How to Exercise Joyfully and Consistently

We’ve all heard the phrase ‘you can’t out train a bad diet’ which, even among the fitness enthusiasts, most people agree with. The other popular phrase ‘weight loss happens in the kitchen’ (as opposed to) the gym, implies that we can’t rely on exercise alone as a weight loss tool. What and how much we put in our mouth is probably more important.

So how do we commit to regular exercise when it may not even help with achieving our happy weight? It starts with knowing what exercise does for us. One benefit is that it helps to manage our stress levels, which means we do less stress eating. This is a good reason to burn off tension, so we don’t try to eat (or drink) the stress away.

Also, we need to look at what we define as exercise. Like the French, I am big on incidental exercise. This type of exercise involves no changing into lycra. For some of us, ‘shopping’ really is our cardio – and that’s okay, if it works for us. It’s the walking to the shops or around the mall. It’s the housework. It’s the walking the dog. If we make it fun, and integrate it into our daily lives, then we exercise without even realizing it. Carrying bags of groceries is an opportunity to tone our arm muscles. Or we can lift dumbbells, we get to choose.

It’s easier to move more when we don’t force it or feel obligated to, or even worse, feel guilty for not working out. When we focus on health, self-care and feeling good, we naturally want to move our bodies. It’s true, energy begets energy. If we redefine what exercise means to us, essentially we are exercising when we vacuum or mop the house or walk up and down the stairs.

The key is to acknowledge how much better we feel by moving our body every day. Let’s face it, aesthetically, a toned thigh looks better than a flabby thigh, so building muscle is a good thing!
Exercising regularly has shown to be wonderful for mental health. Studies have shown that a half hour walk outside every day can be as effective as an anti-depressant. If we change our perspective on exercise, from looking at it as a burden and obligation to something that we ‘get to do’, it really shifts the needle.

There are enormous physical benefits to exercising daily. Firstly, muscle is more metabolically active than fat, so we want to develop and maintain muscle in order to enjoy an efficient metabolism. As we age too, we want to avoid muscle atrophy, and osteoporosis (loss of bone density) so doing some weight bearing exercise is hugely beneficial.

Some high impact exercises include;

• Dancing
• Aerobics
• Jogging
• Jumping rope
• Stair climbing
• Tennis

 
Some low impact, weight bearing exercises include;

• Using elliptical training machines
• Fast walking on a treadmill, outside or at a mall
• Yoga/pilates
• Spinning/stationary bike
• Cycling outside
• Swimming

 
Working out, in whatever capacity we can, is a valuable partner in maintaining a healthy mind and body. The key to consistency doing it, is to make it fun. Whatever takes your fancy? Follow your highest excitement. Change things up to avoid being stuck in a rut. Exercising can be dancing around at home like nobody’s watching (my favorite).

It’s true that exhaustive training can increase our appetite. An intense spin class, for example, definitely makes me hungrier, and I know I will be ravenous and eat more at the following meal. However, a spinning class, for me, is also very uplifting and such a fun class, a bit like a disco on wheels. If the teacher and music are good, we can feed off the energy of the class and feel inspired to keep up with the tribe.

When we come away feeling exhilarated, we don’t care if we are hungrier than usual. They key is to have a plan with what we eat after class.  The idea is not to dive on a jumbo bag of potato chips and negate our workout. We may want to have a protein bar or some almonds and a drink ready to consume post class. A brisk walk, every day, on the other hand, makes no difference to my hunger levels.

With awareness, we can anticipate how we are going to feel after exercising. We can have plans for what we are going to eat or drink when the hunger strikes. If we feel in charge of our eating routine and engage in exercise that feels good to us, then exercising really is a key component of a healthy lifestyle.

Therefore, the key is to make exercising fun. When we have fun moving our bodies, we naturally have a better attitude to life. Our mindset is more positive.
It is beneficial to pick a time to exercise – and stick to it. Personally, I’m a morning person and love to exercise after my first coffee and before breakfast. We get rewarded with improved mental health, body awareness, make better food choices and are better able to maintain a healthy weight over the long term.

​Exercising is also about self-care and the message we are sending to ourselves by carving out the time to move our bodies in a way that feels good. If we feel like we don’t have time to exercise? Just think about former, and extremely busy, President Barack Obama. He scheduled in time to go for a run. It’s all about priorities!
We can also join forces with friends, neighbors or family members. This helps keep us turning up and accountable.
When the last thing we want to do is exercise, be flexible. We can go easy on ourselves. No-one is holding us at knife point. Some days we may need a rest day, and that’s okay. What always gets us over the hump, is finding joy in the activity itself, and loving ourselves compassionately, rather than beating ourselves up.