The Couch is Calling

by Linda Spangle, RN, MA

As I settled into a booth at the coffee shop, a cheerful voice announced, “Good Morning! My name is Lori and I’ll be serving you today.”

And she did! Lori filled my coffee cup again and again at the same time she was taking care of many other customers in the busy restaurant. Finally I commented, “You sure are running a lot. You must get really tired.”

Her response was quick. “I sure do. And with all of this work, you’d think I’d be skinny. But for some reason, I never lose a pound!”

“It drives me nuts,” she continued. “My doctor told me I’ve got to lose some weight. Then he actually suggested I exercise after I get off work. Can you believe that? Even though I run all day long, he says that’s not enough. But here’s the problem. Once I get home after a ten-hour day, I’m dead on my feet. There’s no way I’ll go take a walk or do his stupid exercise program!”

“But you’re not losing weight?” I asked. Lori responded, “Not a pound! And I can’t figure out why not.”

Later that week, when Lori came to see me in person, she asked, “What am I doing wrong? Why am I not losing anything?” The answer was simple. Lori was operating on a common misconception about what it takes to drop some pounds.

Being on your feet all day is NOT exercise

Unfortunately, this type of activity doesn’t energize you or help you lose weight. It just makes you tired. First of all, your body adapts to the activity level, and it no longer views it as a challenge to your system. Secondly, those “start and stop” movements don’t build muscle or raise your heart rate enough to result in weight loss.

It’s not that “work activity” doesn’t count. Any time you move your body it’s still better than not moving it. But to actually lose weight, you need activity that’s more rhythmic as well as sustained over a period of time. Examples include walking, running, biking, swimming or other aerobic activity that you do for at least fifteen to twenty minutes or longer.

Lori confessed that when she got home from work, she would usually lie down on the couch to rest before thinking about what to have for dinner. Of course, once she was ON the couch, it felt almost impossible to get back OFF the couch. So instead of exercising, she just stayed there.

I asked Lori to pull out her book 100 Days of Weight Loss, and review Day 49: Just Do Something, and Day 50: Ten Minute Solution. Then we laid out her new plan…

1. Create a system

Set out your workout clothes and shoes each morning before you leave for work. Also, make sure there’s a bottle of water in the refrigerator. That way everything you need is right there, ready to go.

2. Don’t go near the couch when you get home

Instead, throw the mail on the counter, say hello to your dog, and head straight to the bedroom. Strip off your uniform and put on your exercise clothes.

3. Do your activity right away

On nice days, head out the door for a walk. If the weather’s bad, do something indoors such as ride your exercise bike. Aim for at least ten minutes, because that’s long enough to perk up your energy. Stretch it to twenty or thirty minutes, and you’ll start seeing progress with your goal of losing weight.

I suggested that she tell herself, “I can do whatever I want, including lie on the couch, AFTER I finish my exercise.” Within a few weeks of her new plan, Lori called me and reported that exercising actually gave her back some energy instead of making her more tired.

She said, “It’s amazing! I was so sure it wouldn’t work, and that I’d be way to tired to do this. But I reminded myself that I only had to do a short walk. So each day, I pushed through the fatigue and headed out the door. It worked every time. I won’t say I was a ball of fire, but it did make me feel better. And on my days off, instead of feeling lazy and dull, I started taking even longer walks.

©2007 Weight Loss for Life, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
Reprinted with permission from Linda Spangle, RN, MA, Weight Loss for Life.
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