5 Ways to Stick with an Exercise Routine

(Watch this fun 3min video…Then read the post below)

So, it’s the middle of January…are you already flagging on your commitment to a new exercise routine?

If you are, here are 5 Ways to Stick With It:

1. Roll out of bed and “Press Play” - Don’t ask, “Do I feel like doing this today?”  Just like brushing your teeth - you don’t do it because you feel like it, you do it because it has to be done.
2. Commit to doing a half-assed job - Give yourself permission to not push to your limits, to do only 10 reps out of 20, to stop half-way through the workout.
3. Take a mental vacation - Let your body do the work while your mind goes somewhere else.  This flies in the face of “being present.”  I know.  But, personally, if I were “present” and tuned into my body while I exercise, I’d hear it screaming, “Stop.  I don’t wanna do this.  Let’s go back to bed.”  So, it’s best that I mute the volume on my body and concentrate instead on something fun, like a conversation I recently had with a friend, or a blog post I want to write.
4. Relax everything except the target muscle - While working your calves, concentrate on relaxing your face, neck, and shoulder muscles.  Relax the thigh.  Don’t burn more energy than necessary.
5. Modify the routine - If there is a movement in your routine that you don’t like - either because it’s too intense or not intense enough - substitute another movement in its place.

Brian Tracy quotes an old saying in his book Eat That Frog, “If the first thing you do each morning is to eat a live frog, you’ll have the satisfaction of knowing that it’s probably the worst thing you’ll do all day.”

In other words, do the hardest thing you’ll have to do first thing in the morning…the rest of the day will be a breeze.

So get up, press play, and keep moving toward the physical outcomes you want.

Gambatte! (Japanese for “Press On”)

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What helps you to keep moving forward toward a long-range goal?

Comment below.

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“Success” Isn’t Worth Your Health

A man too busy to take care of his health is like a mechanic too busy to take care of his tools.
(Spanish Proverb)

If you say things like…

“I don’t have time to make healthy meals…I’ll just grab a bag of chips.”
“I’ve got too much on my to-do list.  I can’t remember to drink water.”
“When I try to meditate, I can’t get my to-do list out of my head.”
“My morning is too hectic to squeeze in an exercise routine.”

…you don’t see Self-Care as a priority.

When we were babies, we focused a lot of energy on getting our personal needs met.  What was personal, was a priority.  We cried when we felt uncomfortable.  And people came to feed, change, hold, and play with us.

Somewhere, perhaps in high school, we learned that Public Priorities were more important than Personal Priorities.  Do the homework, get the grades, do well in extracurricular activities, impress the boss, serve the community, wow the committee - That’s what’s important.

Who cares if your personal needs are met?  Nobody’s going to reward you for drinking 80 oz. of water, or meditating 5 minutes a day, or taking 20 minutes to exercise or make a salad - So, they seem less important.  Right?

“Babies don’t have To-Do lists,” you add.  “If I didn’t have a To-Do list, I’d have time to tend to my personal needs.”

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It can seem as though Personal and Public priorities are at odds - that the time it takes to make a healthy meal takes away from the time you have available to answer emails, help kids with homework, and update your blog.

In reality, though…

Self-Care SUPPORTS your Public Priorities

Don’t see self-care as something that will distract from everything else you do.  See self-care as something that makes you better able to do everything else you do.

How well do you juggle all the responsibilities you have when you’ve run yourself ragged?  How much better can you satisfy everyone else’s needs when your own needs are fully met?

Sipping water throughout the day, 10 minutes of exercise just 3 times a week, focusing all your attention on your breathing for just 5 breaths a day, replacing one candy bar or can of soda with an apple each day…These will help you take care of your “tools.”

As you take care of your number one tool - YOU - you will increase your ability to do everything else that is important to you.

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3 Quick Self-Care Tips that Won’t Overwhelm Your Schedule:

1. Link self-care to another activity - Floss while reading emails.  Do 5 slow-motion toe-touches whenever you’re zapping food in the microwave.  Take a sip of water at every traffic light.
2. Get up 5 minutes earlier - DON’T use the extra time to get a jump on your routine.  Sit straight up in your bed, and just focus on your breathing.  Pretend you’re holding a microphone to your nostrils, and your mission is to hear every breath.  A 5-breath or 5-minute breathing meditation helps you center in your BEING - you are here, you are alive - rather than spending every waking hour DOING.  You are not what you do, you simply ARE.
3. Toss an apple in your bag - Apples are high in nutrients and fiber.  They are also great appetite suppressants.  If you feel less hungry, you’re less likely to grab that cookie that you know you don’t need.

