So it’s, what, day 13 of the New Year — And I haven’t lost a pound despite the fact I’ve been starving myself!!!
That, says Kara Mitchell, a dietician and director of the Fitness Program at the Duke Health and Fitness Center in Durham, may well be your problem. “The biggest mis-conception for weight loss is that the more you deprive yourself, the more weight you lose. But that does not help you lose body weight.”
If you’re a hiker who’s been sidelined by the cold and snow, you must be looking at the warmer forecast for this week, licking your chops and thinking, “I’ve got a lot to make up for.” Well, next weekend there are opportunities aplenty for making up. So you like to hike 20 or so miles in a month? How about covering it all in a day? Your options … .
Not sure about you, but sometimes when the temperature isn’t supposed to get much above freezing I need a little extra incentive to get out and get going. Like Saturday’s “Kickoff to a Healthy New Year” event planned for the American Tobacco Trail in southern Wake County. They’ve got all sorts of events planned to keep you warm. Rex UNC Health Care will offer free health screenings, nutrition advice and — this is the part that’ll keep you warm — exercises. Wake County Parks will lead guided nature walks, the Triangle Off Road Cyclists will lead guided bike rides, Harmony Studios in Apex will lead a Yoga demo (alas, not Bikram), the NC Geocachers will lead a search and discover mission — all kinds of ways to keep … well, from freezing.
The temperature in Raleigh just hit 40! Woo-hoo! Alas, this heat wave isn’t expected to last. Light snow is predicted for Thursday, it’s barely supposed to get above freezing over the weekend. Thus, we bring you more tips — in the form of recommended reading — on exercising in the cold.
A key ingredient for any self-improvement program is setting a goal, something to strive for. Otherwise, it’s all too easy to throw up your hands one day and say, “All right, good enough. I’m done.”
If your goal is to lose weight, you have a target — 20 pounds by spring, for instance. If you’re trying to get in better shape, maybe you’re aim is to walk a 5K by summer. A cyclist? The MS 150 in September is always a laudable goal. And if you’re a hiker, then maybe your aim is to earn Iron Hiker status by hiking all 24 miles of trail at Umstead State Park on March 20, the first day of spring.