By Shannon Hayes Buescher
Exercise, activity, movement. If you have been a dieter, the only one of these three words that really “counts” is exercise.
Activity is something your children do, and movement doesn’t count unless you are profusely sweating, which allows you to call it exercise.
When exercise has been about changing your body, the only thing that counts is whatever burns the most calories and will give you the results that you are seeking. But have you ever considered at what cost this is to you? Our society has made pushing yourself to physical limits the norm for exercise. It has made dripping with sweat and feeling physically exhausted at the end of a workout the markers of one that “counts.”
What I am asking you, is to look at what you do for exercise and ask yourself, “Am I doing this activity to feel good in my body? Or because I am punishing my body for its size, for what I ate yesterday, or to give myself permission to eat?” Shifting your mindset of exercise to one of enjoyment can change the “why?” It’s the intention of being mindful with movement; really realizing how you feel physically and mentally when you are moving your body.
There are many health benefits to exercise. But when you are only focused on changing your body, you lose sight of what those benefits to your body are. Exercise helps to lower your risk of heart disease, diabetes and osteoporosis. It helps with stress, anxiety, sleep, and your mood. When you are moving your body to take care of it instead of to punish or change it, you are coming from a kinder place; one that is respecting your body to honor it and focus on its overall health. You allow yourself to listen to how you want to move, rather than keeping yourself in a box that is how you “must” move.
When you actually like what you are doing, you have a much higher likelihood of staying with it. Sometimes this means you are thinking outside the box of a gym. Look at other things that you can do. Play tennis, jump rope or jump on a trampoline, go for a walk or run, take a yoga class or dance to great music. There are so many things that can be fun that you can look forward to, rather than dread.
Your body has so much wisdom inside of it. It’s just being willing to not run away from it or drown it out with “just 10 more minutes,” or push yourself to that place of exhaustion. You can’t hear it there. You hear the wisdom when you are kind, when you are connected and willing to find peace with your body, instead of war. So move in a way that inspires you and allows you to feel grateful for all that your body can do – that alone is worth a dance party!
Buescher is a registered and licensed dietitian. She has over 15 years of experience with nutritional counseling in sports nutrition, eating disorders and a non-diet approach to food. Visit hayes-nutrition.com.
