[POD] 199. 5:20:25 - How to get motivated to exercise and STAY motivated FINAL AUDIO
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[00:00:00] I have a unique episode for you today. I am pulling back the curtains a little bit and sharing a coaching call from our Women's Wellness Hub. It's actually a training I did about how to get motivated to exercise, how to stay consistent, how to stop starting over, how to set goals, how to know when enough is enough.
Everything you wanted to know about exercise is actually in this training about how to set it up in your own life and and be motivated to do so. So I hope you really enjoy this training. If you want more support, you want a program to follow, an exercise program to follow. You want support to show up and be consistent and build that motivation and create that consistency.
Inside the Women's Wellness Hub we have. All of that to support you. We have coaching calls, we have menu plans, um, recipe database. We have strength training programs, workout programs, as well as identity coaching and root cause coaching [00:01:00] and, um, behavior change, creation, coaching, all of the above. Um, so I hope you enjoy this, um, episode.
That is a training that's from there. It's a little bit long, but it was good. We had a lot of good conversation happening in there. And if you'd like to join us, you can just use the code podcast, um, at a woman of wellness.com/hub. We'd love to have you join us and help you in your goals to becoming a woman of wellness.
Welcome to the Woman of Wellness Podcast, a show dedicated to empowering you to make peace with food. Embrace your body and enjoy the journey to lasting health and wellness. I'm your host, Elizabeth Dahl, a certified exercise physiologist and women's nutrition and behavior coach. Passionate about helping you build sustainable habits, achieve your goals, and create a lifetime of health without dieting or restriction.
And because women's health is such a multifaceted journey alongside sharing my expertise, I'm [00:02:00] bringing you conversations with leading women's health experts to explore the many dimensions of wellness, from nutrition and weight loss to mental health hormones and self care. We'll uncover the tools and strategies you need to create a life of health and balance.
To the woman who's tired of the dieting rollercoaster, who feels disconnected from her body or overwhelmed by food and fitness rules, this is your invitation to make a change to the woman who's ready to achieve food freedom, lose weight in a way that feels good, and discover the true meaning of health.
You are in the right place. It's time to ditch the guilt and shame of diet, culture, and embrace a new path to wellness. My friend, you are already a woman of wellness. Your worth is not defined by a number on the scale. You deserve to show up in love for your body today and every day. Join me each week for inspiring conversations, expert insights and practical strategies to help you discover what your body [00:03:00] truly needs.
It's time to reject the lie that help and weight loss have to be hard, painful, or miserable. I'm ready to link arms with you and experience the joy of wellness together. Okay, let's jump in. Um, I'm excited to chat, chat about this topic. Um, we are talking all about. Exercise motivation and consistency because our, this is, this month we're kind of honing in on movement.
That's the first core habit in your, um, habits for health training. And I always tell women, if you wanna feel better in your body today. Move it in any capacity that you have, move your body. The more consistent you are with movement, the better you're gonna feel and the more likely you are to make better choices.
And it seems funny to start with movement, but I always say if you can get movement in it, um, make. Get, get [00:04:00] movement in. Okay, so we're gonna be talking about that today. I have a document, um, that you guys are following along live, and then I'll make sure that this document is also in the, um, replay of this.
So you'll be able to see it. And yeah, Rayan was saying if you just make sure you copy, make a copy. So you click on file, make a copy, and then you can write your own notes if you want. So I kind of have an outline for us. Um, but you can like make notes or you can just write in your journal, whatever feels better for you.
But this just kind of helps us follow along a little bit. Um, okay. So the first thing that we need to always remember is start with capacity and not your willpower. I think sometimes our brains get ahead of our bodies or our capabilities, and you know this, our goal around here is to meet yourself where you are.
So the first thing that we have to understand is that you can't build a habit in a life that doesn't have space for it. [00:05:00] I think sometimes we get really invested, right? Really we catch a wave of motivation or a. Or a wave of frustration really, where it's like I'm frustrated with my body, I'm frustrated with where I am, and I catch this wave, and then I want to change something.
When in reality, my life doesn't have the capacity for it. So Jackie, for example, is in, you know, a very different season of life, a, a very, you know, postpartum season of life. That capacity is going to look different than the capacity with a, um, or, or something, right? Or all the kids in school. And so when we.
Jump in. A lot of times we, we kind of, we skip workouts or we, um, get inconsistent, right? We stop because you're over capacity and under supported. So take a minute to [00:06:00] think, and this is something you can do after the call as well, but I want you to think for a minute what is possible for you in this season of your life.
