3 Ways to Get Dad Off His Armchair
Dad bod was so 2015.
“How do I get my overweight father to exercise with me?”
You can never force a grown man to do what he doesn’t want. What you can do are these 3 simple things that can help him start if he so chooses.
Start small — really small.
First, let’s agree that exercise and diet is almost always a marathon. The only time it’s a short sprint is if he’s doing P90X for those summer abs. Exercising for 2 years doesn’t make him healthy — exercising for life does.
Now that that’s established, we have to find what lifestyle changes are sustainable for him. The recommended amount of exercise for your father might be too intimidating to start with. Even if he starts, he might get quickly overwhelmed and burn out.
Start with the smallest change that he can adopt forever.
Diet before exercise.
Your father, who you described as overweight, can lose significant weight just by tweaking his diet. Small changes like cutting sugar from his coffee or eating less potatoes can lose him 5 pounds in a month. These small, easy wins can help motivate him to start exercising.
Another benefit of losing a bit of weight before exercising is that it saves his joints. If your dad is seriously overweight, his knees are about to take a beating when he starts jogging. Help him prevent injury by lightening the load on his joints.
Exercise with him.
You have the right idea already. Marathons are grueling. There will be days when your dad wants to give up and you need to make sure you’re there to remind him why he started. It’s the same reason why people have gym buddies.
Cheer for him, take care of him, challenge him.
You can never force a grown man to do what he doesn’t want. But you can start a conversation. Talk to him about these 3 things and maybe he’ll be encouraged enough to start.
About the Author
Roger Ma is a consultant pharmacist stationed in the exciting city of Toronto. By focusing on the management of complex medication therapies, he enables burdened patients to live a life full of freedom and empowerment. He is reachable through Clinalleve all day, everyday!
