Motivation Comes from Action

If you're not moving your body consistently because you "have no motivation", this message is for you! 

If this is you, please know that you're not alone because many folks aren't motivated to move their bodies consistently. This isn't because there's anything wrong with them.

Inaction is often a sign of overwhelm, exhaustion, perfectionism, etc. which are common signs of a relationship with movement that could use some attention.

But, I'm going to let you in on a little secret that may be another reason for inaction. 

Movement isn't fueled by motivation.

Movement is fueled by action. 

I realize this may seem obvious, but trust me, it's not.

Even though I have a solid relationship with movement, there are days when I feel my body wants to move but I don't feel motivated.

On those days, I intuitively assess what my body may need and make a deal with myself to just start moving and see how it goes. 

99% of the time once I start moving my body, and then something ignites inside of me.

That something is motivation. 

Mobility is a priority for me as I age. 

It is for 100% of my private movement clients and for the members of my Joyful Movement at Last program too. 

Ready to fast-track your body image recovery? Tap the Let’s Connect button below to schedule your free 20-minute connection call.

You don't have to do this alone.

Four Tips to Create a Sustainable Movement Practice Even If Your Doctor Poo-Poos It

Being invalidated for any efforts you may be taking to improve your health can be discouraging! I'm sharing the following story with permission.

Last week I had a Facebook messenger chat with a follower who said she'd just come back from her annual doctor's visit and she was feeling upset and discouraged. Her labs weren't what he was expecting and he was looking for the reasons why this may have happened.

When he asked her what she was doing in regards to exercising, she proudly reported that despite the pandemic, she had discovered a movement practice that she enjoyed and was easily able to maintain. When she described her practice, he poo-pooed all over it by saying that it wasn't enough and that she'd need to step it up by doing X and Y or her blood work wouldn't improve. Ugh.

While doing X and Y may be helpful (causation vs. correlation), it's only helpful if the person doing it enjoys X and Y and is able to maintain it. It's also only helpful if the person being advised has a healthy relationship with movement because if they don't, advice like this often leads to INACTIVITY because the bar is set too high.

Sadly, I hear stories like this often from clients and from followers and they infuriate me because they are exactly what people who are trying to heal their relationship with movement don't need!

So many women struggle to move their bodies at all because they're still traumatized from restricting food and from forcing themselves to exercise to lose or maintain weight. Their relationships with movement are non-existent or very fragile because they are still grappling with diet mentality thoughts, etc. Telling someone that their movement practice isn’t enough or is ineffective is damaging this healing process.

Here are a few important things to remember when healing a relationship with movement:

1. Some is better than none - If your doctor or anyone else tells you that you need to move for X number of minutes X number of times a week, ignore them! Yes, ignore them. Chasing a number isn't the way to improve a relationship with movement. Do what you can when you can and only increase the frequency and type of movement you're doing when you feel ready to do so. Doing it for any other reason will potentially jeopardize your efforts.
   

2. Stop saying you're too lazy! The truthful and countercultural book Laziness Does Not Exist by Devon Price, Ph.D. invites us to look at laziness from a new perspective. I feel this way about movement. Being open to looking beyond the inactivity to understand that what's lying beneath is often perfectionism and overwhelm and not laziness is one place to begin! So the next time you think your inactivity is due to laziness, compassionately and non-judgmentally look deeper.
   

3. Movement isn't everything - Yes, it would be wonderful if just by exercising and eating "well" we could stave off illness, but that's not reality. We must never forget the role of genetics, socioeconomic conditions, stress, sleep, etc. have on our overall health, Movement is important but I never encourage any of my clients to move just to improve their labs. Movement serves a greater purpose because it can vastly improve our mental health and helps us remain agile, especially as we age. Even if labs don't budge, gentle physical activity can generally still make us feel more vibrant.
   

4. Lower the bar - One of the number one reasons why people feel like what they're doing with movement (or anything else for that matter) isn't enough is because the intentions/goals they're setting are unrealistic and unattainable. Wouldn't you feel like a failure if you were never able to meet your goals? I know I'm often reevaluating my marketing goals so that I'm not disappointed.

Every single thing I've spoken of in this love note is covered in my Joyful Movement at Last! program. I'm convinced that if more people understood how to improve their delicate relationships with movement they'd be moving more often and having fun doing it!

If you want to build up your practice once you’ve improved your relationship, go for it but also know that you’re not morally obligated to do that either! It’s your body and you have full autonomy to do or not do whatever you choose. Sometimes giving yourself full permission to heal is what sparks the flame to start moving in a more formal way later.

Want to start moving again but don't know how to do this intuitively? Download my new Intuitive Movement guide.

Remember, you don't have to do this alone. Support makes all the difference!

How to "Intuitively" Plan Without Being Diet-y About It

For anyone who wasn't able to attend the BOOM! Ladies Night last week where we had a very relevant and insightful discussion about what we wished someone had told us when we turned 50, catch the free replay here.

Now on to this week's message...

Are planning and intuitiveness contradictory?

