Recently, I have been reviewing my weight loss client files and what has really struck me is how many of my clients, when they first come to see me are not undertaking any exercise at all. Now, I must admit that I am not a lover myself of going to the Gym or running for miles and I’d even go as far to say that in the past I have never been one to really choose to exercise for fun! However, that has all changed recently, and I’ll tell you about that later.
Now there are several things to remember about exercise that I think are very motivating.
1) Take note of this one particularly: Anything more than nothing is something. Even if you are not into “formal” exercise i.e. putting on special clothing and going to the gym, there are plenty of ways to get yourself moving more, and that counts as exercise. All movement is really exercise. So pushing the trolley around the supermarket, walking to the local shops, doing the school run on foot, running around the park with the children, all are forms of exercise! Every day activities that involve us moving around, make us fitter and burn calories.
2) When we move more, we release positive uplifting chemicals in our bodies and so we feel better about ourselves. So if you are feeling fed up and glum then lazing on the sofa is the worse thing you can do for your mood. Getting outside and going for a walk perhaps in a local park or even around the block and focusing on the things you see along the way is a much better way of altering your state.
3) Now if you are someone who is already “into” exercise then that’s great. However, if like me you are not a natural “exerciser” then the secret I have discovered is to find something that you love doing, that involves moving your body and is great fun. So I have re-discovered my love of playing tennis. I don’t do it for the exercise, I do it for the joy of competing and playing a game that I want to win. The fact that I am exercising in the process is almost a by-product in my mind, as my focus is in playing the game. I love the feeling of connecting with the ball; the swoosh of the ball against the racket when I hit it right; the achievement of running across the court and reaching a drop shot; and the exhilaration of winning a game! And after all of that excitement and enjoyment I can also think “oh yes, I have done some exercise today too!”
So get yourself moving! Walk the kids to school, walk the dog, take the pile of clothes upstairs rather than leaving them on the stairs, get hoovering, go for a walk in your lunch hour, do some gardening. Look for opportunities to move just a little bit more in your day to day life, and you may even start to enjoy it. Actually, it may not be long before you feel like your ready to move even more and when you feel like this, then this is the time to become curious about what types of activity you could do that would be heaps of fun and be exercise too. (like tennis for me). You’ll be amazed at the difference it will make not only to how you look but how good you feel too!