The Weighting Game

I was an extremely happy person till about a couple of years back – exercise wise. I sat on my couch all day long doing things on the laptop. I made a couple of meals. I read. I wrote. Sometimes I went out. And then I went to the gym for like half an hour.

That was good. After I came back from the gym I hogged on food like an elephant. I thought my body will start sucking on muscles if I didn’t eat that much.

Then I read the bad news – after coming from the gym, you should eat only like half the calories you burn. What a bummer! I think I was eating about ..umm.. 4 times!

That was not it. The smart phone pedometer started the trend of 10,000 steps in a day. Since my phone was in one place all day, it showed close to a 100 steps in a day. I was walking only 1%!!!

But who walks 10,000 steps in a day? Really! Even if I walk 4 kms on the treadmill, which is a lot by the way, it is only around 5000 steps. The only days I walk 10,000 steps are when I am on a holiday in a European destination. And that is only because hiring a taxi is so expensive and to get other modes of public transport you do need to walk a bit.

All my notions about exercise and burning calories have changed drastically over the years. I don’t know what is right and what is wrong. There was a time when people said walking on the treadmill is good. Then when the elliptical came, they said treadmill causes joint pain and so we should use an indoor cycle or an elliptical for cardio.

Even Yoga has had its friends and foes. Some postures in Yoga cause back pain. So people with sensitive back like mine should take a lot of care while doing that. Certain breathing exercises in pranayama have repercussions on your ear and nose. Doing weights in the gym and using other machines can harm different parts of the body. Phew!! First you push yourself to exercise, and then you think of getting a trainer!

Someone rightly said, ‘Lose your weight, don’t lose your mind’. I lose my mind after every unsuccessful experiment. Then I get up and start again with another. That’s what I love about myself though.

Anyway, I’ve learnt two things from all this. One, some exercise is better than no exercise. So even if it is 5000 steps, it is better than a 100! And two, wrong exercise is better than no exercise – because you fall, you learn, you get up, and then you’re so proud of yourself!

So, how many steps did you take today? Tell, tell, and then drown yourself in a droplet of water. Or, whatever!