And is there, are there things that you are saying yes to that maybe are costing you your health? So that's the first thing that I, I wanna look at is what is your capacity? Not what you want to do. Maybe you have like this goal to like just drop a ton of weight really fast or something. Or like do a 5K tomorrow.
Sometimes our brains get ahead, right? Um, and I'm not saying any of these are not possible, we. Absolutely have capacity in certain seasons. Be honest with the capacity that you have and what you are doing in life that may help you take that on. Okay, so what do you have? Capacity for what do you, I guess we'd start, what do I want to do, right?
And then what do I have capacity [00:07:00] for? And remember, start small, but be realistic here. So the first thing that we wanna think about when we're trying to implement an exercise program is, you know, do I have the space? And if not, how can I get the space or what needs to shift? So you may have to take some inventory of your life and remove or pause a non-essential task or commitment to maybe make room.
So I, it is been interesting and I've shared this a few times. I mean, this is my story. Um, and I know it's not like everyone's story, but hopefully it kind of helps. I signed up for a Spartan race, and it's 60 days from now, 59 days actually as of right now. It's on July 12th, so whatever, how many, however many days.
Um, and you know, it's interesting because I've been doing some things to work up to it, but as it's got getting closer, I realized that I actually need to [00:08:00] make a bigger commitment. To my movement goal or I'm not going to succeed. Um, and so I've had to adjust some things and some things that I was doing in the morning.
I was waking up and doing more work in the morning. I'm actually gonna have to start shifting some more of my exercise into the mornings before everyone wakes up because I've got kids coming home from school in a few weeks, um, for summer. And so I had to really look at my, at my schedule and be like.
Okay, I'm upping my commitment here, what needs to go, and that's actually really hard. Um, but it's important if it's important to you, okay? You're not always going to be training for something like that, but is there something in your life that you're committing to that's causing you maybe to hold back from what you want to commit to?
Or do you want to commit to some form of movement, right? Whether it's following the strength training program inside the hub, um, or doing some goal for [00:09:00] yourself. Um, what do you need to I. Take inventory of, because it's not about adding one more thing, it will never, ever last. Right. Um, if you add, if you add one more thing, um, it's, it's gonna crumble.
But if you can say, yeah, I can fit this in here because I have the capacity, I am, I'm either making the capacity or I have the capacity and then I need to do it. Right. And, and we're gonna talk a little bit more about motivation and like, if we have the capacity, then what do we do? Um, but. In, in our minds or just as we are kind of thinking, it's really easy to say, I don't have time.
Right? Where am I gonna fit that in? Or I'm already maxed out. Instead, let's talk about, it's not scheduled yet. I haven't created the capacity yet. And then you get to choose what that looks like. So that's the first thing. So wherever you're at with, um, [00:10:00] exercise and movement. The first thing to say is, where am I going to fit it?
And what do, well, actually, the first question I want you to say is, what do I want it to look like? Right. Do I want to be someone who gets 10,000 steps a day? Do I want to exercise every day? Do I want to strength train three days a week? What? What's that baseline for you that you're like working, you know, you want to have as part of your lifestyle?
And then ask yourself, what is my capacity and what do I need to do to create the capacity? Okay, let me read this question. Hold on. I think my biggest problem is not necessarily having the capacity or being able to find the time, it's that I don't feel like doing the exercise and rather choose something else.
Yeah. That's great. And I, uh, we're gonna kind of come, we're gonna come to that a little bit. Um, so yeah, the, the capacity and then the motivation to actually do it. Right. So the second thing that we wanna do is. We've gotta get started. Okay. And the [00:11:00] way that we get started is to lower the friction, or I like to call it, you know, lowering that activation energy.
It's not about making it the biggest, best thing ever. It's about simplifying it. And if it's something that causes a big cognitive load, right? Or something that causes your brain to have to. Put all the pieces together. Think about it a lot, like create the plan. Every time you have to make a choice, it increases the chance, you'll skip it.
So every time you wake up in the morning and you don't know where your sports bra is, or your tennis shoes, or your workout clothes, which. Trust me, I have been here many times. It's like, oh my gosh, this is gonna take me 30 minutes to find everything. I'm not even gonna go, like, I don't even have time at this point, right?
Or I don't even know what I'm doing at the gym. So I kind of look around and then I just hit the treadmill, right? So when it feels like we have to make a choice, it increases that chance that you're gonna skip it. So we don't want any sort of [00:12:00] decision fatigue. Okay. Um, start with clarity. Inside the hub, you have several different options to create that clarity specifically with exercise.
Okay. So we have our core habits training that helps you come up with the exercise plan that you want, um, and then execute on it. We have the 12 week strength training program, which you can follow. Exactly. You don't even have to think, you just have to show up. And we also have 10 minute daily workout videos in there as well.
