Motivate Me to exercise
If you struggle with the exercise discipline, and given the worldwide obesity statistics, it would appear that a lot of people do struggle with their weight. The question is why? We are all aware of the benefits that exercise gives us, and we know of the problems caused by over eating, yet we constantly feed our bodies with more energy that it needs and can use in a single day, which the body stores inside capacious fat stores waiting for the next famine.
Our bodies are walking fat stores and the only way to get rid of them is to eat less and exercise more.
Sounds simple doesn’t it? And it is. The key to losing weight is eating less fuel than your body can use in a single day. If you want to continue to eat at the same rate that you do, then you are going to have to do a significant amount of exercise to start shifting the excess baggage that you carry around each day. By the way one kilogram of fat is equivalent to 7,700 calories, how many extra calories does that equate to? In real terms not very much.
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A bottle of wine (not the sweet version) is approximately 560 calories. For those of you without a calculator handy that equates to just under 14 bottles of wine.
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Pizza – 2 slices of the “meateater” ranges from 530 to 750 calories – and how many times have you been unable to stick to just 2 pieces? (Note: all stats come from the Allan Boruschek’s pocket calorie and fat counter booklet if you really want to scare yourself silly).
Some of these statistics should be enough to get people to the gym every single day of the week, but not even these seem to make a dent in our appetites. So let me give you some more.
In 1988-1989 in the United States the cost of treating obesity problems and health related disease was $672 million. In 1996 that figure had grown to $45.8 billion. Americans were also spending $18 billion on low-fat food products and 32 billion on weight loss products in general. (Donna Aston, Fat or Fiction: Are you living a fairy tale? Hybrid Publishers, Melbourne, Australia, 1999 p11).
By the way a person is classed as obese when their body weight is 20% higher than his/her ideal weight.
So are you ready to get off the couch yet and get exercising yet?
Whilst we all know that over eating is bad for us, we continue to do it. We all know that exercise is good for us, yet we don’t do enough. But if you are ready to get motivated to get exercising then here are some suggestions that may help you create the new disciplines that you will need to add to your life.
By the way am I saying that you shouldn’t eat pizza or drink wine? Absolutely not, just be aware that in order to get rid of those calories you’ve just consumed you are going to have to do more than just go for a brief stroll round the park.
So lets get moving:
1. Get up when the alarm goes off, get dressed and go for a walk. By the time your brain has woken up to the fact that you’re exercising you’ll be half way round.
2. Have a set time of day and a set day to do your exercise. And make sure it is a day that you can stick to. I go to the gym every Monday, Wednesday and Friday or Saturday. And not very much gets in the way of doing it. Once your partner and your kids realise you are not willing to compromise on these sessions then they’ll stop nagging you to be elsewhere.
3. Arrange to exercise with a friend, but choose someone you know will push you. When you doing any kind of personal development and growth you will usually find it is because you are associating with people who push you to do more, be more. They can see your potential even if you can’t. Associating with people who sit in front of the television are not going to be the ones that will readily go for a walk with you.
4. Book some time with a personal trainer. You are paying for time and expertise, so it doesn’t come cheap. Pay for their services up front and unless you have more money than you know what to do with (in which case can you send some my way) you will keep the appointments. Every sports person has a trainer or a coach. They know that in order to improve their game, they need someone to push them to achieve more. It is so easy to slack off when you go to the gym, easy to walk a little slower than you should. But if you have someone at your back shouting at you. Guess what, you will do that extra push up, lift that extra weight, run just that little bit further.
5. Put your gym gear into the car and go there before you go home. If you go home first, I can almost guarantee that you will find all sorts of excuses not to get back in the car and go.
6. Pack your gym bag the night before, so that when you conveniently sleep late, you don’t have to rush to put the clothes etc together.
7. Put your gym bag next to all the other bags you take with you to work, so that you don’t conveniently forget to take it when you’re leaving the house.
8. Incorporate exercise into something else. For example, walk/cycle to work. Walk during your lunch break. Take the stairs instead of the lift. Did you know that exercise can also be classed as housework, gardening, painting and decorating? Add some upbeat music to your day and dance your way to better health and fitness.
