As you may already know from reading
some of my articles, I believe that
mornings are the best time to exercise
for most people. There are several
reasons for this but
the bottom line is that you're much
more likely to exercise consistently if
you exercise in the morning.
I recently
received an email message from
one of my newsletter subscribers, Sharon
in Dothan, Alabama. she and a
friend call themselves the "Dawn Patrol".
Here's her letter..
"Hello
Greg, Thanks for all the inspiration you
give us!! In May of last year (1999), I
read one of your articles about morning exercise.
I never considered myself a "morning
person". However, at 36 years old with
three young children, I was afraid I
wouldn't be around to see them grow up."
"I weighed over two hundred pounds
and was gaining a few pounds
every month, probably because
I tried every diet I could find.
I started
having serious health problems that
were likely related to my weight. I think that
brought me to reality. Not only was my
quality of life poor because of my obesity,
but I was risking an early death and
leaving my children without their mother.
I couldn't bear to think of that."
"I knew that
I would have to start some serious
exercising if I was going to regain
my health and get back to the body I
used to have. In fact I still picture myself
that way in my mind and I'm always shocked
when I see a picture of myself.
Your article
about morning exercise made so
much sense to me. I asked a friend that lives
nearby if she would meet me every morning
so we could walk together and encourage
each other to be consistent."
"We
started in May of 1999 and it was very tough
at first. There were mornings when the
only reason I got out of bed was because I
knew Lisa was waiting for me. But, within two
or three months it actually became something
that we both look forward to."
"We
talk, gossip, laugh, cry, but best of all
we lose weight and feel really good. In
15 months I've lost 81 pounds and Lisa has
lost 63 pounds."
"We call ourselves
the "Dawn Patrol" and we
had some "Dawn Patrol" t-shirts made
that are really cool. Pretty much without
fail, we are out walking at dawn, and
we love it now. We've only missed
6 days in 15 months. I know
that sounds like we've gone
over the edge, but we figure it's worth
being a little fanatic about this. It
has given us our lives back!"
These ladies
are serious about this stuff - but,
when you think about it, your health and
quality of life are serious issues. Are
you serious about it? You don't
have to start with a bang. Can you
walk for ten minutes every morning? Can
you add two or three minutes to that every
week? Can you start your own "Dawn Patrol?"
Note: Eight months
later, these ladies walked a half marathon!
