Losing Weight 2: Exercise, The Reality

Now that you have replaced your juices and sodas with water, you are well on your way to a lifestyle change that will create for you the person you want to be. Imagine that person, even if it is hard to do. Cry if you must, but be determined. Many have changed their lives by changing their weight. And believe me, changing your weight will completely change your life. Our goal at The Pomade Shop is wellness through beauty, but a healthy weight creates holistic wellness. A healthy weight through diet, exercise and sleep, or what we call organic systems of living, can have a remarkable effect on your internal bio-systems as well as the external systems: your hair, nails, and skin. However, this cannot be done without movement, i.e. exercise. I like to call exercise what it truly is, movement plan and simple. Our bodies were designed for movement. Without movement our system begins to rebel, become toxic, and eventually become ill. Movement is necessary for health and the more we move, the more we get back to our organic systems of living.

In our biological past, we got up, went and found water to drink, went and found non-meat foods for breakfast, traveled for several miles looking for meat sources, only to travel back, cook and eat. This was a locomotion nutrition cycle that took place everyday of our ancestral lives. At night, we talked until the sunset, and not long after that we slept. The whole process of our waking, traveling for food sources, communication with others and then sleep was organic systems of living. This was our state for millions of years before we invented bread. Some scientists believe that the introduction of bread into our diets cut our lifespan in half. Bread, although a staple in the world’s diet now, was once rare. It was the first processed food. It was the first moment that humanity began to eat healthy. But also, the act of getting food and water from far off sources created movement, which we simulate in our modern time with elliptical machines and treadmills. In order to cover the long distances, we traveled to get our food and water and we ran. Thus, our body’s evolution developed with running as our source of locomotion. Sorry. There is no way of getting around it. The bad news is that many heathcare gurus saw that you can walk your way to fitness. The truth is that they are trying to get people who would otherwise not move much at all into a routine of movement. But as far as burning calories, walking does not do much. I walked for years and did not lose and inch. I ran for two mouths and lost 10 pounds.

The trouble is that many of us already weigh too much to run. The pressure of excess weight can damage our knees and ankles. If this is true, then there is still hope. First, if you can join a gym, you must. It may seem like a lot, but remember that the locomotion nutrition cycle was an everyday affair. Begin with the seated cycle. Bring music or hope that your cycle has a TV. You should be on it for at least one hour. Yes, one hour. Alternate between fast and slow peddling. I will not sugar coat it. You should do it at least five times a week. If possible your movement/ exercise should be before you eat your meal, just as it would be if you would if you were living 7,000 years ago. The cycle will not put any pressure on your knees. You are working until you are light enough to run. The science is this: after 40 minutes or so of aerobic exercise, all the sugar in your blood should be deleted. If you are in a state of fasting, such as just before breakfast, the sugar is already almost gone when you start. After the sugar is gone, the body starts looking for the next best thing to give energy: YOUR FAT CELLS.

If you cannot join a gym, commit to walking (with little bursts of running now and then) around your street every morning before breakfast. Get up at five and take the kids with you. Walk until six, then go home, drink a glass of water or non-sweetened peppermint tea, and have a protein-based meal such as boiled eggs a ’la nothing. Then get ready for work and send the kids to school. Do it until you are doing it every day. And then keep doing it for a month. Your life will quickly change.

If you can run, whether on the treadmill or on the road, do intervals of fast and slow running and try to do it for one hour. Work up to it. Remember to wear the proper sneakers.

No amount of sit-ups will get to that ab-showing slim look. The only way to lose weight is to return to the natural way of eating, moving and sleeping. There is more to it that we will explain in our next article. These simple steps are enough to change your life. Remember The Pomade Shop for great healthy hair. See you soon.