We really do need to exercise. Exercising has several benefits. My personal favorites are:

• Feeling stronger to do more
• Mood boosting including getting outside to enjoy natural Vitamin D from the sun, and mental and emotional health that clears my mind
• Weight loss (Nutrition is how I lost most of my weight though.)
• Toning
• Lowering blood sugar (Again, nutrition helps here.)
• Stress management

The CDC says, “Exercising can help:

• Control your weight
• Reduce your risk of cardiovascular disease
• Reduce your risk for type 2 diabetes and metabolic syndrome
• Reduce your risk of some cancers
• Strengthen your bones and muscles
• Improve your mental health and mood
• Improve your ability to do daily activities and prevent falls
• Increase your chances of living longer”

With so many wonderful things exercise can do for us, how can we say no to exercise? Easily.

I read an article recently about how women in the 1950’s stayed thin compared to women today. It was very interesting. Women in the 1950’s didn’t have the convenience of certain household appliances as we do today. Before things like automatic dishwashers, washing machines, and clothes dryers, people did more physical labor. Take washing the dishes for example. The convenience of a dishwasher makes it easier for us to walk over to the dishwasher and put our dirty dish in it in about 5 seconds, and then, head over to somewhere we are more likely to sit down. In the 1950’s, people would have to stand at the sink and wash their dish by hand. People would then stand longer and burn a few extra calories. Same thing goes for the washer and dryer. In the 1950’s, people moved around more and did more physical labor leading them to be healthier. In 2017, people don’t move as much. I’m very guilty of this, which is why I play a mind trick on myself when I tell myself it’s time to exercise. I say, “Kate, you’ll thank yourself when the exercise is over.” Much of the time, I do thank myself. Read the whole 1950’s article.

I’m not saying that you need stop using your dishwasher, washer and dryer, but become more creative about the way you do things.

• Take the stairs instead of the elevator (Trust me. After a while of people staring at you for doing this at work, you’ll get use to the stairs and people will become inspired by your healthy lifestyle. What right do they have that they must judge you anyway?)
• Instead of parking in the closest parking spot to the store, park in the furthest part of the lot.
• Do you live close enough to work that you can walk or bike in the warmer months?
• Walk around while talking on the phone instead of sitting down.

“This is great, Kate, but I don’t have time to do any of this.” My response to this is to re-evaluate your day. Make a list of everything you do during your day and everything you’d like to do. Then, use a number scale to determine the most important things on your list. Put a one next to the most important item and a two next to the next important item. As the numbers grow, you’ll see what you value the most and the least. After evaluating your list, you might see that the half hour you spend checking emails or being on social media might just be the time needed to get in a workout. If spending time with your children is the most important item on your list, try spending time with them by teaching them how to exercise and the importance of exercise.

Need a little extra help with prioritizing? Read my blog on priorities.