SEE THIS 3min VIDEO for more Easy, Convenient Self-Care Tips:

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Listening to Your Body

In 2008, I challenged myself to start a business and write a book. I was so determined to reach my goals (especially July-December), that I completely ignored two other huge priorities - my kids and my health.

I figured I’d get my 2 homeschooling kids caught up on their school work the following year.  They learn fast.  No big deal.

I also figured that, due to all my hard work, I deserved to reward myself with my favorite comfort food:  Potatoes.

I LOVE POTATOES anyway they come:  chipped, french fried, baked, mashed.  …BUT THEY DO NOT LOVE ME.

So, when I began eating them in 2008 - for the first time in YEARS - I should have known I was headed for trouble.

Thanks to potatoes (and other starches, and sitting on my butt all day writing a book)…

I went from THIS:	To THIS:
Venus, 2007:  93lbs (5 ft tall)	Venus, December 2008:  110lbs (still 5 ft tall)

Confessions of a Skinny Fat Girl
In my 20s, I could eat french fries to my heart’s content and never have love handles.

But in 2008, I turned 40…and my body was no longer as forgiving.

Fully clothed, it was easy to pretend that my body wasn’t changing.  I even had some deep denial moments when I wondered, “Why did Victoria’s Secret start making their extra-small panties so much smaller?  Why have my clothes all begun to shrink?”

But one day I caught sight of myself bending over in the dressing room at my favorite consignment shop, and I nearly hurled.

Was that me?

Two Roads Diverged in a Yellow Wood…
I felt sad.  I felt embarrassed.  I thought:  Is this what it means to be 40?  Am I stuck with this new body?

I figured I had two options:

1. Continue eating what I liked, and sitting on my butt the way I liked, and accept this new flabby body; or
2. Stop eating potatoes, return to healthy eating, exercise and discipline my way back to the body I enjoyed.

I was angry and resentful about having to make this choice.  Some people can eat whatever they want and stay skinny.

WHY CAN’T I?  It’s not fair. I could hear myself whining in my head like a 4-year-old.  I gave my inner 4-year-old about a month to kick and scream about how unfair life was.

Then the woman in me took charge.  I knew what I had to do.  No…  I knew what I WANTED to do.

I decided that I wanted my petite body back. 
I wanted to stop suffering sinus and urinary tract infections (which only happen when I eat junk). 
I wanted to stop having phlegm in my throat.
I wanted that high energy level I used to have when I ate salads and drank carrot juice.

I wanted all this MORE than I wanted french fries.

By September 2009, here’s how much of my body I was able to recover:

Venus, Sep 2009: 96lbs

Notice how much taller I look?  And how the love handles are practically gone?

Since September, I’ve been working on the cellulite that’s still visible in my thighs (more on that later)…
but, I am definitely pleased with the choice I made.

Beware Denial
It’s so easy for us to tell ourselves, “I’m getting fatter because I’m getting older.”  Or, “Obesity runs in my family.”

It’s easy to dodge responsibility by believing that fat and illness just happen to us.

The truth is, our bodies send us signals.  We ignore them - either by choice, or by lack of knowledge.

Our bodies are always trying to communicate with us.  Too often, though, there’s so much noise that we can’t hear or understand what our bodies are saying.

In future articles, I’ll talk more about how to read the body’s signals.  For now, let’s just state clearly:

Fat and illness don’t “just happen.”  They are a result of our choices.

LET’S ALSO BE CLEAR ABOUT THIS:  It is perfectly acceptable to decide, “I want to eat the food I like, and I hate exercising.  I don’t care what I look or feel like.”

I nearly made that choice.  …I gave myself full permission to make that choice.

Part of my brain said things like, “Life is short.  Food is fun.  Do I really want to live the rest of my life without french fries?”  And,  “I’m a writer, not a runner.  I have no time to exercise.”

But I fully accepted that the body I would have as a result was MY CHOICE.  Not a result of age or genetics.  I bore full responsibility for the choice I made.

I don’t judge anyone who makes that choice.  Food tastes good.  Walking away from the flavors you like can be challenging.  It can feel like you’re never going to have fun again.

But, to paraphrase John Robbins in his new book The Food Revolution:  Is being sick and fat really fun?

Listening to My Body
I stopped cursing my body for its refusal to hide my french fry addiction…and started celebrating it instead.

Now, instead of being angry that I can’t eat what I want without consequences, I am grateful that my body shows me the error of my ways before I do more serious damage.

