I haven't been as active with my Beachbody business and it's not for the typical reasons or excuses. I feel like Beachbody focuses so much on weight loss that they miss the big picture of living a healthy life. I know there are so many people that have had great success using Beachbody's programs and I love the workout DVDs that I have! I use them on a regular basis. But I also feel like the coaches are told to sign up anyone and everyone to these programs and if the customers aren't in the right mind set about the program they may make it through the 21 days, or 60 days, or even 90 days but then when it's over they slip back into old habits and put on more weight than they had lost. It happens way too often. Diets don't work.
Diets focus on "don't eat this," and "that will make me fat." I believe in caring for our bodies and choosing to put healthy, nutrient foods into our bodies. To me, this is so different than just dieting. When you focus on what you can't have then that is all you can see. You can't have cake, chocolate, candy, ice cream, cookies, soda. . . . and when they are in the same room as you the taunt you! You can't get them out of your mind. No wonder most diets fail.
Change your thoughts and you will change your life. Focus instead on how great you feel, how delicious your whole foods are, and how thankful you are for your body!
Also, I believe that exercise should be enjoyable. Enjoyable? YES! If you don't enjoy it you won't continue to make it part of your life. I can't tell you how many times a friend has told me they need to sign back up with their personal trainer because the NEED the motivation but they HATED the workouts. It was too HARD!
If someone told you today, "I want you to start a habit of stepping on a cactus 3 times a week" there is no way you would do it because it's painful. If you want to create a habit you know you will stick with you need to find legit reasons that go beyond wanting to lose weight. Exercise has to be joyful.
Yes, exercise can be hard but I think we all need to change our focus and instead of focusing on what we WEIGH, we need to focus on HEALTH and JOY. Find joy in every workout that you do. If it doesn't bring you some type of joy, immediate or long term, you are doing the wrong type of exercise for you.
I run.
I find that for me running is hard but it brings me joy in so many ways.
1. I love being out in nature and I run next to a canal in the city with golf courses all around. Wild animals like rabbits, ducks, chipmunks, and birds are everywhere! It makes me happy!
2. The joy of the accomplishment is worth the pain. It makes me feel successful and alive!
3. I enjoy the quiet time alone. As much as I love my husband and kids, moms need a break sometimes.
4. I feel STRONG! There is nothing that compares to that feeling of finishing a run and being so thankful that your body was strong enough to finish it and getting excited to do it again tomorrow.
I also really enjoy indoor rock climbing with my sister. It's social time but so much more! Getting to the top of the wall is a rush and sometimes I secretly wish I could live at the climbing gym.
I really do enjoy doing workout DVDs too but I don't enjoy doing them while my family is around. I am self conscious. But, its so nice to have a perfectly planned out workout that I can just pop into my DVD player and sweat along with the trainer on TV. It's almost too simple.
So I want to challenge all of you to find something that you LOVE to do. Find the joy in your workouts. It's there.
If you can't find joy in it then you need to try something new. Try some Yoga (I also LOVE yoga!), hiking, take a spinning class at the gym, or try out a new workout DVD. And allow your motivation to ebb and flow. Sometimes your body will need more rest and sometimes it needs more work. But in the end our bodies adapt to their situation so the more you exercise the more muscle you build and you won't need the fat anymore so your body will start to release it.
Focus on JOY. Focus on HEALTH. Focus on HAPPINESS.
Because what you focus on is what you will see more of.
