You can eat cookies. They are yum.
Gym clothes are laid out. Runners are ready. All set for a morning run. But it is a bit cold outside. And
it might rain. And I have a long day… Alarm goes off. I don’t even open my eyes as I stop the beeping.
The run never stood a chance. I roll over for more sleep. “I’ll go tomorrow” I say to myself. A feeling
of guilt seeps into the pit of my stomach. I cuddle into the warm blankets to try to make myself feel
better. Maybe tomorrow…
Have you ever felt like this? Chances are you have. Most of us have tried to “be healthy”, exercising
or eating the green vegetables we were always force fed as kids. But it isn’t easy. And sometimes
the pull of a sleep in or a chocolate biscuit is too great. Does this make us weak, horrible people? Of
course not! The key is finding balance, through exercise and healthy food that you actually enjoy (it
might sound impossible, but it can be done!). Once you find some, it will be a whole lot easier to get
up early in the morning!
If you want to get in some exercise and healthy eating but not hate life while you do, join us in the
forums for some tips and ideas.
Monday January 6th, 8-10pm AEST. And you can guiltlessly eat chocolate during it if you want to!
What are your benefits of healthy diet and exercise?
Being physically healthy/ fit, feeling alert, and having a positive frame of mind. I feel so much more positive, confident and able to take on challenges when I'm eating well and exercising regularly 🙂
I think delicatedreamer summed it up beautifully > healthy/fit, alert, positive frame of mind, confident and being able to take on challenges.
Also I think a benefit of being healthy is that you can inspire and help others along your path more easily as you aren't struggling with your own issues. Not saying it can't be done, but I think it'd be much easier when you yourself are feeling good 😄
@Bee wrote:
Also I think a benefit of being healthy is that you can inspire and help others along your path more easily as you aren't struggling with your own issues. Not saying it can't be done, but I think it'd be much easier when you yourself are feeling good 😄
I love this @Bee Agreed.
I should say also that another benefit of healthy diet and exercise for me is that I can manage my anxiety better 🙂
How can you keep yourself motivated to be healthy?
I wish I knew @rt262 ! There seems to be a whole industry built around trying to answer this question! I try to keep myself motivated by reminding myself of the benefits of being healthy and having healthy habits (better mental and physical health, feeling more positive etc.) , trying to do things (such as types of exercise) that I enjoy, and reading about health and wellness. Reading about what other people are doing motivates me by giving me different ideas of things I can do to be healthy (as I mentioned earlier).
This is something I've kind of struggled with for a while, but I'm going to keep a close eye on other responses and work on it. 🙂
@Bee it sounds like it's something we all struggle with at some stage! The more tips we can all share the better 🙂
So maybe the million dollar question.. How can you keep yourself motivated to be healthy?
@delicatedreamer I think the positive frame of mind is definitely a benefit I have of beinghealthy too. It's kind of funny how big a part food and exercise can play in that.
@delicatedreamer I find doing exercise I enjoy and doing exercise with others are almost the only ways that I can get myself to do it!
Alrighty guys so following on from that question...
How can you overcome these challenges to being healthy?
I have issues with overcommitting myself, so I try and have relaxed ideas for how and when I will exercise. I find that the less I plan, the more I do!
With healthy eating it's the exact opposite - I have to plan or I'll go for an easy option 🙂
We can work at things bit by bit. Breaking tasks down into smaller bite size chunks can make them more manageable to achieve.
We also need to remember to reward ourselves for tiny achievements and continue to move forward with the goals we set 🙂
Self reward is definitely important @Bee , good one! In terms of breaking things down, is that like setting realistic goals and challenges for yourself?
I find it hard to stick to regular routines, I find one or two days out of routine can throw me off completely. I also need to develop my will power, it's rather weak at the moment...
I also tend to overthink a lot of things, which can often stop me from taking a leap and starting something new
For me, I find the physical side- the exercise or eating fruit and veg can lapse, especially when I'm out of routine. And when this happens my mental health can slide too. Does anyone else find a similar connection?
It is so hard to find exercise that you enjoy if you are like me and hat sports or just being active all together. Yeah lets be honest reblogging stuff on tumblr is hard work.'
It is hard to eat healthy food if you just find it so boring, like salad, yummmossssssssss lol jks bring on the chocolate.
Mostly though it is just really hard when different aspects of your health seem to conflict with eachother.
Finding an exercise that you enjoy and are comfy with can be hard sometimes hey? Definitely something I know I struggle with. Also I'm not very competitive, which can make it a bit harder sometimes.
@rt262 mental health also slips with me when I'm out of routine, I think I mentioned something like that in my answer above 🙂
@Bee I really struggle with not being competitive too. I've conquered this a little bit by just edging myself a little bit further each time... If I reach a certain distance when running, I run just a block further the next time. It's not a huge challeneg, but it's just a little bit more than before 🙂
The main thing I struggle with is the competitive sports, in my town winning is everything, and you must win at all costs. Well that's how I perceive it anyway.
leo - I totally understand! Excercise just doesn't seem very exciting, especially when you're faced with more interesting things on the internet. Food is the same - why eat a lettuce when you could eat a chocolate? Haha but I suppose it's just one of things - balance, again!
@rt262 Totally! Exercise and eating well keeps me feeling positive and well balanced. I find that I end up feeling crap if I eat out a lot and don't keep active.
@bee - that's so true. A routine is great until you break it, and then it's a struggle to get back into it. Even just a day or two can put it off - routines are very fickle.
@leo-dicaprio I agree completely! Just today I was trying to think of 'exercise' I could do that would be fun! I actually went shopping for a couple of hours. BUT I was walking around for almost the entire time- that has to count as physical activity?!
@delicatedreamer - excellent list! What you said about finding the positives actually reminded me of something - over the past 6 months or so I've been complimenting myself (strange, I know :P) on things I do throughout the day, or whenever it seems necessary, and it's really made me more aware of myself and what I can achieve. It's great for self esteem too! I recommend it, if you can get into the habit of doing it 🙂
