Good morning friends,
The following rant is inspired by the media. First, the Jenny Craig commercial with that shitty actress from MadTV. She talked about how she lost so much weight by just eating and occasionally walking. Then, the Too Fat for 15 show starting on the Style Channel. Both of these things irritate the crap out of me. I don't think calling people fat is a good idea at all, nor is telling teenagers that suffer from eating disorders already, that being fat is bad and wrong. And I despise Jenny Craig and stuff because minimizing calories with crappy processed frozen food is not how to get healthy.
So anyways...this is all leading to my point that exercise is fabulous and can be fabulous for everyone. You don't even have to consider it "exercise" if that term bothers you, consider it an activity. Do you realize how many different types of activities and exercises exist? Do you know why all of these activities exist? Because there is something for everyone. I promise you that if you go out and explore all the different types of active things to do you are bound to find something that you like. Maybe not running, maybe not organized sports, maybe not lifting weights....but maybe something like dancing or swimming, basketball, tennis, ANYTHING...be creative, just be active!
Okay my second point...and probably most important, is that I believe people need to look beyond the weight loss aspects of exercise. Once you find an activity that you enjoy (or even if you aren't too thrilled with it but you push yourself to your limits), you will reap the additional (and more important) benefits= happiness, relaxation, stress relief, sense of accomplishment, better sleep, better immune system. For me, exercise is the one part of my day where I am by myself (usually), its just me and the road, or my bike, or a boxing bag...and I am able to think clearly or clear my head completely. For me, it adds structure to my day, it makes me feel a sense of accomplishment before the rest of the world has woken up or when the rest of the world goes home to couch it after work. I believe that once you can see all of the other benefits of exercise, then you can learn to love it and make it apart of your daily routine and then you will naturally see your body change and become healthier. If you are constantly striving for weight loss, you will consistently be disappointed...you will be constantly weighing yourself and becoming discouraged. But if you can go to your favorite Zumba class at the gym, or go for a nice bike ride in the morning, and enjoy yourself then you will be ENCOURAGED and stick with it. Exercise can also be largely a social thing. You can go for walks in the morning with a friend, you can take classes together...and then you are helping yourself AND improving your relationships with others.
I could rant about this for hours and honestly exercising is different for everyone and everyone enjoys different things. My point is that you don't have to run races or do spin classes to exercise...it is a unique interest to everyone, but it is super important for sooooo many reasons, reasons beyond losing weight. Now I challenge you to try out a variety of new activities or exercises next week and see if you can find one you enjoy, something you can stick with....and then I challenge you to focus on how you feel after you exercise. Notice the relaxation, notice the sense of pride, and watch how your mentality changes over time. THIS will keep you committed and THIS will maintain a healthy lifestyle in the long run.
Best of luck :)
Hugs,
E
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