Exercise tips I could have used when I was 21. Things like how to feel good in my body, why movement matters, and how exercise will boost my mood. Regular exercise is key to optimum mental and physical health and to finding your own fountain of youth.
- Focus On You. I used to compare myself to others. Nowadays I put the focus on myself, what my body is capable of, how I feel today, and what I want to do. I don’t focus on how small another girl’s thighs are. That’s boring. I’m on this Earth to be me. I can’t be anyone else.
- Eat Real Food. I don’t have to starve myself to lose weight. If I eat a balanced, ageless diet, real food that tastes good and helps feel great than my body responds positively.
- Movement Feels Good. Working out shouldn’t be a chore, and abusing your body, overworking it, does you no favors.
- Be Healthy Now. Start eating better today, start working out now, start healthy habits that support an ageless you today, because it’s not going to get easier. If taking care of yourself feels like a chore, change the way you think. For me, it’s an honor to feed myself beautiful fresh food and to make time to exercise.
- Shortcuts Don’t Work. Fasting, starving yourself, trend diets and workouts for quick weight loss don’t work. There is no shortcut to a healthy body. Being strong, fit, and healthy is something I commit to everyday. It’s my life, and I work at feeling good. What else have I got to do? When I stopped thinking there was a shortcut in life, to losing weight, feeling good, being successful, the real, fun work began. And the positive changes followed. I lost inflammation, weight, and years.
- Stop Hating Your Body. Hating your body is a waste of time. Instead honor your body by doing the things (eating right, sleeping more, meditating, working out) that keep it strong. The best thing daily workouts taught me is the joy in moving my body through space. I know now how much fun it is to be capable, strong, and fit. I’ll never be a swimsuit model, but I will look and feel like the best version of me. If you continue feel uncomfortable in your own skin, you’ll have a harder time motivating yourself to make changes. Love yourself a little more.
- Be Patient. Positive change can happen within 3-4 weeks, especially with diet, but results don’t happen overnight. Accept that fact and keep moving forward (with fitness, diet, and life).
- Be Present. Be open and present in your life, and especially when you exercise. Don’t zone out. Do workouts that engage your brain and your body. Fitness that challenges you mentally and physically. Your brain and body are connected, and you want both to be awake when you exercise. I used to do hundreds of crunches and many, many bicep curls and nothing changed. I was doing it all on autopilot. And I was bored. When I started mixing it up, trying dance, yoga, pilates, barre, doing things I didn’t know how to do, then I started seeing changes. I was engaged in my workouts.
- Make Time. Carve out time to connect to your body and your health. This is the only way you’ll feel better, lose weight, become ageless.
- Options. You have options. Even if you’re struggling with money or you’re busy juggling work and family, realize you have options. You can do a workout at home, for free. And, instead of relying on fast food, you can buy ingredients to make something for yourself. It’s much more affordable to eat healthy food than it is to eat junk. And, you’ll save so much time, money, and wasted years, if you do some sort of movement everyday.
If you’ve gotten out of balance, don’t beat up yourself, instead do positive, nourishing things to empower yourself.