8a. Exercise and depression. I have noticed that it is virtually impossible to be "depressed" after you've done exercise. The body releases a chemical called serotonin - the runner's high, the feel good factor - or whatever else you want to call it. Guess what depression has - yep, a lack of serotonin in the body. The problem is of course, those people who need the buzz of natural serotonin are the ones most likely to make excuses as to why they can't go to the gym today - because they really don't feel up to it.
Over the last 10 years or so I have suffered recurring bouts of depression. Nothing so bad I needed to go to the doctors, but I have tried the natural suipplements to no avail. Now I don't take them at all. I still suffer from depressive tendencies now and again, but rather than wallow in the why - I just accept that sometimes it happens and go and clean out a cupboard or two, go to the gym or go for a long walk. The physical aspect of moving can be enough to drag you through the black period. And believe me when I say they can sometimes be very black. However, with exercising on a very regular basis ie., 3-4 times a week at the gym I rarely (if ever) get down and depressed. Obviously the long-term effects of the release of the serotonin plays a huge part in this, which is just one of the reasons why I go.
9. Try something new – just to shock the mind and the muscles. There are numerous studies that tell us that the more you use your mind, ie., use your mind in a variety of different ways, the less likely you are to suffer from Alzheimer’s. Well the first time you try anything new you have to think differently. You don’t know the short cuts, you don’t know all the answers, your muscles will have to work differently with yoga to playing tennis to climbing an indoor rock wall. So vary the exercise that you do. Learn how to pole dance, learn how to do the rock and roll, learn how to climb a rope. Go to circus school or kayak down a river. Get a group of friend’s together, pack a picnic and head for the hills, or the beach. An hour of stomping up and down hills and sand is a fantastic way of exercising more than just the jaw when you get together with your friends.
10. Decide why you want a better body – and believe me when I say, if you do enough exercise you will get a much better body. It’s not a quick fix, but then again, if you are overweight and unfit it didn’t take a few minutes to get you to that stage did it? It takes months if not years of doing a little less every day than you should to get you to the stage you find yourself in, so don’t believe the hype of the dieting industry. The main thing you need to remember is that fat is an energy store. If you want to lose the fat, then you need to use it.
11. And after all that if you still can’t be bothered to get off your butt and do the exercise, then the first thing you need to do is change your stinking attitude. Because if you have your list of reasons why you should be exercising and you’re not. Then you need to consider that your reasons aren’t good enough. If having a sexier, healthier body doesn’t get you off the couch, then what will?
February 11, 2007 at 21:22
Reader Comments (3)
others love you .... others see how worthy you are... what is keeping you from seeing how important you are?.... why is it okay to turn your back on what your needs are?
if your loved ones lost you tomorrow -- would they wonder why you did this to yourself? what they did or didnt do to help? So , do you want that kind of guilt or anquish for them? No, of course you dont. You want whats best for them... so , why not whats best for you?........ Elle is right -- do the things mentioned and you cant fail. Start today - not tomorrow !! Youre out of excuses.... youre worth it !! your loved ones are worth it! Be the person they admire and respect - not the one they pity and miss.
Poor thing , she would still be here if she only cared as much for herself as she did for everyone else.... sad , huh?
Well -- only you can turn it around.... be the gal you want to be. Be the gal who everyone wants to be around because even YOU want to be around her !!! yeah !!! its time !!! GO < GO > GO!!!!!
It finally dawned on me my favorite room is my living room with lots of natural light, where there is a great big window with lots of activity to watch. I had so much fun walking on my treadmill, and the time flew, I walked a whole hour the first time i had it in my living room. I light candles, sprayed fragrant pine (it's Christmas time), played Christmas Carols, it was snowing, many senses were stimulated.
So point is, think about where you put your treadmill or exercise equipment, the location may make a difference for you.
I know designers would disagree with the idea of a treadmill in the living room, but mine is on wheels and I can move it back into the family room with no trouble.
I must admit that I load up my music, or if I am on tbe bike I will read a book. I've read many a novel that way, and to be honest it's the only "spare" time I get to do so.
Kind Regards. Elle