Um, and so you can just be like, okay, I am gonna do a 10 minute video today and I'm gonna pick one and I'm just gonna go for it. So there's a lot of, a lot of, um, resources there. If you are like, Hey, I want. To work on this. I want, I have this goal. I want to work toward this. Let us know. We'll write it for you.
I will 100% write whatever program you're like, okay, I wanna do a 5K. Well, let's set up a 5K plan for you. [00:13:00] Okay? Whatever it is for you. You have this as a resource to lower that friction, because I know that that's not maybe your area of expertise and it's mine. And so I'm happy to help with this. So that's the first thing, is make sure that you are not, you don't have that, um, barrier that, um, friction, I guess you'd say to getting started.
Um, add it to your calendar first. Right. Um, these are some strategies to kind of help lower the friction. So once we've gotten some clarity, then we add it to our calendar, we add it to a habit that we're already doing. So it could be something as soon as simple as, as soon as I wake up, I put on my gym clothes.
You wake, hopefully you wake up every single morning. So tie something to that. Okay. Also choose good enough workouts that you can follow through with on busy days. Okay. So we don't have, we're, the [00:14:00] expectation here is not perfection, it's consistency. And Ray Dun has a good suggestion. Maybe you haven't found a type of exercise that you like.
I think we're gonna talk about that in here. Um, but we'll, we will talk about it. Okay. Actually, it's kind of the next one a little bit. The first, the, the third thing we need to do is to design your motivation and don't wait for it. Okay. I think sometimes we're like, I wanna get motivated to go exercise, right?
Maybe you're feeling this, like, I don't feel like doing this exercise. Um, I need some sort of boost of motivation. But the truth is, motivation comes backwards. It doesn't come at the beginning of the exercise for a lot of people. I don't know. I, I'm not really, I dunno, a ton of people are like, yeah, I'm going to the gym and I'm so excited.
Like, no, it's, [00:15:00] I made this goal for myself based on my identity. Okay, this is really, really important. What is my identity as a woman of wellness? Who am I. I am a woman who takes care of herself. I am a woman who shows up. I am a woman who, um, takes, you know, is healthy, um, anything. So motivation follows momentum.
So you have what you need, right? Clarity. And then we get started with some momentum. You cr you got cre, clarity. You said, okay, this is what I wanna do, this is what I wanna work on. This is specifically what I wanna follow and I want to get some momentum. And momentum and results is what creates more motivation.
It's like a A loop, right? A habit loop where sometimes we just have to get to the gym and then it. Motivates us to keep going to [00:16:00] exercise. We're already there and we have to attach it to this is who I am. Right. Um, so as we're doing that, I want you to think about creating more process goals than outcome goals.
And we've talked about this a few times, but. Thinking about how do I create a process for this? So for example, I set a goal to do the Spartan, maybe your goal is to lose 10 pounds. Maybe your goal is to just be consistent with exercise. I have done that before, right? To be consistent with exercise. And so I set a process goal.
Okay, if I wanna do the Spartan, I've gotta get to the gym. So I started with. I was kind of not doing much because I was postpartum too, and I was just like, sleep was priority, right? And so I just told myself like, okay, I'm gonna start with two, two days per week. Tuesday, Thursday, Tuesday, Thursday, two days per week at the gym.
And I'm just gonna go and I'm, I'm not setting like a time goal, I'm just like gonna get there and I'm just gonna [00:17:00] follow kind of like a little plan that I write for myself and I'm just gonna do it two times a week. And then. You know, I said, okay, I'm consistent with two times a week. Now I've gotta add a third because I've gotta get working out, you know, a little bit more.
And now that I've got those three strength days a week, now I've gotta implement more, um, like sprint training and, um, cardio stuff, which I hate, but, um, so I've gotta implement that too. And so it becomes a rhythm. It becomes a rhythm. And that's what we want exercise to be for us. A rhythm. It's like a dance, right?
Where we just like, okay, I am, I'm kind of, I'm doing the right steps. I'm following the plan. I'm in this rhythm. And the, the motivation follows the momentum, right? It's going to keep coming. So, um. We're gonna talk a little bit about goal [00:18:00] versus maintenance, okay? But when we have a system or a rhythm, when we're not working on toward a specific goal, it's your system or your rhythm that carries you, okay?
It can keep you in both goal and maintenance phases. And that that'll be section, that'll be the next section here. But, um, for if we're stepping into a goal phase. You might follow a plan with an increasing challenge, right? Maybe like a progression for strength training, a pull up 10 pushups, right?