In a nutshell, no. I don't think they are when we're talking about things like intuitive eating and intuitive movement. However, I do think there are some important caveats to this and I want to outline a few of them for you.

The main premise of being intuitive is to go inward and check in with our bodies instead of relying on outside influences to guide our decisions. Having said that, I do think it's possible to plan in advance to make our lives easier provided we keep a few things in mind.

1. Strive for flexibility NOT perfection - Instead of being rigid and perfectionistic about your plans, remember that you have permission to change your plans to remain true to your bodies' needs. So, for example, if you meal plan for the week, but you're just not feelin' the dinner you had scheduled for tonight (or any other night), you have permission to eat something else. One of the main purposes of intuitive eating is to eat foods that are satisfying and make your body feel good.
   

2. Beware of "shoulding" yourself - Many of the members of my Joyful Movement at Last! program said they used to try and "should" themselves into movement to no avail. I'm not surprised because research shows that "shoulding" doesn't work and actually moves us further away from our goals instead of closer. I can relate to this as I did this myself for several decades! On the flip side, self-compassion is linked to increased motivation and improved health behaviors so in the long run, cultivating a self-compassion practice can help you develop and maintain a consistent exercise routine.
   

3. You have permission to schedule - Like most, you're probably busy with work, family, volunteering, etc. With the schedules we all keep, setting intentions around the things that matter to us is important. No, it doesn't mean that the schedule needs to be rigid (see #1 above), but if we don't make a concerted effort to nurture what matters to us and what helps to support our bodies, our needs often go unmet. That is often a setup for engaging in disordered eating behaviors and shame spiraling.
   

4. Remain true to your needs by getting curious - If you're not in the mood to eat a planned meal or to move in the way you had planned (and your body is feeling like it wants to move in some way), you don't have to scratch your whole plan. Instead, get curious and ask yourself, "What kind of movement do I have the energy to do today?" or "What foods seem most appealing right now?". I realize that we cannot always get everything that we want, but when we can and it's within our reach, why not go for it?!
   

In full transparency, I experienced all of these things within a span of few hours this past weekend. I had planned to go for a walk, I said I was going a few times, but never had the get-up and go to do it.

I realized I was being rigid by thinking I had to do what I had planned. I almost started "shoulding" myself into it, but caught myself, changed direction, and asked myself what kind of movement I WAS in the mood to do instead. I calmed my mind by going inward, marinated my rigid thoughts with self-compassion, and realized what I wanted was to do yoga and not walk. So, I did some yoga and my body felt energized and less stiff afterward.

In this example, even though my plans changed slightly, I still did what was important to me by listening to my body and it resulted in a calmer mind and body.

Want to explore this some more? Click the button below or leave a comment.

Why Losing Weight for Medical Reasons Still Isn’t the Answer to Getting ‘Healthy’

Time and time again I hear clients and read comments in online spaces about people feeling that they need to lose weight for 'health' reasons.

Some may have even been told by a medical professional that weight loss is the only way to correct their declining health issues.

Years ago, when my cholesterol was consistently going up and my high blood pressure was undiagnosed, my doctors had recommended weight loss too, so I understand how concerning this can be.

If you've been told you need to lose weight because your metabolic health (i.e., blood pressure, cholesterol, blood sugar) is declining, I want to share a few important points as a reframe.

First, you've done nothing wrong to make any of it happen despite what you may have been told or what may have been implied. Remember that a previous history with dieting, genetics, movement, and stress play a significant role in this equation.

Second, instead of blaming your body, thank and appreciate it for giving you some important information that you can now address and begin to heal from.

Third, remember that even if weight loss was going to solve all your health issues, how would you maintain that loss without engaging in deprivation, food restriction, and compensatory exercise habits?

Fourth, while I know that research isn't very 'sexy', there are plenty of research studies indicating that following intuitive eating/Health At Every Size (HAES) often helps to normalize metabolic health naturally without dieting or restricting.

Fifth, I get that the knee-jerk reaction is to immediately think that losing weight is the answer that will solve all your worries, research also shows that weight loss is not sustainable long-term and also that weight stigma plays a significant role in overall health outcomes.

Sixth, reflecting on your own experiences with intentional weight loss will remind you that it's not typically sustainable and even when it is, it's with tremendous effort and often leads to poor emotional health. Let's remember that our mental health is equally as important as our metabolic health.

The bottom line...

If you want to work toward rediscovering balance in every sense of the word, my professional advice is to stay on your intuitive eating/HAES path. A recent diagnosis or health scare is NOT the time to diet (nor is any other time). Instead, it is the time to start or continue cultivating more compassionate, self-care focused habits that are sustainable. Over time, that is what will very likely bring your levels back within a normal range again and also improve your emotional health.

Helping women to cultivate more compassionate, self-care focused habits like giving themselves full permission to eat without the emotional restriction (guilt, worry, etc.), integrating gentle nutrition into your daily life, and rediscovering movement without slipping back into diet mentality is my jam.

Schedule some time with me so we can have a conversation around this so you can finally stop worrying! You don't have to do this alone. Getting this sorted out will make a difference in your life.