Do I belong here??

[susan423]

Hi Guys,
I must admit this is my first time visiting this forum. I've been on this board for a few months but I never thought I belonged here. After reading all these posts I can see why. I don't have the strength or stamina to workout like most of you guys do. All I do is walk. But I can only do about 15 or 20 minutes at a time. I drive up to the track and walk around a couple of times. That's all I can get this fat body to do. But I'm able to do that 2 or 3 times a day. Is all this other stuff really neccasary? I thought I was doing pretty good just walking (and it's cheap ) but I didn't really see any posts by folks that just walk so was wondering if I'm just waisting my time. When I first started I couldn't do any more then 7 or 8 minutes. My husband even bought me an ipod. I never thought I would own anything as alien as that But it has really help. I never realized how much difference walking music could make.

[LessofLisa]

Re: Do I belong here??

Susan...walking is great exercise...I get up and walk between 20 and 30 mins every morning..You have to start somewhere...sounds like you have a great start! Keep up the good work..

[misplaced southerner]

Re: Do I belong here??

of course you belong here girl! do you think we ALL Started out doing what we are doing now? no way. i started with 15 on a treadmill. we all have to start somewhere...mind over matter, you will be amazed at what you can do!

[not2late]

Re: Do I belong here??

Don't worry. As you build up your muscles and stamina and lose that fat, you'll be able to walk longer, walk faster.

Don't let the more advanced folks here intimidate you. We all started at square 1.

As for just walking, walking is a great all over exercise. Another free exercise is the good old fashioned push-ups, sit-ups, windmills, forward bends, lunges, etc. from physical education class. It's free and you don't need fancy equipment to do it. Most of the exercise videos use a variation of those basic PE exercises.

If that stuff brings back too many horrible PE class memories, you can add weights to your walking routine, like 2 pound weights. You can work your arms while you walk.

[julirama723]

Re: Do I belong here??

The others have given you great advice!

We all started at the beginning. I started with walking, too. If you stick with it, you will see results and improvements. Heck, you've already DOUBLED your exercise time! That's great!

I love working out to music, too. My boyfriend bought me an iPod for reaching a minigoal and now I can't work out WITHOUT it! Good music that I love listening to keeps me energized. I also play a game with myself. I say, "OK, you can quit after this song, but you've got to keep going for the rest of this song." But then the next song comes on, and it's a favorite, so I tell myself to keep going through ANOTHER song.

And hey, if you're walking 15-20 minutes 3x a day, you're getting in 45-60 minutes of exercise EVERY DAY! Exercise is cumulative, it doesn't matter if you do it in one shot or if you break it up into smaller sessions.

Keep up the great work!

[susan423]

Re: Do I belong here??

Hi Guys, Thanks so much. I feel better now. One of the reasons I go up to the track is I have a dog (my baby) that loves to go up there and play. It's gated off so he can run and play while I walk and I don't have to worry about traffic. And now he's expecting a walk (especially in the morning and the evening) so he keeps me going if I don't feel like walking. He's not going to put up with excuses Thanks so much for making me feel welcome. I'm going to look around here a bit more and maybe get inspired.