I know some of my fellow North Carolinians count shivering as exercise during the winter. Although the goal of shivering is to create movement/energy to warm your body…we can’t count it as exercise. Exercise should be purposeful and consistent year round. You don’t have to do the same type of exercise year round. I like to go kayaking, but I’m not venturing out on Jordan Lake in January.
One of the best things you can do for your body is to decide that you’re going to “be an active person”, and stick to whatever that means to you. Your body is designed to move and (cliche’ alert) if you don’t use it, you lose it. So commit to using it, because you’re going to need it your whole life.
A diet focused on getting enough vegetables and some fruit along with attention to purposeful movement (45+ min each day) is enough to maintain a relatively healthy life. If you’re committing to be an active person, that is a year round mindset. If you go on vacation you become a person who’s committed to an active lifestyle who happens to be on vacation. Travel doesn’t change the commitment. Being tired doesn’t change the commitment. Being busy doesn’t change the commitment. You’re an active person and you do active person things.
Truly implementing this small change in mindset will, overtime, help you work toward your health goals. Committing to this way of living and sticking to it, even if you have to lie to yourself so much that you start to believe it, will begin to sow seeds of health for the future. These little seeds will produce healthy, beautiful, metaphoric flowers for your family for generations to come, because when you commit to being an active person you change your family’s future. No other gift you give could ever compare to that future for them.
