From Eileen: Well, today is my anniversary. Six years of continuous exercise. No flowers. No special dinner out. No real celebration. Actually, it’s almost anti-climactic. That’s because fitness has become part of my everyday life, almost as mundane as making my bed. I certainly don’t celebrate … “Yippee! I’ve taken a shower every day for a decade!” Or “Woo hoo! I ate a meal every single day for the last 12 years.”
Nope. Exercise is as routine as brushing my teeth and going to bed at night. I wouldn’t say I got to this point overnight. It takes time, patience and a dab of perseverance. (Well, OK, a lot of perserverance). The key, however, is to find a way to make it part of your day no matter what.
Last night, for instance, I went to buy a new car. The whole thing took longer than I thought and I didn’t get home until 9:30 p.m. I was really tired and hungry, but pumped at the same time (negotiating will do that to you). Plus, I was on the verge of my six-year-anniversary so I wasn’t going to blow my personal record. Off I went for a 45-minute walk with my cell phone, crowing to my significant other about my superb negotiating skills. Win. Win. Win. I managed to sqeeze in some exercise, a nice conversation and a bit of bragging time. Best of all, I was bragging about my car buying skills — not my exercise streak!
For great tips on applying this strategy to a weight loss program, check out books by Charles Stuart Platkin especially “The Automatic Diet”, which is a great book on incorporating wellness into your everyday life. He writes:
“The one most important question you need to ask yourself before each and every small change is: “Can I maintain this eating lifestyle forever?”
Whether you are considering diet or exercise or both, the point is you need to make it part of your day-to-day routine. If you can do that, pretty soon it will be six years of exercise. No big deal!