Is Your New Year's Resolution to Lose Weight in 2006? My Experiences!

Having just talked about the problem of Christmas Chocolates in my last blog, many of you would probably be agreeing and wanting to lose weight now the New Year 2006 has started.

Today has been my fifth time at the gym. The first one being in Chantilly, Virginia at the Olympus where I am a member. The others at Clapham Junction, Fitness First where I am also a member.

I was on the Elliptical Cross Training machine for a full hour and whilst sweating, in agony and my legs straining; 'in my face' were several television screens with New Year's Resolution and Dieting programmes. Men and women of fuller figures and celebrities parading themselves on the reality television for a Challenge of Losing Weight which I thought was rather sad. Sad because it brought an unhappy memory.

Between year 2000 and 2001, I was at my biggest - around 200lbs. I lost my self-confidence and self-esteem, felt constantly tired and became withdrawn. The reason: I became immobile for 4 months due to a car accident I was involved in (as a passenger) and injured two of my lower back vertebrae. I got depressed due to pain and uncertainty about mobility that I started eating more than I should. Saying that, I always love my food and in large helpings which didn't help - mind you, it was a form of comfort, but that's no excuse.

The turning point came during a trip to Barbados the beginning of 2001. The friends I was with were stripped down either sunning themselves or swimming in the sea whilst I was fully clothed too embarrased to take my shirt off for a swim. Luckily, a friend encouraged me to go to the gym and showed me how to use the facilities targetting my abdominal muscles to help support my back (which had been injured in the accident). Since then, I started doing exercises at home and progressed to becoming a member at my local gym.

Exercise and make it a Habit - I tell you it's not easy.

The path to being healthy and fit is a difficult one. If you are a Pessimist, you would say it's going to be difficult, hard and unachievable. An Optimist would consider it a routine, just like brushing your teeth or washing your face - you have to make it into a habit. You also have to tie it in with a sensible balanced diet. My weight 'yoyoed' initially as making a habit out of exercise was not the easiest task. It was difficult! I started going for brisk walks after my stretches at home as I could not run due to my injured back and dodgy knee. I started on a 20 minute walks which progressed to 30 and sometimes 40 when I was feeling good. This was a preparation to me registering at my local gym - just so I didn't feel very fat when I started. Since then, I never look back.

I started on the treadmill for a 10 minute jog then would normally run for 5 minutes but it aggravated my knee therefore causing me to stop after a few tries. I then tried the Life Fitness Cross-Trainer and stuck with it since and combined it with abdominal exercises which reduced my waistline from 38inch to 31 inch presently. The trick was combining my exercise with the Liver Cleansing Diet which was introduced to me by a friend who was completely lean - not a trace of fat in his body that I started seeing big results.

I will stop here for now but will tell you about the exercise I am doing and the details of the diet I am using which is easy and most practical.

Take care for now and God bless,

Alan Aldana