Exercising seems to be discussed in this article in mostly abstract terms and that's a real shame. People need to talk more about the quality of the exercise be

Exercising seems to be discussed in this article in mostly abstract terms and that's a real shame. People need to talk more about the quality of the exercise being performed as well as the time spent doing it. "Vigorous gardening"? People don't like to talk about it or do it because changing what you normally do from day to day is hard. I know because in the past I have gone from being a maintenance runner to being a semi-competitive distance runner and understand that carving out the time and putting in the effort to make those changes was difficult mentally and socially. I saw the results not only in race times, but in the fit of my jeans, pounds on the scale and skin on my face. When I reduced my effort, weight and inches returned. Adding more prepared/restaurant food and alcohol increased the effect. Now I'm approaching middle age, have slacked off the running and am watching my belly slowly grow. I know if I want it to stop or reverse, I'm going to have to change my ways: less late night partying, more discipline and even some pain. Aggressive yard work isn't going to do it, nor is biking to work (4 miles each way, mostly flat). Merely changing your routine is hard enough. Changing it to introduce more discomfort (at least for a time, until you get used to it and your more energetic routine seems normal) is very difficult. It's difficult enough for me, a former football and track athlete who knows what to expect and has a decent tolerance for pain. It's got to be much worse for people who haven't gone through the cycles and don't know what their bodies are capable of doing and what their minds are capable of overcoming. Talking about the exercise component can often drift off into lazy-shaming or sound like macho story-telling, but every time I hear from overweight family members or read an article like this one I always wonder, are you going for a short-term dip, or are you going to change your life? Because if it's the latter, you must prepare yourself for considerable inertia, metaphorically and physically. And then push through it.