Nobody could be more surprised about this than I - my disdain for the gym is no small secret, and I avoided regular exercise throughout my weight loss and for more than two years at my goal weight, mostly due to issues related to lack of time and of interest. I had always exercised sometimes, very inconsistently, but never seemed to discover what would turn the occasional recreational outing into a regular part of my lifestyle.
Magic happened over spring break, however. Getting out daily for a while turned exercise into a habit for me - I don't do it every day, but now it's a part of my consistent part of my life (like drinking!). I just don't feel like I've had a great week unless I've been able to make it out to the mountains for to the basketball courts at least a couple times. Turns out that all I really needed was to find that initial motivation to move more, and the habit building took care of itself.
Like so many things in weight loss and in life, habit building is essential to making exercise a part of your life long-term, beyond that initial burst of motivation that we all get from time to time. I suppose the most important morsel of knowledge I gleaned from my exercise challenge is this:
When you attack a problem head on, making a clear, achievable goal and working it through to success, you've already taken the hardest step towards successful, sustainable habit-building.
That having been said, I look forward to balling my way to the biceps of my dreams ...
I'll let you know how that goes.
No comments:
Post a Comment