Fitness tips for people who hate running

R-U-N. A 3-letter word which causes me pain.

R-U-N-N-I-N-G. A 7-letter word which causes me continuous pain.

In essence, that's what I feel about running. Well before you judge, I'll say it myself. Yes I am lazy. But besides that, some people just can't run! They may have knee problems or asthma... Lots of health conditions discourage people from the most well-known and effective way to burn fat and lose weight - to run. Running on a treadmill is especially bad for your knees. Take it from someone who has an old knee injury. When you run on a treadmill, you are actually bouncing up and down on the treadmill which is made of... Well, metal! That results in great impact on your knees. That being said, running on cross country terrain is much better than running on treadmills.

But I digress. Let's just toss running out of the window cause I simply can't do it. Let's move on to the meat of this blog post. Want to lose weight, tone up and keep active without running? Here are some of my personal tips:

1. Find alternative forms of cardio

Cardio is really important especially if you have excess fat to shed. As much as I would like to just lift weights in the gym, I can't. I have fat I need to burn and therefore I have to do cardio. Working out  using the elliptical or cross trainer is a really good form of cardio. Increase the resistance to tone your legs and butt as well.

Another great form of cardio is swimming which doesn't put much stress on your joints. It also works out your entire body. As long as you're in the deep end of the pool, you have no excuse to stop moving your limbs (or you'll drown)!

2. Don't be afraid to lift weights

Don't blame your parents for your "poor metabolism". You can actually improve your metabolism by building more muscle. Your muscles actually burn calories even when you are at rest. So the more muscle you have, the more calories you are burning. Women usually have the misconception that they will grow big unsightly muscles if they start doing weights. That why you see lots of girls I like to call cardio bunnies at the gym. They're like energizer bunnies who just can't stop running on the treadmill. We'll they are slim but they just don't have the muscle tone which is oh so sexy. Weights can help you achieve that and increase your basal metabolism rate which is a win-win in my book.

3. Develop a routine

It takes 21 days to form a new habit. No matter how lazy you are, just force yourself to go to the gym on specific days in a week for 3 weeks, and your body will naturally tell you when it's time to hit the gym or do something active. It actually becomes quite addictive, the ache that you feel after a great workout. 

4. Cut back on unhealthy food and reduce your portions

If you hate running and you want to lose weight fast, stop eating those greasy chili cheese fries and chocolate cake! Replace the bad carbohydrates (processed carbs like white bread, white rice, pasta, chips) with good ones like brown rice, whole grain pasta and cereals, oats... The list goes on. As I am typing this entry, I am munching on reduced sugar dried cranberries which are a good source of fiber! 40 grams of dried cranberries gives you 10 grams of fiber!

Eat with a smaller plate. It will seem like you are eating a lot when your plate is filled, but you are actually eating less than usual. Also, eating slowly will also make you feel full without putting too much food into your belly. The stomach takes around 15-20 minutes to tell your brain that you are full (it's a slow communication system, I know), so eating slower is actually better for you! Try holding a meaningful conversation with someone during lunch instead of just wolfing your meal down. Chewing your food for longer also makes it easier for your stomach to digest the food you ingest.

5. Drink LOTS of water and green tea

Drinking water, especially before meals, helps you eat less. Drinking water also helps to flush out toxins from your body. Well, not to mention that water helps in maintaining good skin, hair and nails. 

Green tea has got to be one of my favourite drinks. I can drink three or four mugs of green tea a day. It helps to burn fat (due to the tea polyphenols which activate an enzyme which burns fat) and increase your metabolism (not by a lot, but it helps). 

In any case, green tea as a beverage is just really awesome. Just remember to drink freshly brewed green tea. If you have no time to brew tea, get bottled green tea but make sure there's no added sugar. Pokka's Green Tea (No sugar) or Heaven & Earth's Ayataka are great choices. However, I noticed that Pokka's variation has tea polyphenols stated in the ingredients list while Heaven & Earth's doesn't. So nowadays I try to buy the Pokka one even though Ayataka tastes much better.

Hope you found the tips above helpful! Remember, you don't have to run just to lose weight and keep fit. Just find other exercises which work for you and most importantly, are enjoyable. Keeping fit should be fun!