Somewhere along the line we started equating exercise primarily with weight loss. Yeah, yeah, if I asked you what do you believe the purpose for exercise is, some of you would say, to boost mood, energy, control blood pressure, regulate blood sugar, help improve sleep, rev up your sex life, boost self-confidence, decrease stress and anxiety, boost brain power, focus and memory. But most of you would say to lose weight. Herein lies the problem.
Interestingly enough, we give so much credit to burning lots of calories on the treadmill, elliptical and in boot camp, and are not paying good attention to what happens before or after that session. Did you undo that work with an indulgence because you were thinking, “I deserved it. I worked hard.” Or did you give up because the scale didn’t move the “right” way because you were thinking, “I worked so hard and I just keep losing and gaining the same 2 pounds?”
Go back to the thought model that I taught you and be honest with yourself. When you look at your thoughts, how do those thoughts make you feel and what you do when you are thinking I deserved it, or you’re feeling defeated. How do those thoughts and feelings affect your actions and what are the consequences of those actions? Know that it is not what we do once, but what we do repeatedly, that cause the results in our lives. Be vigilante. Make it a regular habit of seeing what you are thinking, because there, you will be able to create new results.
Take a look at all of the benefits listed above that come with exercise and see if you want them in your life. Might I suggest that weight actually comes off from the other benefits listed about i.e. better sleep, less stress, better mood and not the calories burned? If you can focus on all of the benefits that you are missing out on by not exercising, because you choose not to exercise if it does not lead to weight loss, you can develop the habit of wanting to feel good. I don’t make many promises, but I can guarantee you that if you take on that thought that you love how exercise makes you feel (over I want exercise to make me look good), you will be able to become a lifetime exerciser regardless of what the scale says and by default, the scale may move in your favor, but you won’t care because you are so darn happy with your life. I’m just saying 🙂
Challenge:
Let’s take a serious look at your relationship with exercise.
How often do you currently exercise? (last 4 weeks)
What do you believe YOUR purpose for exercise i?
Do you feel it is important to make time to exercise? How high is it on your priority list?
Are you willing to suck at exercise before you get good at it?
In a perfect world, how much would you exercise and what would you do for exercise?
List 3 types of exercise that would be good for your body that you are willing to do.