Just Keep Swimming

Just keep swimming, just keep swimming. It was so difficult to get moving again, but now on Week 2, Day 3, I feel so much better. I'm drinking more water, my skin is clearer and I can move easier. This was definitely much needed and I know I say this every time but why in the World do I stop moving?

A body in motion likes to stay in motion, but once you get sedentary, you'd rather go to the dentist than work out (and I hate the dentist), so what is it that makes it so hard to start again when we stop?
I'm reading a book that may give a clue- it's called "Habit" and it is about how our brains are wired to reduce the amount of brain energy (for lack of a better word) that it takes to do tasks that are repeated. This is why we go on auto-pilot when we drive to work and we don't even remember getting there but it was so difficult the first time we drove. Remember the first time you had to shift gears! Or even use the blinkers! We have come a long way.

So that same component will make it easier for us to be healthy. The hardest thing is just to start! If you start, you increase your chances that you will be able to continue and be successful. I'm also trying to remove the notion that there is an end to this healthy lifestyle. This is life. There is no birthday, cruise, class reunion, or beach trip that will get you to where you want to be for life. I have FINALLY come to realize, (thanks Mama Sabio), that this is an everyday, all day thing.

It starts with you...Now that the gyms are closed, you have to find the motivation within yourself. In my dissertation I have studied a lot about intrinsic and extrinsic motivation. Intrinsic motivation is where you decide within yourself what the motivation is and you are determined to do something. External motivation are the things I listed earlier, doing it because of outside pressure like wanting to look good or someone saying something about your weight. What research shows is that extrinsic motivation only helps on a temporary basis. For long term success, there needs to be intrinsic motivation. So write today what your reasons are for getting healthy- notice that I said getting healthy and not losing weight. So during COVID let's not worry so much about weight. Let's focus on starting the great habits now that our future selves will thank us for later!