Do you have a normal relationship with exercise? | Healthy Lifestyle ...

In the fall of 2010, I started my first semester of college at Baylor University. At this point in time, not realizing I had a problem, I was completely obsessed with food and exercise, and had been since I was 16. Dieting was normal for me. When I exercised, losing weight was constantly on my mind. It was my one and only reason to exercise! And I was not alone. Most girls I met while spending multiple hours a week at the rec center were just exercising because they wanted to lose weight also, no matter their size. A study at University of Virginia showed that 51% of students exercise to lose weight.

Look just about anywhere ? on the internet, in magazines ?? and I guarantee you will find that most sources giving information about exercise mentions losing weight as one of the most important benefits. But according to the CDC (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention), regular physical activity most importantly helps to improve one?s overall health and fitness and reduces your risk for chronic diseases. So why have our reasons and what we see as the most important benefits of exercise become so twisted?

Here is the problem: Most people come out of the gate on January 1st after a long year of failed diets and exercise regimens. They are excited about implementing a new exercise regimen into their lifestyle in the hopes that they will shed the weight gained from the prior year. However, these plans usually call for 5-7 days a week of long, vigorous exercise. For most people, this is not something that is maintainable, much less realistic.

Here are some key points you should remember if and when you do decide you want to implement exercise into your lifestyle.

• Exercise should always be done in the name of health.
  • Something I did in order to help to normalize my relationship with exercise was writing down all the benefits of exercise for your body, leaving out anything that had to do with weight loss or change in body shape/composition. I grabbed my journal, made a list, and took it with me when I went to exercise at my local gym. Anytime I found myself thinking about weight loss or changing my body shape, I pulled out my list and read through it. This helped to change my thinking behaviors and attitudes toward exercise.

• Exercising moderately just 30 minutes a day, 3 days a week is a good goal that will help you reap exercise benefits.
  • This is a goal that is conservative enough to meet, and will help you to feel encouraged.
  • Exercising less than 3 days a week or more than 3 days a week is not technically worse or better. Any exercise that you are doing now that is more than what you were doing before provides you with health benefits. Research has even shown that doing just 1 day of exercise per week provides you with health benefits. Therefore, if you do not meet this goal or want to do more than 3 days a week of exercise, do not stress and go on and go for it.
  • Your 30 minutes does not have to be completed at one time. You can easily implement exercise throughout your day. Here are some ways to do this:
    • Divide your exercise into 10 minute intervals, three times a day.
    • If you are a student, set a timer on your phone to go off every 30 minutes to an hour during study periods. In these breaks, take ten minutes or so to stretch, do some jumping jacks, clean/organize your dorm room or another room in your apartment/house, walk around, etc.
    • At work, get up every hour or so from your desk to walk around your office building.
    • Park farther away from the entry at the grocery store or mall.
  • It is good to mix up your workouts, doing mostly cardio (walking, jogging, dancing, etc) with some weight training.

• Exercise in an environment that is comfortable.
  • If you do not belong to a gym or do not feel comfortable in a gym, do not exercise at a gym. There are many different places you can exercise ? your home, your neighborhood, your local school ? find a place where you feel comfortable, self-confident, and safe.
  • Wear clothes that make you feel comfortable and confident. Sometimes, I will wear bright colors to workout in because bright colors just put me in a happy mood. If I am walking, I make sure to wear shorts that do not ride up or if I cannot find any, I will simply wear pants. When you are wearing something that is comfortable, you are less likely to become body-conscious and distracted. Also, remember ? if you workout at a gym, you are not there to impress anyone. You are there to exercise ? some say that wearing cuter exercise clothes will make you feel more confident. While this may be true for some, I go back to my last point ? cute clothes are often uncomfortable. Do not feel obligated to dress a certain way when you are going to the gym. No one is judging you based upon what clothes you chose to sweat in that day.

• If you start to skip workouts because you dread it, you should probably take a closer look at your current routine.
  • Are you not having fun? Are they too frequent?
  • If you are exercising too much or for too long of a time, your routine will not last too long. Your workouts should not become just another thing on your to-do list. You do not want to play the guilt game if you miss a workout one day. These types of behaviors lead to developing a bad relationship with exercise, which in turn results in a very good relationship with your couch.

Health and?physical fitness can and should be a perfect fit into your life. If you can have realistic expectations about it, being active can provide a range of benefits: improved mood, increased energy, potentially?longevity, etc. But if you push yourself too hard, it will simply become another reason to hate exercise.

How would you describe your relationship with exercise? Let us know in the comment section below.

-Marisa

• Sources:
  • Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Physical Activity for Everyone: How much physical activity to adults need? http://www.cdc.gov/physicalactivity/everyone/guidelines/adults.html/
  • University of Virginia, Body Positive @ UVa, EDEI,?http://womenscenter.virginia.edu/body-positive.php

Source: http://nutritionist.healthylifestylebalance.com/health/normal-relationship-exercise/

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