Exercise: A Way to Finally Stick With It

Online Program to end Emotional Eating & Bingeing

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Exercise: A Way to Finally Stick With It

TUESDAY, AUGUST 05, 2008 | POSTED BY MICHELLE

There are some people that love to exercise. There are some people that feel the need to move their bodies. There are some people that can't wait to get out into the outdoors and run, jog, walk, skate, bike or hike. I am not one of those people. If you're reading this, maybe you're not either. I was a sedentary child who preferred reading to almost any kind of physical activity. As cliche as it is, I was picked last for every team. And my skinny soccer-playing cousins would put me on a regime of swimming and bicycle riding during summers at their house in an attempt to help me shed my ten-year old stomach rolls. By now, you can probably see that quite simply I did not like to exercise.

In my teens I enjoyed a few years of unearned thinness. Then, I gained what should have been the freshman fifteen, but for me was the freshman twenty-eight and realized that I would have to take a more active roll. Fine, I thought as long as that doesn't mean being active. I was a yo-yo exerciser. I went through long stretches of doing yoga five times a week. Then, I'd stop. Then, I'd take up weight training. I'd do it consistently for a six months, enough time to see results. I'd promise myself that I'd never stop so I wouldn't have to start all over again from square one. But somehow I just could never stick with something for very long. I just didn't like it.

The problem was that I was getting older. I had a baby, gained and lost eighty pounds and had hypothyroidism. There was just no way to put it off any longer. I was going to have to find a way to exercise, do it regularly and stick with it for life. I knew this intellectually but I didn't know how to make it happen. Being a writer taught me an important lesson. There are times when you are inspired to write. Those moments are terrific. The words flow freely. Endorphines pump from the thrill of a moving hand over a blank page. When you commit to being a writer, however, you have to teach yourself how to write well when you feel like it, and when you don't. Same thing with exercise. I finally accepted that if left to my own devices I was never going to WANT to exercise. The fact was that I didn't have to like it, I just had to do it. Kind of like flossing, or an annual pap smear or prostate exam or paying taxes. Exercise was no different, just a part of being a responsible adult.

Writers that write consistently pick the same time each week or day. I decided I would walk once a week. I could commit to that. There is a golf course by my son's school. The periphery is 2.25 miles -- a thirty-five minute walk. I would walk on Tuesday mornings right after I dropped my son off. If I went home first, I'd be sure to get involved with work or chores. In the beginning, I made a date to walk with a friend and if a friend wasn't available I talked on the phone. Anything to make the time go by. When I walked consistently for a few weeks and saw that I could do it, I added a second day. I slowly worked up to four days a week. I walk right after school starts and by the time I sit down to start my day I have gotten the most dreaded part of it out of the way. I have done this consistently for two years now. The funny thing is that I no longer dread it. I just do it and I find ways to make it more and more interesting for myself. Some times a friend joins me but I don't need one to insure that I go. I even leave the phone in the car. The most recent thing that I do is download podcasts from NPR and listen to the interesting lectures that I somehow always seem to miss when they're aired. My walk is a decadent part of my day. I have found a way to read (a thing I love) while my legs are moving. I'm so consumed with the words that I completely forget that I'm exercising (sometimes I even find myself jogging).

In the comments please share with us ways that you have gotten yourself to exercise more consistently.

28 Comments In the order they were posted.

Trice901 said...

After reading "You on a Diet" I resolved to walk 30 minutes a day, no excuses. That was in March 2007. I have stayed faithful to that injunction, and what I find is that I EXPECT to spend a half hour every morning AT LEAST walking. Sometimes I work-out to an aerobics tape. The point is that once I stopped looking for reasons to skip a day, I started feeling much better about myself. This past winter I did not have SADD for the first time in YEARS. So I would say ... EVERY DAY NO EXCUSES.... it has made me look at myself differently, my self-image has improved. Yea!

shortstuff said...

Exercise isn't part of the problem for me. Like Michelle suggests, it isn't an option. I just do it. I used to hate it and found any/every excuse to not break a sweat. But somewhere along the way, it became embedded as a habit. As I say, if I get out of bed in the morning, I exercise. Sundays are the only exception for me. This commitment has made it part of what keeps my moods in check and my stress managed. I also believe without exercise I would be looking at a challenge of losing 50 - 80 pounds instead of the 20 that I've gained since high school. And I'm excited about finally doing something about the emotional eating that caused those 20 pounds!

Mar99 said...