Whatever. For maintenance phase. It may be baseline. Like I just always know that I'm at the gym three days per week and I do strength training and I try to go walking a couple times per week. Um, not necessarily a performance, but this a personal wellness stewardship. Have you thought about that for a minute?
I'm gonna fold that. Have you thought about [00:19:00] what it looks like for you to be a steward over your health and your wellness and how we don't always have to be looking to be the best version of ourselves to be. I. Healthy. Like what, what am I trying to say? We don't have to be the fittest person in the room or the, you know, the figure competitor or anything to be healthy and well.
But you are responsible for your own wellness journey. Um, and that's so valuable and so important. Yeah. Ballroom dancing is so awesome, and you're right. It's, it can be costly, it can be time consuming, right? It's something maybe you have to go to. You have to find a babysitter. You have to like make schedules.
And so that's really important to recognize that there may be times in life where [00:20:00] that's not your capacity right now. So we know that we love ballroom dancing. Well, maybe we need to implement some form of exercise that A, either mimics it, there are. Plenty of online. I mean, you can get everything you want online, right?
There's, I'm sure there's YouTube videos on like improving technique and working on that. And, and I know it's not the same as being in the studio. I get that. Um, but we can either mimic the exercise or we can, um, do what we need to do to help strengthen our bodies to then. When we have the capacity to do that.
For example, I love to hike. I love to get out in the mountains. Um, but I don't always do it in the middle of winter. Um, and so. But I need to make sure that my body is in a place where it feels, where it's strong enough that when the capacity happens, right when summer hits, I can just get up in those mountains and go, [00:21:00] because I've worked on the I've, I've done the work that will help me do that, if that makes sense.
So, yeah. Right now the capacity isn't there for ballroom dancing, but can we either mimic. Exercise in some form and recognize that's the best we've we can do right now. Or can we say, Hey, I want to strengthen myself so that when the capacity is there and I can go back, um, it's an easy transition. So what do we do?
Maybe if we are, are in the phase of like, I'm just not feeling it. Here's what I suggest. I suggest you, you create a goal because that's what reignites momentum I. Okay, so, um, there's a difference between being consistent and being challenged. And let me tell you exactly why I signed up for the Spartan race, because I was [00:22:00] blah at the gym.
I was, I, I didn't have much to work toward. I didn't, I was just leaving. There was just not a lot of growth. It was just very kind of flat line. I was there. Um, you know, I had set that goal and I, and I was there, but I was like, ah, I, I'm having a hard time with being here. Right? So if you're maybe showing up or you're not showing up, but you feel like the exercise is bored or you're stuck, or you're just like, um, like.
Just checking it off the list. Right. You need a specific goal. Okay. Anyone in that space right now? I'm curious besides Jackie, 'cause I know you kind of have shared that with us. Is this a common feeling? Yeah, I need a goal. This is important. I don't, I don't think we s ah, I don't know if I should say this out loud, but I don't think we set enough.
Challenging goals. I [00:23:00] don't think we put ourselves in enough, um, discomfort with our health and I. Wellness. I think we're in a lot of discomfort in life, right? We're stressed at work, we're overwhelmed with parenting, you know, and so we're already like stressed and like it can feel uncomfortable, but for whatever reason, it's.
Because of those things, I guess not even for whatever reason, but because of those things, what happens is we, we shy away from discomfort in anything else because the capacity feels too big. So I wanna, I wanna suggest a little challenge that you, um, allow yourself to step into discomfort with exercise.
And that might be making a goal. It [00:24:00] might be time for a specific goal, and a couple of you agreed that you're feeling that, um, they're strategic goals, okay? To reignite motivation, especially in rut seasons, right? So this is a rut. Even if you haven't started that would be considered a rut, right? We're still in the rut.
And so we need to ask ourselves, what goal could I create that might help me keep going? Yeah. And here's just some, some simple ones. Maybe you set a goal to walk X number of steps. So I just got, uh, I got myself a pedometer 'cause I was gonna go, um, measure things and it's the worst one. It doesn't work, so I need to get another one.
But I was realizing that I didn't, I don't think I get as many steps in as I should in a date. Um, because I have a toddler that doesn't wanna sit in the stroller and I'm having a really hard time getting movement in when she doesn't wanna sit in the stroller. Um, and so I wanted to. Track my steps and then maybe set a goal of like, okay, maybe I normally get 5,000 steps, I wanna go for [00:25:00] 8,000 steps or, or something and set a goal for 30 days.
Um, or work up to a certain number of pushups. Maybe you wanna set a goal, Hey, I wanna do 10 real pushups. I have this cute lady in my neighborhood, she's probably in her seventies, and she was telling me that she can do like. 12, 20, 20 pushups on her knees. And I was like, that is amazing. And she said, no, but I need to do, I need to do 'em on my feet.
