Healthy Weight Loss Blog

Most people don’t think of outdoor adventure as a means for weight loss – most people think of mountain and ocean adventure activities as things for athletes who don’t need weight lose. And this misconception is precisely the point of this article, because if losing weight is what you want, going on a hiking, climbing, or bicycling trip could be the perfect solution!

Grand canyon hikes

There are steps you want to adhere to to execute your weight loss adventure challenge. First you want to pick your activity: hiking, bicycling, canoeing, kayaking, climbing. Choose an activity that you think you will really enjoy, because the more you enjoy it the more effective it will be for you. One of the obstacles with conventional programs is that they aren’t enjoyable – dieting, working out at the gym, and jogging. For most people these avenues are no different than work. But if you pick an adventure activity that fires you up, then you will purse it with vigor and passion.

Yellowstone wildlife tours

The second step is to put a significant goal on the horizon, something incredible you want to do with your activity. If it’s bicycling, then it could be a 500 mile biking tour through the Rockies. If it’s hiking, it could be a 200 mile hike or hiking a peak like Kilimanjaro. If it’s canoeing, it could be a long trip in the Boundary Waters of Minnesota. Whatever it is, you need the goal to be something exciting! Something to look forward to and something that will stretch you!

The third step is to start taking action. Go on weekend hikes, begin bicycling to work and on weekends, take the family out canoeing. Not only will the practice start to work your body, but you will be outside in beautiful places and hopefully with people you love. Nothing invigorates the spirit like being in beautiful places with loved ones! And nothing generates weight loss and physical transformation like spiritual fulfillment and transformation!

Yellowstone wildlife tours

Ultimately, physical transformation will not happen in a sustainable way unless you transform your lifestyle. Make your new activity a normal part of you your life – something you do on a daily or weekly basis. Something that your friends and family do, something that becomes part of your identity. For me it’s rock climbing. I love to climb, and in fact could do it everyday. I work out to prepare for harder climbs. My wife climbs and most of my closest friends climb. My brothers climb. It’s my lifestyle, and I while I ride a physical roller coaster like everyone else, I would never allow myself to get to a point where I couldn’t climb. It’s too important to me.

So find your routine, set your sights on a goal out there that thrills you, and get practicing. Then make it a center piece of your life, and watch the pounds fall off! You deserve it. And if you’re a parent, your kids deserve a healthy mom or dad to be around for a long time – and to do fun things with. And maybe your kids will start to wean off of the video games and television programs to start to join you!

This entry was posted on Sunday, August 17th, 2008 at 1:22 pm and is filed under Weight Loss Programs. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.