As a formerly non-athletic, always-picked-last exercise-dreader, I too have made my peace with this now-precious part of my day. I have been checking out books at the library before I only got my kids books and I read on the elliptical or treadmill at the gym. I also love pilates and I had to laugh when the instructor singled me out and jokingly called me "a pro". The focus on breathing in pilates is helpful for dealing with stress and I always leave class refreshed. I own many exercise dvds and it is helpful to know I can fall back on one if I can't get to the gym or outside for a walk. I still procrastinate with exercising, but I too find it helpful to liken it to other adult responsibilities....and afterwards, I feel so good!!!!!!

allison said...

I want to use an ipod but I have a severe allergic reaction to earphones and headphones, with an intolerable itch on parts of my scalp. Does anyone know of a type of earphones or headphones that are truly hypoallergenic? PS I have tried googling.

purdy said...

I agree Michelle - and if you can find an exercise that you enjoy - all the better. After thirty years I finally persuaded my husband to go to dance classes. Rock n' roll has been a big help with the battle of the bulge and has also helped our relationship - something we can do together. I'm 56 and have at least 140 pounds to lose - so instead of sitting and tapping my feet to the beat - I'm up there with the rest - spinning and twirling til I'm breathless but happy.

PegMN said...

Allison - do earbuds bother you? They are the head phones that usually come with an iPod at least they used to They do not have anything that touches your scalp, they are just little speakers kind of like hearing aids that fit into your ears.

PegMN said...

Sorry about the grammatical issues in my previous post. I had parentheses in there, but they did not post.

sophia said...

Thank you for your article,it is most encouraging. I have just joined a gym and have found myself using any excuse to avoid going,although when I do exercise I feel great.I will now try to make it a part of my routine and embrace it rather than fight it.

allison said...

PegMN - thank you for asking. When the metal of the earbuds is on or in my ear, I get an allergic reaction on my scalp. I am sad that I can't listen to music while walking or working or working out, but I guess we can't have everything we want. . . . .

allison said...

robin said...

My issue has never been the exercise - its just that I eat so much it doesn't matter. I suppose I would be much larger than I am if I didn't but exercise by itself will not offset emotional eating, though it will help. I think my issue is that I have used the fact that I exercise pretty consistently as an excuse for not dealing with the issue of why I eat.

Reacher said...

Robin is right of course, someone said "You can't out exercise a bad diet". I guess that is why exercise is one of the 10 habits to learn. But if you exercise even while being an EE you are better off by far, than if you are just an EE. Exercise ALWAYS matters. What helped me is researching the benefits of exercise to the body, not just for weight loss.

ammie said...

I am not an exerciser, but I set up a portable DVD player in front of my reclining stationary bike in the laundry room. I catch up on the movies I have always wanted to watch - and do laundry in between. Sometimes I pedal away for a whole movie. I could not stop watching La vie en rose about Edith Piaf and my legs were jello by the time it was over. I just pedal like a robot. Works for me!!

Miguelito said...

I lost quite a bit of weight, and have kept the majority of it off. Walking first thing in the morning seemed to make my entire day go by easier and I felt great. Putting on these 50 pounds or so was because I stopped walking in the morning. it is a little more complex than that, but I am commiting to walking every other morning as a start. so far it has worked.

picopooki said...

I have found that i adore dance and it really doesn't seem like exercise at all. I cannot get enough of it. I salsa aproximately 2-5hrs a week. I also find competitve sports like netball work for me. Anything where the goal isn't exercise even listening ot music i struggle to jog or go to the gym but I will dance for hours and hours and don't want to stop. I struggle with resistance exercise to maintain /build I hate every second and i hate being sore days after!

Linda said...

Thanks for the comments about commitment...I can see that it's about making a decision to do something and that's it...like when I finally decided to start flossing my teeth : For me the question about committing the time is deciding that I'm worth it...that the time should be spent on something for "useful" for others...

Bernadette said...

Believe it or not - I've got my gym gear on right this second ready for my FIRST before work walk and thought I'd just open my email first.. and SHRINK was my first email with this topic... needless to say I think it was more than a coincidence to read everyone's comments..so I am heading out right now - even though it is cold and spitting outside in Melbourne Australia... Thanks for the great site....

Amy said...

