The "E" Word

Yesterday I wanted to make the point that we needed to focus first on losing weight by following the 5&1 plan, with exercise not taking center stage at this phase. I talked about that in part because I hear from people over and over again who think they can keep eating what they want and just ramp up the exercise, believing that that change alone will help them reach their goal. The reality is that it just isn't true.

However, it is possible to be thin and UNfit - and that is definitely NOT the goal for any of us! Exercise is vital for our cardiovascular health, our flexibility, muscles, bone density, keeps our metabolism burning at a higher rate, and the endorphins released during a good workout help us feel better emotionally. There are lots of other good reasons why exercise needs to be an integral part of our lives, but the ones I just listed are a good for starters :-).

Some people seem to move effortlessly into a good exercise routine and others struggle. I'm in the category of those who struggle, and it's one of those things that have to get put on my calendar and honored like any other appointment. I don't always feel like exercising and can find a dozen (make that TWO dozen) reasons why I "just can't fit it into my schedule today." What I realize is that just as I stayed on 5&1 whether I felt like it or not (and I often didn't feel like it), I need to exercise whether I feel like it or not.

It all goes back to deciding what is really important and then making the choices necessary to support what's important to me. Since I made the decision a long time ago that getting healthy and STAYING healthy was important to me, I then choose to make other decisions - monitoring what I eat, making sure I drink plenty of water, getting enough rest, and, yes, exercising - because all of those things are important components of staying healthy. There are days when I'd rather eat sludge, skip the water in favor of more coffee, stay up into the wee hours, and be a couch potato, but I can't do those things and stay healthy.

True confessions: there are times when I get to the end of my day and I HAVE eaten "stuff,"; there are days when my coffee intake rivals my water intake; there are nights when I'm up way too late because I'm connecting on line with somebody; and there are days when my physical activity is far less than it should be. However, those days are not the norm, and I continue to work towards making them rare.

Dr. Andersen said that while it might not make a difference what we do today, over time what we do today and tomorrow makes all the difference in the world. Creating healthy habits, including exercise, happens one day at a time.

Who's committed to an on-plan day today?