As a Health at Every Size fitness trainer, I sometimes find that when people start to move their bodies more regularly, they can get disappointed if they cannot do a lot more than they could before, whether by way of distance moved, duration spent moving or amount “lifted.”
However, there’s no need to worry about being able to run a 10K, lift heavy things over your head or stay moving for 30 minutes at a time. Whatever movement you can do - especially as long as you are enjoying that movement - is good for you and your body.
In order to begin increasing your movement, I don’t want you to think big. I want you to think small. Long-term increased movement is about small steps - adding more movement bit by bit.
That’s why this week I want you to expand on the movement you tried out two weeks ago and have been working on. Here are some for instances to get you started:
1. If one week you parked your car farther away from the shops, the next week park your car just a little bit further from the shops.
2. If one week you carried 1 bag of groceries at a time into the house, the next week carry 2 bags of groceries at a time into the house.
3. If one week you walked the dog or with your children this far, the next week walk with your children or the dog (or alone or with a friend - both are great, too!) a little farther along the same route (and how your children or dog will just love you for it!).
4. If one week you completed your house chores in a certain amount of time, the next week increase your speed just a bit to complete them in a little less time (or do more chores in the same day than you did before).
5. If one week you took a certain amount of time to get to your bus/train stop, the next week increase your speed in order to take a little less time to get there.
Learn about how these little increases can add up to big successes and feelings of great joy in your life by checking out this week’s Fitness For All post.
As a personal trainer who's always loved her body, Sue Bary was tired of being classified as 'mildly obese' and wanted to help others experience Enjoyable Body Movement without being subject to the usual verbiage of weight loss and dieting. Thus, she created enarji, a personal training practice steeped in the Health at Every Size approach and attitude. To learn more about Sue, click here. Because you are a special More of Me to Love member, Sue wants you to enjoy a FREE consultation through enarji's Virtual Health Coach services. .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) to schedule your free consultation today!