Anyone have tips on how to safely hike with toddlers? Allison - my cell phone also plays music. if you carried your phone, you could just listen to it that way. No headphones or earbuds needed.

fion said...

yes, exercise is great...i just bought a treadmill recently and placed it infront of the telly at home so i can jog/walk while relaxing and watching TV, and it's awesome sometimes i can just go on and on without feeling as tired as i would be if i am jogging outside without the telly!

Shirley said...

Hi, I am 51 years old with 14 year old twins. I never had a weight problem till they were born! Now my weight is up and down like a yo yo. Plus I know I comfort eat at least I am honest and I need to be exercising for my own benefit but am not sure where to start. Having a bad back doesnt help. Any ideas would be welcome. Thanks. Shirley

Deb said...

Is my childhood, teens ...life published somewhere, this all sounds just where I've come from... thanks Michelle. At the moment I am focusing on when I normally 'fall off' the exercise wagon .. for example when I do night-duty easy excuse... boo hoo I'm tired but alas I now plan for it and prepare days out before the night duty begins ...dont try and exercise every day of the nights but dont miss two in a row use the other for extra sleep and pampering. The other thing that seems to be working is setting a goal not to miss exercising two days in a row. This means I workout today so tomorrow I can do some other activity that would normally have been an excuse not to exercise.

Beverly said...

I loved to exercise when I was in my 40's. I lost SO much weight. Now I have a problem, I'm in my 60's have post-polio and walking, jogging, really cardio stuff is out of the question. So I joined an exercise club with a warm water pool. you'll find me there three days per week walking the pool for 40 to 50 minutes. One never gets too old or too ill for exercise. The weight is coming off much slower, but coming off! Bev

j j said...

I have always been a sedentary person. I think I had an allergy to exercising. That all changed when my daughter started planning her wedding. I found myself joing a gym with a routine of 30 minutes on the treadmill and 20 minutes on the various machines. The weight really started coming off after 2 weeks! Unfortunately the wedding came and went and so did the gym and my weight loss. I just started back this past week along with beginning this program and it feels wonderful. I go to the gym during the time that I am most likely to binge. For me I go before supper. This really helps to keep my emotions and eating in check. I encourage anyone reading this who has never been to a gym to find one and try it. If someone told me a year ago that I would be exercising at a gym I would have laughed at them.

wowis said...

to be honest i am new to shrink yourself and hope i don't sound negative, really wish i could just 'do' exercise it makes sense but it feels like a punishment sometimes and i can be so pig headed that i almost refuse to do it. i don't know how to get past that because alot of what your all saying makes sense. i don't wangt it to become something else i do for a month and give up! still looking for that evasive exercise that i enjoy. usually proves to expensive or impractical with family life etc.

crss said...

Before I gained over 30 pounds during the last 3 years, I loved to exercise just to feel good and to keep my figure. But, I suffered with a serious though long-ignored bout of depression and emotional eating. During this time, I had to fight hard to reconnect with that "love" for exercise and the great feeling of accomplishment and self-care I felt afterwards -- especially since that great figure I once took for granted had virtually disappeared. Now, I plan my exercise times, the way that I schedule a required, life or death, doctor's appointment -- these are "got to go moments." I have gradually gone from exercising only once or twice a week to now three to four times a week. ....And I'm seeing progress--it's slow in coming, but it is progress. I only take exercise classes that I like and I look forward to going. Plus, I have stop loathing the way I look in the mirror and have started to accept myself for who I am and not the body that I am working to transform.....I am a work in progress and not a lost cause. I am grateful for the revelation!

J said...

I can relate to this. I have never been one for sports or exercise, but I just do it. I joined a gym and have tried a few sessions with a trainer. I go everyday and now it is for me like brushing my teeth, automatic. I was frustrated in the first month because I did not lose one pound after spending a minimum of one hour at the gym everyday. I do it more for my emotional wellbeing than anything else. Even though the number of the scale doesn't always go down, I can tell that I have become more cardiovascularly fit as well as stronger. Seeing these types of improvements has made exercise worthwhile.

jabisca said...

i walk in and out of work every day for about 80 mins. it means i can get some exercise in to my day without leaving the house in the evening which is great as i have a small baby.but i really need to start to do more as my body has got used to it and its not taking off any of the 14 lbs i put on in the past year.

anitress said...

re: ipod headphones. I have Bose ear buds the ones that come with the ipod hurt my ears and fall out all the time the Bose are amazing! there is a plastic or rubber section that goes in your ear, no metal touches your skin, and they almost NEVER fall out! you can run or, as i do, hula hoop, and they stay in! try em!!