Hi friends!
Today, I'd thought we'd tackle the ever-looming topic of new year's resolutions, and with that, the most popular one by far: losing weight.
"This is the year I lose the weight!," I thought... in 2013, 2014, 2016, 2018 and 2020, and 2021, and... You get the picture. I did it to myself every year. In fact, I can't recall a year past the age of 12 where I didn't wish I was 'just a little thinner.' I attended my first WeightWatchers meeting in my teens (why????), and I know it was by my request and desire for a thinner, more socially acceptable body. Now, I look back at pictures from high school, and I think that I must have had intense body dysmorphia, because my body was proportional and healthy.
So, if you're wondering if I see you, understand you, or hear you, I truly do. I've lost and gained enough weight to the equivalent of at least 1 (maybe 2) whole adult human over the course of my life. Okay, so the ADHD part of me went ahead and calculated it, because I was curious: 174 pounds, lost and gained, from 2014-today. I get why you want to lose the weight, and I get why it's been so hard.
But two-ish years ago, I decided to change the goal. No longer was I going to force myself to make my goal solely losing weight, because spoiler alert: it. wasn't. working. I changed my outlook to pursuing health overall and consistency. And I want you to consider that as a possible goal for you too.
I'm almost 85 pounds smaller now (this process has taken two long years and has happened 4 years after getting an autoimmune diagnosis, being pregnant five separate times but only carrying to term 2 children, and leaving a workplace that was making me physically unhealthy). Weight loss was part of the goal, but the majority of my goal was figuring out how to manage my new illness, be present for my child, and be healthy well into the future.
Before my mindset transformation two years ago, I felt trapped on a dreadful merry-go-round at the carnival of restrictive eating habits, body dysmorphia, and punishing exercise routines. I've moved on from the yo-yo dieting culture.
You can get off this merry-go-round, too. Allow me to show you how.
So I thought we'd do a series of ways you could pursue overall health and consistency in the new year, without stressing about weight loss. How does that sound?
This post, let's focus on exercising consistently. That's it. Maybe you start with that habit development in 2025. If you start with one healthy habit and get it down, then you can add to it month by month and change your life, one step at a time.
I've become an exercise enthusiast and have completely transformed my perspective on working out. Previously, I viewed it solely as a means to 'get smaller' or lose weight, but now I recognize its broader benefits. Exercise helps me maintain my mental health, better manage my anxiety, improve my chances of living independently as I age, and lower my risk of diseases like Alzheimer's and cancer. It has shifted from something I dreaded to something I love, because I altered how, when, where, and why I exercised. I believe you can become an exercise lover too. Take a look at some tips below.
My 6 tips for making exercise fun and consistent are:
Consider skipping the gym membership. Seriously. If you're neurodivergent or busy or your work schedule is hectic or you require childcare, the gym is not realistic for you. I promise. I know you. You know you. And I know that you know that you won't drive to the gym every morning at 5:30am once it gets really dark and cold outside. And then you'll feel guilty for skipping. And then you'll let the guilt and shame keep you from going there. Then it'll become a ball of anxiety and nerves and feeling foolish everytime you don't go, and you'll never achieve your goals.
Plus gyms are overstimulating. (now, if you LOVE the gym, totally fine to keep going there, but most of us just think we need a gym membership and we really. truly. don't.) I workout daily with GrowwithJo on her app, and I LOVE it! It's fun, fresh, and accessible. I can literally roll out of bed and click a button and start working out. And thus, brings me to my second tip...
Find what type of movement feels least like work for you. So, if you find that you love weightlifting, try a few different weightlifting youtubers and see what you like. If you used to love to dance, find a dance youtuber you love (I like Emkfit)! Go for a walk outside if you love the scenery. You don't have to do a bootcamp where you get yelled at, if you don't want to. Gone are the days of the early 2000s where we all punished ourselves with movement we didn't love. Now, movement needs to be accessible, fun and freeing. It needs to be something you can stick to, for the long haul. And you need to investigate and try new options from time to time to keep your routine and feelings towards it fresh. Of course, I'm also a huge proponent of GrowwithJo, and her app Growwithjo home. She's amazing! (And her attitude towards exercise is so healthy and not 'too much.'). You can try her workouts out for free on Youtube as well!
Try the five minute timer trick. I tell myself on hard mornings: "I'm going to just workout for five minutes and if the timer goes off and I want to quit, I will." And guess what? I never have, because by five minutes in, the feel-good endorphins are flowing and I feel like finishing the workout.
Pick a 'walkout' song to pump you up for the exercise of the day. Yup, just like they have in baseball. I chose 'We Ready' by Archie Eversole and play it on days when I just don't want to. In fact, create a whole playlist of walkout songs!
Remind yourself of what future you deserves or will gain by working out. Future you deserves a body that is healthy and moves freely and easily well into your old age. Future you deserves for you to keep the promises you make to yourself. Future you needs to know that they can depend on present you to make the daily decisions to help you live well, both now and later. Sometimes, I imagine myself in my old age, being able to garden and live independently and travel and then I push myself harder in my workout today. I want that future, and I know you do too. No one pictures themselves being bed-bound in a nursing home for their future. So, do the work now so you can reap the benefits later.
Figure out what motivates you: is it competition? Progress photos? Moving up in dumbbell weights? Stats on your Apple or Garmin Watch improving? And then, write down your moments when you notice how working out is bettering your life. Choose to only write down the moments where your body is being bettered overall, not just getting smaller. Because sometimes, we don't get smaller, we just get better, healthier, or stronger.
There you have it, try these tips in the new year and see if you can't move the needle and make yourself a lover of exercise. Over the past year, I have become the person who gets up at 5:30am and works out every single day. And I can confidently say that I do love it. That it has been the best thing ever. And I'm really glad I started pursuing health & consistency over a smaller body.
Keep up the good work, friends. I see you trying to better yourself every single day, and I am proud of you.
Take exquisite care of yourselves,
Megan
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