Don't think of it as exercise; it's actualy an activity

[eepetty]

Ugggghhh NOOOOO not excercise!!! LOL~ Since I was in 6th grade all I can remember is I have to exercise. Didn't matter though I still gained weight...and gained...and gained.... Sooo I tried all the programs in all the "Teen" magazines. I didnt have internet then, but I would wake up at 5am to do the exercises on the PBS station. I was very active we lived on stilts over the river.. so i swam, and rafted, and walked up and down the shorelines!! Never could do it in a swim suit though.. Always shorts and a T-shirt
So to jump ahead.. High school..gaining...and gaining.... And eating disorders! Every one a teen girl can have.. didn't help though. Took aerobics as my P.E choice...even tried track...ugghhh that was too much exercise. I got burnt out.. I didnt want to walk to the kitchen to get a glass of water anymore. I just said screw it. What was I doing wrong???
Sooo here we are 12 years later into my battle with weight loss and much more educated(special thanks to the internet). When I started my diet I said I can change my eating but I ain't exercising!! I realize now that Its been almost 2 years since I started my diet, that I'm not dieting~it's a "lifestyle change" Im going to have to live this way the rest of my life to stay thin! That's the way my body is going to work. So after a while I got that everyday negative vibe of "dieting"out of my head.
Now exercise Weight watchers' website taught me that the you have to get that negative image out of your head. Start by calling it "activities" Everything you do is an activity and helps you burn calories.Not just the running, working out in a gym, sweating and breathing until you feel like you want to puke!!! No its walkin the dog, watering the lawn, folding clothes, everyday life stuff. Here is a great site that tells you how many calories you are burning with your everyday chores. http://www.prevention.com/caloriecalc/0,5719,s1-4-121-48-1158-1,00.html

So long story short......Mental is 85% of the whole "lifestyle change" Don't let all the unsuccesses of the past screw with your goals for the future!!!!!
Good luck every one!!!

 

[t'is4me]

i take the same approach. activities can take the place of your exercise for the day! over the weekend, we installed fencing and boarded windows as well as elevated lots of furniture. i earned activity over exercise within that 24 hour period.

i have always used tennis as exercise. it is a sport i love and tend to forget how much exercise it requires! the sprinting and swinging. just keeping busy or not parking so close to the store is such a simplistic way to add extra "activity" to your day! vital to a student on her bum quite a bit.

 

[allcdnboy1]

great post and perfect approach. anything that you do to get in better shape should be considered a "lifestyle change". if you look at it any other way, you are looking at it as temporary. it makes it more of a commitment ...