Jumping up and down on the beach looks fun. Good idea!
I recently read this article on the 99U, reinforcing that most people don't stick to healthy eating habits or an exercise routine if the only thing they are focused on the long term benefits of those things.
If you want to stick to your exercise and healthy-eating habits, one of the best things that you can do is focus on the immediate positive experiences while you do them. Notice how great it feels to take that fantastic yoga class with the teacher that you love, or how sumptuous it is to eat a healthy brownie or homemade granola.
In fact, the reason that most people eat junk food, and why obesity is such an issue in this country, is really due to the fact that we like the immediate pleasure of consumption. The more you focus on the immediate pleasure of making healthy choices instead, the more you're likely to stick to them. This shift in focus will both help you be present in the world and will also help you feel the short term benefits of making healthy choices. It can also lessen the overwhelming, unattainable, feeling that we often have when we think of long term goals for ourselves, and generally just makes us happier. (And who doesn't want that?)
Here are some of my own ideas for enjoyable healthy activities to enjoy this summer.
Taking a long bike ride at sunset.
Biting into the summer's ripest fruit
Sweating during a nice workout at the gym
Resting your mind and body during a yoga class
Hiking to the top of a mountain
Enjoying an active and fun sex life
Eating a delicious homemade treat
Picking berries with a friend
Now, you. Name one pleasurable, healthy activity that you are going to do this week and happily enjoy!
Following up on last week's post, Stop Being Mean to Yourself, I wanted to share a few concrete ideas on how you can get out of your head about your body image. The more you can integrate your mind and your body, the better you will feel. In the spirit of being healthy physically AND mentally in this image-obsessed culture, here are a few ways that you can feel good about your bod.
1) Stop using the mirror
Go a month without using a mirror, and notice how it makes you feel. (If you're paranoid, Ask a housemate or a co worker that you trust to be on duty to tell you if you've got green stuff in your teeth.) There's a great article about this here at whole living magazine.
2) Stop counting calories and weighing yourself
Instead focus on exercise, eating healthy, and taking good care of yourself. Pay particular attention to how good those things make you feel.
3) Wear clothes that make you feel good
They need not be expensive. (I get most of mine at thrift stores and at clothing swaps.) Ladies, I'd like to recommend this fantastic blog, Already Pretty, which focuses on dressing for your body type and feeling good in your own skin.
4) Have more sex
Enjoying your sexuality is a GREAT way to feel good in your body. I recommend listening to theSavage Love Podcast for tips on how to enjoy your sexuality. Get playful with your partner or get a new toy for yourself. You'll feel better, really.
5) Go outside
If you live in a city, go to the park. If you live in the country, go for a walk in the woods. Being a part of the world will help you get out of your head.
6) Cancel your magazine subscriptions
Celebrity Magazines, fashion magazines, fitness magazines, and even yoga magazines are usually photoshopped to make the models look skinnier. Even if you enjoy the articles, the images can worm themselves into your mind, making you think that you need to look like that. I recommend finding bloggers you like instead. I love this post at fit and feminist, where the author recommends that we stop paying attention to celebrity culture because it only encourages us to objectify our own bodies.
7) Spend time with the people you love
People who feel connected to their community lead happier, longer lives. If you're feeling crappy about yourself, call someone who you really like and make a date with them.
Have you had success in reducing your judgement of your own body? I'd love to hear about it! Please share either here or by email.
You may have seen this video floating around the interwebs over the past several months. It's well-presented, throughly researched, and interesting to watch, but if you don't have 9 minutes and 19 seconds to watch it, skip it and I'll get to the point below.
Can you limit your sitting and sleeping to just 23 1/2 hours each day?
We're not talking hard-core workouts here, we're just talking about moving your body 30 minutes a day. There are ridiculous health benefits to simply walking 30 minutes each day. In the spirit of keeping yourself out of the hospital and being able to fully enjoy the time you have on this planet, you owe it to yourself to get moving.
Try a couple of these suggestions.
1) Increase the walking time in your commute
Most of us do not have the option to walk to work, but if you do, try it. If you drive to work, try parking further away from your workplace. If you take the subway or the bus, get off a few stops early so that you can walk the rest of the way.
2) Take the stairs
Skip the elevator or the escalator and take the stairs instead.
3) Get a walking buddy
Make a daily date with a friend to take a 20-30 minute walk together. It's a great way get your exercise in while you catch up on the gossip (or, for some of you, on the most recent info about the Diablo 3 release.)
4) Get a dog.
Dog owners are much more likely to get 30 minutes of walking in each day. If you have a dog and someone else walks it, try to find time to shoulder some of the responsibility.
5) Turn your social dates into walking dates
If you're already a pretty social person, and you spend a good amount of time meeting friends for coffee or other social events, turn those dates into a time to walk. Be up front and ask your friends if they would mind walking with you for 20 minutes before you meet for coffee.
6) Spend time around your friends who get more physical activity
Lifestyle choices are infectious, so if you want to get more exercise, spend time around your friends who are active. Tell them that you want to be active, too, and ask them to include you in their plans.
7) Join a gym and create a plan to go that works for your schedule.
Just because some sweaty guy is grunting in the corner doesn't mean that you have to. Again, what we're going for here is 30 minutes of any activity, and walking counts. So making a plan to walk on the treadmill for 20 minutes is still better than not walking at all. The key here is making sure that it is convenient, that it will fit into your schedule, and that you will go. Know thyself and thy habits.
8) Go back to an exercise you used to enjoy
As Joseph Campbell said, "Follow your bliss." If there's a physical activity that you know you like to do, GO DO IT. You can do it now, and you can find a way to do it that is non-threatening and easy. If you used to like it, you probably still do. Did you used to enjoy taking dance classes? Tai-Chi? Riding your bike? Soccer? Playing Frisbee? Fencing? Running? Try going back to it. Being happy in your choices is not a small thing. (Some would say that it is everything!)
9) Make a playlist that you love
Get geeky with your ipod and make a playlist for yourself that you adore. Use it as a walking soundtrack. Or, find a podcast that knocks your socks off. The 30 minutes will be over before you know it.
10) Have more sex
A personal favorite, and full of lots more (ahem) benefits than just the exercise. If you're currently without a partner, treat yourself to a new toy and let the calorie-burning commence!