I need to do 'em on my feet. So she's been working on doing 'em on her feet, and she's like, I got a few, but I, I keep going. I, I got like two or three and I'm gonna keep working on it. Right. And it's so fun, even in her at her age, like she's working on some things to keep her strong. Maybe you set a pull up goal.
I only put that in here because I'm currently working on a pull-up goal and I needed. I need all the motivation and support and love I can get because I hate them and they're so hard, but I'm getting stronger and that's what matters. Um, maybe you wanna build up to, you know, just three strengths, workouts [00:26:00] per day or per week.
We have it in the hub. All you gotta do is turn it on and, and go through it, right? That's it. Um. You maybe complete a four to six week specific workout program. So maybe you're like a, a six weeks to 5K workout and you're like, I wanna run a five KI don't have to sign up for a race, but I could just do it myself.
And maybe I go run and, and do that. Um, do a fun or fitness challenge with a friend, right? Maybe you want a friend. Sometimes that's hard. Sometimes it helps. It's hard always to get someone else involved, but, um, it can work. A couple, a couple things, and then I wanted, this might be a good place to put it actually, so I am gonna find it, um, choose a spark goal, right?
Something to spark some excitement or a challenge goal. I'm gonna even write maybe like a challenge goal. Oh yeah. Okay. So no cho [00:27:00] the, the chores pile up. Kids make more messes. Yeah. And here's the deal. I've had to learn as a mom of 4,000 kids because three equals 4,000. Nobody told me this one. And two is one, and two is one and two.
But three plus more is 1000 kids. Anyone else agree with me anyway? Um, so sometimes we have to say, okay. What is my capacity here and what do I need to let go of? Not almost physically, but emotionally and mentally. I may need to let go of the fact that my house is not going to be immaculate and trust me, I, I get it.
Like I totally get this. Um, but sometimes there is that, I don't wanna say sacrifice, but I want to say adjustment or, um. Uh, recalibrating is not the word, is it? Is recalibrating the word [00:28:00] anyway. Um, we kind of have to just adjust the expectations here. You have five, so yeah, it's a lot. 'cause five is probably 2000 or 10,000, I'm not sure.
Um, but recognizing that there is a capacity for you, um, and. We also may have to let go of some things that we want to control that we can't control. And I learned that like my house is never gonna be consistently clean. And so if I spend all day cleaning it, or if I tell myself like at night I'm gonna like go for a solid 30 minutes, it's about the same.
And sometimes I have to like change those and be like, oh, okay. I don't know. I gotta figure this out. Right. So. Yes. It's always, it's always a little bit of a, a tricky thing. You know, get your kids involved the best you can. Hey, mom really wants to go exercise. Do you guys think you could clean up your toys while I'm doing this?
Sometimes it takes a little bit longer, you know, like those kinds of things happen. [00:29:00] Um, but. Having something to look forward to. I think we don't do that as much. We don't do that enough. As women. Choose something to look forward to a challenge. Challenge yourself. Challenge yourself self to do something hard that creates a sense of progress, fun, or purpose.
Okay. Um, the purpose is to refresh the motivation and not necessarily to like, re re overhaul the entire thing. Okay. Challenges are really fun too. So, um. Okay, so this is where we, we set a goal and we use this commitment tracker to. Excite us, right? So we mentioned anywhere from like two to six weeks. What are you working on?
What is the goal? Um, what do you want to accomplish, right? What is the goal? What, what do you wanna be compliant for? What will I do? When will I do it? And then help a reward for yourself. Hey, you know what? For six weeks, I'm going to follow a [00:30:00] 5K running program. I'm gonna work toward being able to run a 5K and see how I do.
Or for six weeks I'm going to follow the 12 weeks drink training program. So I'm gonna do half, I'm gonna go half, and I'm gonna start with two days per week, or I'm gonna try it for three days per week and then I'm gonna mark it off. And one of my rewards is maybe get myself like a new tank top or a new workout shirt or um, some fun socks that I can wear when I work out.
Like something that's like. That, that's connected with your body and feeling good. So I've said this before, but I used this when I was in a rut with exercise and one of my things was I got like a little accessory. So I think I got like some, some bracelets, just some like cheap bracelets. Um, I thought, oh well, like I'm taking care of my body.
Like this is one way that I can elevate, right? I can elevate taking care of my body. So, um. Use this, use this habit commitment to help you with a challenge to help you with, um, anything [00:31:00] here. A new pair of jeans that fit me postpartum. I love that. And go listen to the, uh, podcast episode today. It should be new.
