Written by Gabi Meltzer, Registered Dietician, July 2024
As a dietician with a special interest in intuitive eating and cultivating a healthy relationship with food and body, I often emphasise the importance of sustainable health behaviours. When it comes to sustaining a positive behaviour like movement, it's so important that it is not only realistic to be able to fit into our busy lifestyles, but that it also FEELS good and adds to our overall health.
How do you feel during and after your workouts?
Does your exercise routine rejuvenate you, or does it leave you feeling exhausted and depleted? Exercise should energise and refresh you, not drain you.
Does your exercise routine enhance your mind-body connection? A strong mind- body connection is key in becoming an intuitive eater and fostering a healthy relationship with both food and body.
Does your exercise alleviate stress, or does it amplify it? Exercise should be a stress reliever, helping to reduce tension and promote relaxation.
Do you genuinely enjoy your exercise routine? Finding pleasure in movement is essential for maintaining a sustainable and healthy relationship with exercise.
Is there anything you could change in your current exercise routines based on the above?
Recognizing Some of the Warning Signs
Do any of the following scenarios sound familiar to you?
Pushing yourself to work out even when you're sick
Feeling guilty if you skip a day of exercise
Not eating enough to support your physical activity.
Increasing the amount of exercise because you think you ate too much or consumed high-calorie foods
Exercising primarily to burn calories can lead to burnout or even compulsive over-exercising. Ask yourself if this is a healthy pursuit of physical activity or if it’s becoming compulsive exercise?
Embracing a Positive Relationship with Movement
We all know that exercise plays a crucial role in maintaining our health. From cardiovascular benefits to muscle quality and retention, our healthspan and lifespan are significantly influenced by how much we move. However, setting unrealistic goals or going "all-in" as quickly as possible, may lead to burnout and inconsistency.
Movement should enhance your health and well-being, not serve as a form of punishment. Striving to engage in activities that you enjoy and that leave you feeling good, both physically and mentally, can make the activities easier to embrace. Whether it’s walking your dog or with loved ones, dancing around the house, swimming, hiking, running, boxing, horse riding, yoga, pilates, high energy group classes….. There are so many ways to move your body in a way that is enjoyable to you :) Experimenting with different forms of movement and starting slow can be really helpful in building up to a more sustainable habit.
Feeling inspired?
What form of movement will try today?....
For personalised guidance on finding a more positive relationship with food, exercise, and your body, book a consultation here: https://www.gabimeltzerdietician.com/book-online.
Comments