It’s Move It Move Monday, are you motivated to get your week started by exercising? I’ve heard multiple excuses from patients as to why they don’t exercise. They give reasons such as not having enough time, to the gym is too far, to some have told me they don’t like to sweat or some readily admit that they don’t like to exercise. In any event the reasons that you may come up with may be valid but some are just plain silly. The following are some tips to get you motivated.
Why you should exercise
If you are lacking in motivation, you should first ask yourself why you should exercise. We know that exercise has multiple benefits such as the following:
- It helps you to lose weight and maintain weight loss.
- It increases your energy.
- Improves your sleep.
- Helps you to manage disease or prevent illness such as Diabetes, High Blood Pressure and Depression
- Helps you manage stress.
- Helps build confidence.
Have you made your health a priority?
Ask yourself why you don’t make yourself a priority? We are all busy juggling many responsibilities. You may be a single mom with more than one job. Or you are a wife juggling a full time job, caring for your children and managing a household. Also, some of us are full time caregivers caring for a sick relative. Lastly, you are busy climbing the career ladder and time isn’t on your side. Despite your life circumstance at some point you have to realize that you matter, that your health matters and that you are worth it. You won’t be able to manage all your responsibilities if you fall sick to illness.
You feel hopeless
You are so out of shape or the amount of weight you have to lose seems overwhelming and as a result you just don’t know where to begin. Even before you try, you’ve already lost because mentally you’ve given up. Initially getting into shape won’t be easy, it will be difficult and you will have setbacks. The key is you have to start somewhere. You can start with a 10 minute walk per day and build up from there. You can’t expect to be great at the start but you have to be willing to try.
I think we all intuitively know that exercise is something we should all do. You need to develop the right mind-set to get motivated to exercise. Make sure you understand the benefits of exercise and make yourself a priority. Understand that exercise shouldn’t be about just losing weight but more about the health you gain.
In the next Move It Monday series we will discuss ways to stay motivated once you start exercising.
by Marjorie Binette, MD