Um, if you listen to podcasts, because I talked a lot about that actually. Build a system, not a streak. We've gotta rethink consistency, okay? Consistency is not the, the is not perfection. Um, we're not forcing consistency. It's something that supports our body, right? It's that default. Um, we're not aiming for perfection, but can you have a backup plan?
Like maybe you are struggling or maybe something you know, it didn't feel right or you didn't enjoy it. It's not, I'm gonna quit, I'm gonna be done. Right? So for example, the ballroom dancing example. Like, okay, it's too much money and it takes too much time. So does that mean that I just stop because it's not because I can't do the one thing that I love?
What's a [00:32:00] fallback plan? I don't even know if I love that word a ton. Maybe I would rephrase it like, um, uh, what's, what's a better word for it? Like a, um. A keep showing up. I like that better. Um. What's a keep showing up plan? What's, what can you do to keep showing up even if it isn't perfect? Even if it isn't?
Exactly. And then what is your minimum effective dose? Okay, so what can you do that still honors your values, still still identify or embraces that identity, right? Um, and, and becomes who you are. I am someone who moves. I look for opportunities to move and then you, from there, you build your framework.
Okay, this is so valuable to say, okay, what does my framework look like? I move most days, right? My goal is to park further away. My goal is [00:33:00] to go on at least one walk after a meal each day. Um, maybe like right now I'm working on some low back mobility because I don't know what I've done. I've done, but I.
I messed up my low back. And so that's something that I kind of had to, um, like build in, in the mornings. I had to say, okay, like, nothing else matters. I've gotta get this done first. Um, and it's just, it's in there, right? It's daily, it's already there. So what is your framework now that we've like, okay, the identity.
I am a woman of wellness who I am working toward. Okay. You see how this is adding up? Here I am this woman. Um, I am going to, I'm, I wanna set this goal. I'm working toward this, and then I'm going to build this framework here to say, okay, my goal is two to three strength sessions per week. What does that look like in this season in my capacity?
And then set [00:34:00] a consistent workout time block. I know it's hard, but the truth is the more you leave it up to chance. The more you're like, okay, when is it gonna come in? Like when am I gonna be able to do it? The less likely you'll do it. Okay. So find the best possible time, right? If you're in the season of postpartum, ugh.
I wouldn't even say like, go workout when the baby's napping. I would say, go nap when the baby's napping if you're tired. Right? So maybe it's like, okay, it might have to be like. Like right before I get in the shower or right after I feed the baby, and I just say, Hey, like, you're gonna have to lay down, you're asleep.
Like it's, it's the little time that I get, um, to do that.
The movement snacks. Yeah. Consistency isn't the same as perfection. I've been so tired the last three days after some difficult things and have been beating myself up for ex not exercising. Yeah. You know what? I'm gonna be honest. I'm not a believer in [00:35:00] never skip two days, I think. Have you heard that phrase like you can skip one day but never skip two days or else you're out?
No, you can always return. And guess what? Sometimes you're gonna have seasons where things are hard. I mean, I, Megan, I hope you don't mind, I think you've shared this, but like you've been working through an injury, um, and that's hard because there's things that your brain wants to do and work on. And we've had to adjust.
But I wanna tell everyone here that you have been showing up in the capacity that you have, and that's really, really cool. And so you've adjusted your framework to support your body. And radon, same thing, you know. Hard things have can happen and, and we can have some setbacks, but the key is we learn how to support ourselves through it [00:36:00] and get back quicker, right?
Not go four months without it or whatever. Um, we can, we can realign quicker when we, um, take care of what we need and remember that we can still get back to it. Okay? So. I mean that, that goes even beyond like this whole thing, right? We're trying to be consistent, but the hard times we hope are an, an anoma, an anomaly.
Um, they're not every time and if we're always looking toward like, but what about this? Or after this, I should start. No, no, no, no, no. Start now and then let those anomalies teach you and guide you and help you adjust as needed. Okay. Um, you can have a movement menu. I like to do this too. I like have a few workouts that if I'm just lazy and I don't want to do anything, I know exactly what to do.
You know, it's like maybe 30 minutes where I'm just like, okay, I'm just gonna bust [00:37:00] through this and I'm here and I did it. And. You know what? If it fits my energy today, because we are a society, I don't know why, but we are a set society of women that we are convinced we need to have all the energy all the time.
And so we have to do the same workout and have the same energy. But sometimes you're gonna have less energy than other times, and that's okay. Okay. You might have less energy, you may need to do two sets instead of three. You may need to do a little bit lower weights, support your body. Okay? When you fall off, let's get back.
