Have You Made Exercise a Priority in Your Life?

      Truthfully there were times in my life where I stopped making exercise a priority and I paid a very high price.  I stayed fat for two decades.  Yikes!  Most of us know that exercise is not going to solve all of our issues with weight loss but I think we all would agree, exercise benefits us in numerous ways.  We know we can't eat a huge piece of cake for 500 calories and expect to burn it off by walking very briskly for an hour at a 4.0 pace.  A 150 pound person would only burn off 340 calories for a full hour!  That's still approximately 150 calories in the hole!  That's why exercise can't wipe out what we choose to overeat beyond our proper daily intake. 

       There's no doubt moderate exercise works off a couple of hundred calories, which assists in our weight loss goals or maintaining our desired weight.  Let's take a look at all of the additional great reasons why we need to make exercising a priority in our lives.

•   Exercise makes us feel productive
•   We feel like we're going the extra step in taking care of our body. 
•   Exercise simply makes us feel great from a mental standpoint. 
•   Exercise creates endorphins that are uplifting.
•   We release tension and unwanted stress when we exercise.

       So how do we fit exercising into our daily routine?  We simply must make it a PRIORITY in our lives.  It's not being selfish, in fact, it's quite the opposite.  By taking care of yourself from both a physical and mental standpoint, you become your best for everyone else in your life but most of all you! 

       Here's a tip on being prepared to exercise:  Make sure your at home attire consists of workout clothes.  Yes, that right there is a biggie.  Purchase workout shorts or clothing that you can throw on the minute you get home or at the start of your day if you work from home.  Remember to dress like this on the weekends also.  This makes it much easier to transition to exercise at any point of your day or night that you can fit it in.  You're already dressed and ready to go!

       Exercise doesn't have to be a full hour at a time and you don't need to go anywhere special to do it.  In fact, many studies suggest that it is better to get your exercising in at different times and for shorter periods.  I exercise three times a day on most days.  I take a 15 minute minute brisk walk for a mile in the morning.

       At some point during the day I do 20-30 minutes of an exercise DVD of Pilates or a dumbbell/squat routine.  In the early evening I walk/jog for 30 full minutes for 2 miles plus.  I slowly built up to the 30 minutes of walking/jogging.  I have an established routine of moderate exercise that works great when you're in the weight loss mode or when you achieve your goal weight in maintenance. 

       Many DVD's can be purchased that have 10 minute lower and upper body routines with low, medium and high intensity levels.  This way, you can easily get a full body workout out in during a 20 minute time period.  Many experts suggest building up to 30 minutes a day of cardio most days of the week.  If you're dressed and ready to go, there's no need to change clothing if you want to grab a 15-30 minute brisk walk.

       Exercise clothing can be worn to run all of your errands throughout the day.  It sure works for me.  I don't have to stop at any point when I'm home to change into workout clothing.  I'm ready to put on one of my favorite 20 minute Pilate or conditioning DVD'S at my convenience day or night.  I can also walk right out my front door for my 15 or 30 minute walk.

        Everybody is different but for me, nothing beats being ready to go and having the convenience of getting all my workouts in from my own home at my convenience.  That's what has led me to be successful in making exercise a priority in life.

         I hope some of these tips will help you in making exercise a priority in your life!