Are you someone who knows you want to lose weight and get healthier, but you just don’t like exercising?
Every time you do it you feel uncoordinated and never know if you are doing it quite right. And no amount of gym bunny fitspo on instagram is going to convince you otherwise.
This is what I heard from one new member who came on to join my 28 Day Better Body Weight Loss plan.
Look, I know that not everyone loves to workout as much as I do, or at all for that matter.
But feeling fitter, healthier and effectively losing unwanted body fat doesn’t have to mean residing yourself to hours in the gym doing workouts that you hate.
Some of the healthiest people in the world don’t workout!!
A study that looked at the longest-living humans found that:
“The world’s longest-lived people don’t pump iron, run marathons or join gyms. Instead, they live in environments that constantly nudge them into moving without thinking about it. They grow gardens and don’t have mechanical conveniences for house and yard work”
Essentially, to improve your health, create a more active lifestyle.
This would mean walking daily, to the shops, to drop the kids off at school, ride a bike, do gardening, do manual work, do the housework or a call for you to get your DIY on.
Or you could find a hobby that is an activity.
That could be roller skating, ice skating, dancing, team games, martial arts, paddle boarding, volunteer, tennis, golf, climbing, horse riding, orienteering or geocaching etc..
The list is not exhaustive, but just to spark some inspiration.
Anything that you feel like you could enjoy doing.
I’s something that will get you up and moving without having to think about it as being exercise becuase it’s also fun for you.
Why Exercise
Truth is that most people don’t have active lifestyles, we live in a world where sitting at a desk staring at a computer screen for 8 hours a day is the norm.
Many people don’t get over 5,000 steps per day. Even when you do get home from work, your brain is so frazzled that you really don’t feel like moving at all.
This is essentially why gyms and fitness classes became so popular. It’s a more time-effective way to get some movement to your body when you don’t live an active lifestyle or a manual job.
So if you are already rolling your eyeballs and saying Emma, as lovely as it would be to have a hobby, I don’t have the time to fit in.
It may be that instead, you get to shift your mindset about movement and exercise.
Change The Narrative
What you tell yourself is very often what you experience, your self-talk is important.
I always remember when I first started running. I only started because I had signed up for a 10k race in order to challenge myself.
I would go out for a run and with every step I would say I hate this, I hate this, I hate this! It was truly miserable and I did indeed hate it!
Right up until I didn’t.
I told myself that I would stick with it for at least 30 days. And guess what. I came to really enjoy running. I changed the way I talked to myself about it.
I would say with every step, yes this is hard but it’s also making me fitter and I can do hard things!
Then as I changed the way I talked about it, I noticed that I would love being out in nature, that it was time out, alone time, space to just be with my thoughts.
I would have some of my best ideas and feel inspired after a run. I would focus on how proud of myself I would feel when it was done.
So if you could aim to commit to it for 30 days of adding in more movement or exercise into your life and see how you feel about it at the end?
To focus on the outcome, how you feel at the end rather than just telling yourself you don’t like it.
If you want to lose weight then yes you can totally do it without exercising and just walking, many people underestimate the health benefits of going for a walk.
>>> The Bizare Origines Of The 10k Steps A Day Goal <<<<
Adding in training and particularly strength training will make the process easier than relying on diet alone, it helps with providing tone and definition as well as the many health benefits of helping you to live longer and with a good quality of life in older age.
It will allow you to be better able to keep up with your busy life.
I know I literally cannot live without working out. One my back just hurts and two I’m a real cranky bitch if I haven’t moved my body and done something for myself.
I now just identify as someone who works out.
I don’t always enjoy every workout, but I always enjoy how it makes me feel when it’s done.
Your body is designed to, and wants to move.
Being able to feel fitter, healthier and lose weight is about you discovering the right balance of movement that works for you and your busy life.
And that is probably going to look a little different for everyone.
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