Okay. Restarting is the hardest thing. We kinda, I already was like ahead of myself already here, but remember that failure. Remember, um, you're, um, winning or learning. You're either winning or you're learning. Okay? Consistency is how fast you recover, not how perfect you are. I was clearly ahead of myself.
You guys remember our spiral up mentality? What's the smallest action that moves [00:38:00] me forward today, Rayan, that's a great question. You can ask yourself, what can I do today that will help me move forward? And then you can reflect, right? What worked, what didn't, what do I need to do? Don't get in the mindset of starting over on Monday.
Oh my goodness. We are so prone to this, and I'm not immune either. Okay. Your next choice is your reset button. You get to choose that. Okay. And then I added, I added two extras because I stopped there and I was like, no, we need to talk about two more things. What's enough? What's enough exercise? How do you know if you're doing it right?
I think that's a big question. Does anyone struggle with that? Like, what should I, what should I be doing? How do I know if it's enough? Let's simplify it.
Can you show up in the capacity that you want in your life and feel good? If not, you need to do something different. Exercise is here to support yourself. [00:39:00] It's here to support your life, not dominate it. And you know, fitness influencers online Show that. Show how much, like when you see someone that has like a shredded body that is their lifestyle.
That's great. That's totally great. But just remember that that is a dominant part of their lifestyle. And we should have our health be dominant, right? That's the most important thing. But remember that there's no one size fits all, right? Dose of movement. So if you're asking yourself like, am I burning enough calories?
Is this doing enough? Um, asking yourself, does it help me show up? Right. Does it help me show up for my life? Am I feeling good in my body? Am I feeling strong? Is my body working the way I want it to? If not, then something needs to change. Okay. And remember that enough shifts based on your season, your capacity, and your stress [00:40:00] levels.
Postpartum season enough is very different than where I am right now. I'm a year and a half postpartum. Right. Or, you know, we talked about menopause last week, that's a different one. That, or that's like a, a different, um, place and, and enough is going to look different there. So, um, define your own movement target.
Okay. How do I wanna feel from. My movement, what do I wanna get out of this? What is my current life season? What am I working toward? Do I wanna train for something? Do I have some low sleep? Maybe I need to focus on some just gentle movement, right? So maybe I need to mo focus on stretching and moving my body so that I get in the habit of exercise, so that when the capacity expands, it's here.
I already have the rhythm and the routine. That would be a great way, um, Jackie, for you to get started, right? You are in a postpartum season, you are not going to necessarily to be doing all of X, Y, Z, but [00:41:00] could you get into a habit of. Some yoga or some movement or stretching where it's like, this is part of my routine and when the capacity expands, then I already have the routine and I can increase it.
Um, what's realistic for me this week? Let go of what worked six months ago, anchor to now. Okay. So, um. I'm gonna let you guys kind of look at this, this movement model. So it can just be more foundational, um, supportive. So bare minimums, right? Maybe you're in a foundational stage, maybe you're more in a supportive stage when your life is kind of flowing, things are going well, or maybe you're in a push phase, a goal specific training.
And then we, we go in and out of those, just like weight loss, right? We go in and out of weight loss where it's like I push, um, for. I dunno, four to six weeks, let's say, and then I back off and maintain. And so that's the same [00:42:00] thing. Exercise is never meant to be the same all the time. Mm. Okay. So anything counts.
Did you know that 10 minutes of 10 minutes, three times a day is the, uh, physiological equivalent of 30 minutes total? It's gonna do the same thing for your body. If you can get out. 10 minutes times three, or one 30 minute walk, they're gonna be the same. They're gonna count the same for your body. Okay? Um, your consistency is always going to outplay the intensity.
Remember that. Okay. And then the last section I just wanna talk a little bit about, okay, well, what if you have a weight loss goal? What if you're trying to create change? How does movement change in like a maintenance goal versus a weight loss goal? Okay. Your goals determine your focus, not your worth or your effort.
Okay. So think about how can I focus this based on where I [00:43:00] am in my goal? I might be in maintenance mode weight wise, but I wanna push myself, you know, physically, whatever. But I know weight loss is a big, a big thing we wanna talk about. So, um, you don't always have to be in a fat loss face, okay, ma.
Maintenance is powerful and intentional. Your movement strategy should match your goal. So when you're in a weight loss phase. The goal here is that you are trying to obviously not lose, not lose muscle. You're trying to lose fat. You wanna increase your metabolism, which means you need to increase your caloric output.
Okay. What does this look like? At least two to three days per week of strength training. Um, we're trying to. Create muscles, right? And then we're trying to add daily or near daily, um, low impact movement walks, cardio. We're trying to increase steps, trying to increase, um, uh, steps. So that's a big one. And then if possible, if you are recovering good [00:44:00] or you have time, always increase your movement.
