Every year for as long as I can remember I would vow to lose weight and visit the gym regularly. This year is different.  I’m going to cancel my gym membership and let my new way of eating worry about my weight.

Low Carb no Cardio Overload

Since I’ve changed my way of eating a little over 4 months ago I lost 8.6 pounds. I went to the gym one last time to weigh myself before allowing my membership to expire (actually I have 2 more weeks so I’ll probably weigh myself one more time).

I lost more weight in the last 4 months than I did throughout the entire 2 years of my gym membership.  As a matter of fact, I managed to gain 7 pounds as a card-carrying gym member, so 7 of the 8.6 pounds I lost brought me back to where I was when I first joined.

I’m not knocking the gym. I think my gym is the cream of the crop when it comes to gyms, but if I don’t go, it doesn’t make a difference what the gym offers.  Spinning, Zumba, swimming, Pilates and the rest won’t do me any good if I don’t attend the class, which I didn’t.  Instead, I opted to walk around our local lake.

Different Types of Exercise

During the last few months, I walked 4 to 5 days a week.  The walks lasted anywhere from 30 to 60 minutes.  To that, I added a little stretching and a few core strengthening exercises that my Chiropractor taught me.  All of these exercises were easy to integrate into my daily routine.  No need to pack a gym bag and drive anywhere.

As time goes on I might join a volleyball team or sign up for racquetball tournaments (once I recapture my stamina of college days), but for now, my current routine works just fine.  Going forward I’m looking to shed an additional 9 pounds to be within my goal range.  I like to give myself a 5-pound goal range and losing 9 pounds will put me smack dab in the middle of that range.

The way I look at it, it’s a nice start to the New Year.  No unreasonable or unattainable goals.  No strenuous workouts or food deprivation.  What I have is an easy to maintain dietary/fitness lifestyle that has benefits far beyond losing a few pounds.  I’m a huge fan of low carb eating.