Allow me to cut to the chase: My recent move out of Manhattan after 25 years has turned my fitness routine on its big fat ass. Merely by relocating from one bank of the Hudson River to the other, I've basically tossed months of hard work off my spacious new roof-top terrace.
It's not just the back-and-forth to the city that's standing between me and quality gym time. It's a few flights of stairs. With my master bath on the first floor, walk-in closet on the second, and diapered darling on the third (demanding snacks while watching Lady and the Tramp for the zillionth time), I barely get out the front door.
A work bud, however, turned me on to what I've dubbed the Macy's Diet. A long-time resident of Jersey City (my new home base), he's mapped-out the pros and cons of every possible commuting scenario. And by hopping off the PATH train at 33rd Street (adjacent to "the world's largest store") and hoofing it to our offices in the East 40s, he's shed 10 pounds.
Faster than you can say "thin thighs," I rushed out and bought a pedometer thingamajiggy. It's called an Accusplit, and while its apparently insanely accurate, it's not exactly woman-friendly. For instance, it doesn't attach well to the hem of a dress or nightgown. (Yes, nightgown; when I commit to test-driving gadgets, I really commit.)
Giddy with the notion that I could stay in shape with the Macy's Diet, I started tracking my steps. At the same time, I experimented with alternate routes to work. Because as much as I love the idea of dumping pounds, I don't always have the joie for all that strolling. Not to mention the time; door-to-door, Plan Macy's takes an hour.
After a week, the proof was in the pedometer. When I took the relatively painless, 45-minute alterna-route, my total step count for the day was 11,559. When I did the full Macy's monty, I clocked 15,040 steps.
While that would seem cause for celebration, exercise expert Edward Jackowski, Ph.D. dumped a bucket of rain on my parade. Although walking is "better than doing nothing," he says, it only helps with calorie burn. And that can be instantly undone with one measly donut.
"Whether you lose or gain in a given week is dependent on a) how active you are, b) your existing fitness level and c) how well you ate," says Jackowski. "So there are three components: activity/fitness/diet."
And there's another flaw in my masterplan—the desire to arrive at the office looking hot—the good kind, not the icky, sticky kind. "In summer, we don't tend to walk as fast because we don't want to get sweaty," says Jackowski. "You can't show up at work needing a shower. And by walking slower, you're not getting aerobic benefits because you're not even close to being in your zone."
Ouch. Time to hike down the stairs and back to the gym.
