|
200
|
114
|
|
220
|
125
|
Index-Activities
& Calories Expended
Square dancing,
ballet, ice skating - all of these activities are a
lot of fun and work excellently in burning calories.
 
The key
to a stronger heart and lungs is to get the heart rate
up. Although a leisurely walk from the car to the store
is good, a brisk fifteen minute walk is great.
For
those that are employed in labor intensive professions
that find their belt fits on a higher notch than they'd
prefer, try examining the current daily diet.
So
many times, labor intensive positions ensue working
out in the heat and cold and it's miserable working
on a full tummy, so workers may eat little - or no breakfast,
a light lunch, then when they arrive home, they may
play catch-up. Unfortunately, if calorie intake
isn't monitored, the weight scales climb - no matter
how labor-intensive our day-jobs are.
It
doesn't take a scientific genius to realize that our
bodies have the ability to take in several thousand
calories per day - and the body can take in more calories
than can be burned if we so desire. BUT, we don't desire
weight gain - so we don't want to do that. One
large milkshake can shake on about 1,000 calories. Combine
that with a double-decker cheeseburger and a large fry
and we're climbing quickly to that 3,000 calorie rung
on the Diet Ladder.
However,
when one is tired and just wants to relax and revive,
monitoring calories isn't the highest priority, either.
If this is the case, try picking healthier snacks
from Mother Nature's Trees. An apple contains about
1/3 to 1/2 the calories of a candy bar.
A
cup of hot air popcorn sprinkled with no calorie butter
contains less than 25 calories whereas some popcorns
contain more than 6 times that amount.
By
choosing our activities smartly and coupling that with
a smart diet, trimming down becomes more doable, less
stressful - and a whole lot easier.
|