The hour is early—well, at least it is for me.  The neighborhood birds are squawking louder than what I can sleep through. (Don’t those feathery creatures know that it isn’t even 5 a.m.?)

As I toss and turn trying to figure out a way to muffle the birds’ constant chirping, I can’t help but think of everything that is on my plate for the day: the balancing act that is my life.

I sit here typing before the sun comes up, running through my to-do list.  What needs to be done today?  At work?  At home?  And then, of course, when will I get my workout in?  And how much time will I have to devote to it in the few hours that I can call my own?

I went to the local swimming pool yesterday and enjoyed every minute that I got to spread my wings and glide through the water. I love the freedom that swimming allows me, especially the quiet it provides to just let my mind go and my thoughts run wild as the water washes over me.

When you’ve been overweight most of your life, like I have, working out daily isn’t an option.  Working out isn’t part of “diet plan” or a fad that I’m into—it is part of my lifestyle.  Everyday, without fail, I have to move my butt.  Period. 

And because exercise isn’t optional for me, I try to find ways to make it enjoyable.  Some days I walk along the lakefront or in my neighborhood.  On other days, I work out to an exercise tape, do Pilates, go to the gym or take a friend along to join me in whatever I’m doing. 

But my all-time favorite thing to burn calories is swim. 

There are only two months out of the year that I can make my early morning swims a part of my daily workout routines and I try to fit it in as many as I can as the weather and my schedule allows. The fact that my morning crawl at 50 yards a minute burns about 540 calories per hour is a great plus for me.

I know that swimming isn’t for everyone but walking in water helps take the pressure off aching joints and provides 12 times the resistance of air. The calories you could burn can equal my efforts of doing my morning swim.

Every morning the pool is filled with older women walking back and forth for hours.  One woman is there every morning.  She is 86-years-old and walks beside my swimming lane.  She often comments how glad she is to be there every day and smiles about how she looks forward to just waking up tomorrow and getting her feet wet.

I just smile back and tell her I couldn’t agree more. 

Lisa Griffis lost 185 pounds through diet, exercise and sheer determination.  To find out more about Lisa, visit her blog at www.lisagriffis.com.  She is a regular ShareWIK.com contributor.  

More Lisa Griffis articles, click here.

More on Losing Weight

©2010 ShareWIK Media Group, LLC 

The hour is early—well, at least it is for me.  The neighborhood birds are squawking louder than what I can sleep through. (Don’t those feathery creatures know that it isn’t even 5 a.m.?)

As I toss and turn trying to figure out a way to muffle the birds’ constant chirping, I can’t help but think of everything that is on my plate for the day: the balancing act that is my life.

I sit here typing before the sun comes up, running through my to-do list.  What needs to be done today?  At work?  At home?  And then, of course, when will I get my workout in?  And how much time will I have to devote to it in the few hours that I can call my own?

I went to the local swimming pool yesterday and enjoyed every minute that I got to spread my wings and glide through the water. I love the freedom that swimming allows me, especially the quiet it provides to just let my mind go and my thoughts run wild as the water washes over me.

When you’ve been overweight most of your life, like I have, working out daily isn’t an option.  Working out isn’t part of “diet plan” or a fad that I’m into—it is part of my lifestyle.  Everyday, without fail, I have to move my butt.  Period. 

And because exercise isn’t optional for me, I try to find ways to make it enjoyable.  Some days I walk along the lakefront or in my neighborhood.  On other days, I work out to an exercise tape, do Pilates, go to the gym or take a friend along to join me in whatever I’m doing. 

But my all-time favorite thing to burn calories is swim. 

There are only two months out of the year that I can make my early morning swims a part of my daily workout routines and I try to fit it in as many as I can as the weather and my schedule allows. The fact that my morning crawl at 50 yards a minute burns about 540 calories per hour is a great plus for me.

I know that swimming isn’t for everyone but walking in water helps take the pressure off aching joints and provides 12 times the resistance of air. The calories you could burn can equal my efforts of doing my morning swim.

Every morning the pool is filled with older women walking back and forth for hours.  One woman is there every morning.  She is 86-years-old and walks beside my swimming lane.  She often comments how glad she is to be there every day and smiles about how she looks forward to just waking up tomorrow and getting her feet wet.

I just smile back and tell her I couldn’t agree more. 

Lisa Griffis lost 185 pounds through diet, exercise and sheer determination.  To find out more about Lisa, visit her blog at www.lisagriffis.com.  She is a regular ShareWIK.com contributor.  

More Lisa Griffis articles, click here.

More on Losing Weight

©2010 ShareWIK Media Group, LLC