Okay. So this is kind of a good mental shift to. Um, think about we're not burning more calories, but we're protecting lean mass and building habits. Isn't that kind of a cool shift to think about, like, okay, I gotta burn more calories, I gotta burn more calories, I gotta lose more weight. But rather, you know, I'm trying to support my body in.
Uh, I mean, these lean mass is your muscle, right? And building my habits. Okay? So when you're in a maintenance phase, your goal is to right, have energy support the strength that you've created. Um, make sure that you're not overwhelmed or stressed, and stay consistent. You guys, I know you love me when I say this, but two to three times per week strength is still the foundation we need to have, okay?
It's still. Important because for women's bodies specifically, you need some [00:45:00] form of strength training. Your bones need it, your muscles need it. As you age, muscle mass decreases. We can't control that. Um, hormone shift. We need to have as much strength as we can. Okay. Um, movement becomes more about feeling good and having a rhythm.
You don't always have to be working toward. Radon is a perfect example. You know, you're working on hiking and enjoying that movement. That's the perfect example of I'm not going hiking to burn this number of calories. I'm going hiking to show up, to support my body, to feel good, to experience something good and happy.
Right. That's good. Can it be, can it be included in a weight loss plan? Yeah. Like maybe you could be working on weight loss, but you could still be hiking. Right. But it doesn't have to be like, I have to go hiking 'cause I need to burn more calories. Do you see the difference there?
We wanna be more flexible than intense. Okay. This is who I am, this [00:46:00] is what I do. I'm even gonna say. Be, remember we've talked about this, um, because I am a woman of wellness, I choose, do, do do, right? I do this because I'm a woman of wellness and a woman of wellness has these values, so. You don't always need to be chasing a specific result, but if you are in a rut, sometimes you might need a challenge, right?
But remember, the goal is to stay strong, to stay mobile and consistent. Okay? And that will get you where you want to be. Um. Yeah, you've been in the foundational movement for a long time and that can be frustrating sometimes. Like it can be, it can be really frustrating to be in a place where it's like, oh my gosh, am I getting out of this?
Right? Like. [00:47:00] It is, it's hard. It can feel long sometimes when you're working through, uh, a, an injury or you're working through, you know, like maybe your metabolism's changed, maybe your hormones are changing, you're working through things like that. Maybe your life is going through something hard. We have to remember that all these things come in and we don't have control over all these things all the time, right?
We don't know how our body's gonna respond postpartum all the time. And so we have to be gentle with ourselves and say, okay. But because I am a wound of wellness, I still value movement in my body. So this is what I want you to do. And then, um, we, I'm gonna hop off, but um, I want you to take kind of, maybe take a minute, like sign off, kind of take a minute and sit down and really think about what you want movement specifically to look like in your life.
Big picture and then meet yourself where you are in this capacity, right? What, what does that look [00:48:00] like and how can I make it easy to do, right? Lower the friction, lower the activation energy. How can I fit it into my life? How can I, what do I need to move around and how can I make it enjoyable? Jackie, the other thing I would say is.
Uh, I don't know which episode it is, but there's an episode called The Sweet Spot of Exercise, and that's so important to, and I've shared it here a ton, but, you know, marry the big goal that you have with the, i I want it to be fun right now. Right? How can I make it fun and enjoyable right now so that I keep it going?
Okay. Okay. That was a lot. You guys are awesome. Um, I didn't anticipate myself talking for that long, but. Here's what I want you to do, go do that and then share it with us in the Facebook group, what you've come up with as a result of what we talked about today. And we have a call in [00:49:00] two weeks, same time, same place.
I think it's like a little bit earlier, but um, we will talk about it 'cause we're really focusing on a movement. So you have your movement challenge goal that you are working on. Um, if you need help with. Extra movement, we have that. Um, and then we have kind of the specific conversation today. So take something from this conversation and create what you need and then share with us.
I would love to hear it. Okay. Thank you guys for yeah. Sharing and, and working with each other. I really love the community here. You guys. I just love that you work together and support each other. And that's, we take, we can take that into the Facebook group too, in between calls. Okay. Okay. We'll have a wonderful rest of your day.
If you have questions, let me know in the group. Um, thank you so much for being here, and let me know. Keep me posted and let me support you if you're struggling. To take that next step. [00:50:00] Okay guys, see you later. Okay, my friend. If you love the Woman of Wellness podcast, did you know that one of the biggest ways you can say thank you is by hitting that subscribe button and leaving a review?
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