I could be “lucky” enough to have a body that stayed skinny and gave me no signals…but then required a heart bypass to clear my arteries of french fry fat.

I love my body.  I am glad that it sends me signals that prompt me to take better care of myself.

I also love my vanity.  Even though I am spiritually evolved enough to know that “I am not my body,” I still care what my body looks like.

I’m ashamed to say I probably care more about what my body looks like than what it feels like.  (Otherwise, the infections and low energy would have motivated me to go back to healthy food…but no, it was the sight of my gut that did it.)

What is your body telling you?
Is your weight telling you that you’re eating empty calories?  Is your energy level telling you that your body’s starved of nutrients?  Are your illnesses telling you that you need to drink more water?  Is your skin telling you that you’re allergic to a food you’re eating?

Tune in to the next post where I’ll describe one of the best ways I’ve found to tone down the “noise” in your body so you can hear what it’s trying to tell you.

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My Body: Love it or Lean it?

OMG…I just looked at a picture I took in January.  It was a bikini-clad “Before” picture…as in “before” I started exercising again (and after I spent the fall eating baked potatoes and french fries - yikes).

One day soon I’ll be brave enough to post it on this site (stay tuned).

I’m always torn about how to approach body image issues.  The feminist in me firmly believes that beauty comes in all shapes and sizes.  While my inner supermodel wants to starve away all the cellulite.

Where do we draw the line between loving & accepting our bodies, and striving to meet our own standards of beauty?

Here’s what I’ve concluded for myself:  I know what I look like when I’m healthy, and I know what I look like when I’m unhealthy.  My appearance is a sign of my inner health.  So when I focus on health instead of beauty, I get BOTH.

True, the ripples in my thighs prompted me to think, “I’m not going to the beach looking like that.”  I’m still human, with all the ego and vanity that comes with it.

But when I look at my body as a problem to be solved, it doesn’t feel loving.  I end up eating better, but feeling deprived.  I may even exercise, but it feels like punishment.

Instead, I choose to love and accept my body.  I don’t argue with myself or put myself down for how my body looks.  I am not my body.  And besides, being past 40, this body will not look 20 no matter how hard I try.  It will fade away altogether, eventually.

From a place of love and acceptance, I can then ask myself, “So, what do you want to do about it?”  Everything I do or don’t do after that, is a CHOICE.  Not a punishment.  Not deprivation.  I’m loving my body into what I’d like it to be.

Beyond that, I listen to what my body’s telling me about my level of inner health.

When I drink fresh juices, do just a little yoga and weight training, and include a salad a day into my lifestyle - I look gorgeous!  My skin is clear, my face is slim, and my thighs have fewer ripples.  I LOOK like health, when I’m healthy.

When I eat mostly starches and fried foods, my body falls apart on the outside to let me know it’s falling apart on the inside.  I know it’s true because this is also the food that creates phlegm in my throat, lethargy, and sinus infections.

I love the real me so much - my spirit - that I want a body that can keep up.  I want a body that is light and toned, not to look good on the beach (though I like that perk), but so that I have energy and longevity to do all that I came here to do.

If you want to join me as we love our bodies from the inside out, here are a few tips:

1. Start with love. Look at your body in the mirror or in a picture.  Celebrate your natural gifts.  Be mindful that your body is a vehicle, a tool.  YOU ARE NOT YOUR BODY.  It simply carries you around from place to place.  It supports you in doing what you came here to do.  What did you come here to do?  How is your body helping or hindering you?
2. Tune in and listen. What is your outer body telling you about your inner body?  Is your skin blotchy because it’s trying to rid your body of toxins?  Is it dry because you’re dehydrated?  Is it saggy because you’re not exercising enough?  You may not understand the messages your body’s sending right away.  But once you decide to tune in, over time, you’ll become clear on how to interpret its signs.
3. Proceed with love. As you come to understand what your body wants and needs in order to support you in being all you came here to be, lovingly begin to give it what it wants.  Drink a little more water each day.  Touch your toes or do some sun salutations for just 10 minutes a day.  Replace one soda with a bottle of water, or one bag of chips with a piece of fruit.  Do these things as a way to celebrate your body and improve your health on the inside - not as a way to punish yourself, or live up to an external standard of beauty.

Let your love of your REAL self, shine through in your love of your PHYSICAL self.  Take care of the body that you’d like to carry you around for another 40 to 80 years (I, personally, expect to live to age 120).

Outer appearance is merely a reflection of inner health.  Focusing on health, instead of “beauty” will ultimately grant you both.

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