Weight Loss Success Despite No to Workout (or Desire to!)

Some days on my weight loss success journey are harder than others. And sometimes the idea of working out exhausts me. When that happens, I ask myself a question before moving on.

Could this "exhaustion" be mental or emotional rather than physical? If I wasn't exhausted before the idea of a workout then the answer is almost always "YES!"

Rather than appealing to my intellect with all kinds of facts about how exercise will actually energize me, or if I want to be healthy I have to move my body (all true), I fight fire with fire--I go for an emotional response.

No, I don't yell or cry, cajole or beg, but I apply my '1 jumping jack approach.' Somedays, it is literally,

"OK, so just do 1 and if you are still exhausted you can quit"

...and somedays I repeat "and 1 more...and 1 more...and 1 more" until I have completed a good healthy workout!

This morning part of me wanted to do my 15 minute routine, but another part of me clearly did not. 3 minutes in and that part was ready to quit. So I told myself "1 more set, then if you really want to stop, you can." Suddenly, I was at 10 minutes, so I said, "awesome! 2/3 of the way there, you can do 5 more minutes!" And I did. :-)

This journey to health and permanent weight loss success is not a straight line. Sometimes we have to learn how to maneuver our hearts and minds, as well as our bodies, along the path.