Happy New Year!!!

The New Year has begun and I’m back in my post-pregnancy jeans. Not a good thing for a Pilates instructor. When I’m carrying extra weight, not only do I feel it when I’m reaching for my bigger-sized clothes, but it affects my mental health too. So like many of you, getting back to my everyday jeans is a big goal. I know the all-or-nothing approach doesn’t work, so for the next few months I will be very strict about food and exercise, while still allowing myself room for an occasional treat. My entire lifestyle needs to be more aligned with what I seek, which is really all around well-being and not just a size smaller. In order for this to happen I need to remember how much I love to move. Not just exercising, but moving in general. I, of course, love doing Pilates, but getting outside always lifts me up. I’m better to be around when I’ve had the chance to be outdoors moving. Here are a couple of common sense reminders and tips to incorporate exercise into our lives as we start this New Year of 2010:

Things to Remember about Exercise

Any amount of exercise is good for you.
You don’t need to spend an hour sweating for exercise to be beneficial. This may be a very efficient way to burn calories but don’t give up just because you can’t find a free hour in your day to workout. I often accomplish my exercise in 10 min increments throughout the day.
Exercise reduces stress.
Stress is one of the most detrimental factors to our health and well-being. It leads to a variety of health problems from taxing our immune system so we can’t fight off colds as easily, to contributing to heart disease, the number one killer of women! We forget that we can learn to control how we deal with the stress in our life by exercising more.
Exercise fights the blues and the blahs.
Feeling angry, irritable, flat, depressed? Exercise! Your mood is almost guaranteed to lift. Most of us know that enough cardio exercise will release endorphins into your blood stream and give your spirit a boost. What most people forget is that even spending 20 minutes breathing, stretching and focusing your mind on complex movement will yield similar results.
Any activity which gets you moving is healthy.
I know we are all pressed for time but find little ways to move more. Park your car a block away from your destination. Take the stairs, even just a few flights, when you can. Walk around the block while your car is being washed. Did you know that jittery people burn more calories than non-jitterers? Not that I’m recommending you become a fidgetor, but you see my point.
Make moving part of your lifestyle.
This doesn’t mean going to the gym five days a week. It means catching up with friends and neighbors while walking. It means taking a five-minute lap around the mall or around the block to discuss a matter with a colleague. It means kicking a ball back and forth with your kids. Can your kids jump rope? If not teach them. Physical activity with your kids is a win-win-win situation. Good for you. Good for them. Good for our community. Modeling an active lifestyle for your kids is the very best defense against the epidemic of childhood obesity.

Remember those of us who exercise consistently do it because of how it makes us feel not how it makes us look. Our well-being depends on it. Once you feel the difference, yours will too.