Let’s talk exercise. Speaking for most of the obese population out there, many of us don’t want to hear about exercise. Many of us are in such bad shape or so much pain, the thought of exercise freaks us out. I remember a break-room discussion one day about dieting, what worked, what didn’t, and someone finally made that all-sweeping statement, “Well, everyone just needs to exercise.” End of discussion. Everyone sat back, nodded and sipped their coffee. And I was thinking, “I’d like any one of you to strap a Buick to your backs and see how long you’d last doing whatever exercise.” It wasn’t quite a Buick, but if you strapped two 50-lb. bags of fertilizer to your back, that’s basically what I was carrying around with me. When I was 325 lbs., just walking around the block was a sheer impossibility. Just doing a little grocery shopping would do me in.
I’m not here to disparage exercise. I firmly believe exercise probably is that “magic bullet” that keeps a body happy, healthy, toned, slim and able to sleep. I’ve seen the data. I get it.
I propose we re-think exercise. For so many, the term exercise equals a gym membership, a big time and/or monetary commitment, and that stops us in our tracks. Membership-type gyms will tell you they sell lots of memberships, but only about 10% of their members regularly come to the gym. Gyms are a great way to go for some; but like the lottery, you can’t win if you don’t get in. Or it means buying some exercise machine for your home. We’ve had a couple of those, too. They usually end up serving as laundry drying racks. Or you automatically think “jogging.” If walking is a challenge, ok please don’t even go there. Alright, on to some real-life scenarios.
I have a personal story or two about the power of exercise in its simplest form: walking. And I tell this story with a big disclaimer: WHEN and IF you are able to walk for exercise.
For a time, I rode the bus to work. This would entail walking to the bus stop, and a short walk from the bus to my place of work. This was maybe 10 minutes of walking, twice a day, 20 minutes tops. I certainly didn’t view walking to and from the bus as exercise. Until I stopped doing it. I began driving regularly to work, so my tiny little walks to and from the bus got nixed from my daily routine. And in the following few months I packed on another 50 lbs. Just because I wasn’t walking that little bit for 15-20 minutes a day. This was quite the epiphany for me. Just that tiny bit of daily walking was holding my weight at bay.
Second story: a few years following my gastric bypass surgery, where I had initially lost about 100 lbs., I found myself slowly gaining some weight back. This is before developing arthritis and my current severe knee problems. I took a little part-time job in a hospital performing hearing tests on newborns (a fun job if you ever get the chance). In a large hospital, you know how long it can take you to get from one end to the other, or just from the parking lot to a given wing/floor. The amount of daily walking I had to do for this job surpassed any I’d ever had (as most of my prior work were desk jobs). I bought my first pair of “granny shoes” (thank you SAS), and in just a few months I was back down to my post-surgery weight again. Once again, the power of walking. Of course, we can’t all enjoy work that comes with built-in exercise as part of the job. But once again: epiphany.
And now my last story. I was back up to weighing about 240 when I recently started on Plexus Slim. As I mentioned, I now deal with joint pain from some old injuries as well as my arthritis which has kept me from doing any meaningful exercise in the past 5-6 years. I do manage to get several laps done in my local grocery super-store every week, but honestly that’s about it. On Plexus Slim, even WITHTOUT exercising I’ve managed in two months to lose about 20 lbs. and a couple of pant sizes.
So the bottom line for those of you who ask, “Do I HAVE to exercise while I’m taking Plexus Slim?” Apparently not! So if you are in such bad shape or in debilitating pain that makes exercise currently impossible, take courage, and please, try Plexus Slim. Here's my shameless business promotional link:
Robinsky’s Plexus Slim Website
That being said, now that I’ve shed some weight and inches, I’m feeling like I MIGHT want to try doing a little exercise again. Now that my food intake is significantly less thanks to Plexus Slim, think how much more effective it would be if I added a little bit of exercise to that! And I do mean a little bit. I’m going to start out small, really small. Remember those two 10-minute daily walks I did when riding the bus? That’s all I’m talking about. Sometimes walking will send my bad knee into the pits of despair, and I have to just stop and take a break. So I’m gonna do that if and when I need to. But tiny, gradual changes are all I’m going to attempt. Otherwise I will be setting myself up to fail. Just being realistic. I will report back in future posts as to my success in this area.
I have a friend who’s expressed an interest in getting some walking in, but she wants a partner. Walking partners can be great, both for just the company as well as the accountability. I’m not sure I can commit to every day, but I’d like to be able to get with my friend maybe 3 times a week to do our walking together. Maybe this is something that would help you—a partner. Another possibility to ponder.
So in summary: If you’re simply unable to exercise right now, take courage and give Plexus Slim a try as your first step towards changing and getting healthy. Perhaps after some time (like me), you’ll feel like you might be able to begin something small (walking, cycling, swimming). Even if it’s just 10 minutes a day, it will make a difference.
And I had to include this last little illustration . . . just because it cracks me up so much.
~Robinsky~
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