Instead of beating yourself up for not exercising “enough”…(usually “enough” means in our heads enough to lose all the excess fat on our body in a single session/week/month–a completely unrealistic and unattainable goal)…focus on the improvements you have made.
It is kind of like the game “I spy…” that we played as kids, where one of us would say “I spy something green” and the other kids would try to figure out what it was you saw. Only this time you are playing I Spy with yourself, about yourself. Sometimes the things will be easy to spot, other times you will have to search little harder! But you will spy things to notice if you look for them!
Notice that you are walking farther and/or faster.
Pay attention to your breathing and notice that it has gotten easier.
As you go about your day, pay attention to how your body feels. Are you noticing that your legs are getting stronger?
Can you lift or carry heavier loads than you could a few months ago?
Sometimes our endurance and strength improvements are so gradual we don’t notice them. That’s why it is good to have a benchmark where you start. Then you can periodically “check in” and compare to that mark and see your progress.
It is kind of like kids or puppies…they grow every day, but we don’t notice that day to day change. Then suddenly we notice their clothes don’t fit any more and we have some “proof” that they are indeed changing!
We always have room to grow in every area of our lives and certainly taking care of our bodies and moving is no different. But having room to improve does not mean that where we are is a place of failure!
