When comparison does us a disservice

We are our own worst enemies, women, and we don't like to admit it.

When we are on the supermarket line, we glance at the behind of the woman infront of us....oh, that's big, she shouldn't have dressed it like that...or...at least my fat folds aren't that big....we see a woman walking out of a kenchic (fries and chicken fast food) and entering her saloon car, which groans and shifts under her weight and say "all that went into her mouth?...and she is still eating"...I am guilty of that. At some point or other, we are all guilty of comparing ourselves to others, it is not only about how we look, we compare what cars we drive, where we live, how we live, we compare everything. It's natural, we're constantly looking to see where we fall on the social strata and the higher it is, in our eyes, the better.

I draw the line on such comparison being the basis of reaching and keeping a comfort zone.

Our society is getting heavier. As such the older we become,  the less active, the more likely it is that we will meet and see others heavier than us. I am guilty of perceiving this as meaning that I was "okay", that there was nothing wrong with being a size 16. Before I get a lot of negative feedback, let me say that there is nothing wrong with being a size 16. In fact, you can be whatever size you choose to be. My point is, I wasn't being the best I could be, I wasn't trying. I had lied to myself that because there were others who were heavier than I was, then I was definitely 'okay'.

Society in general did not change. I changed my mindset when I realised I was not being fair to myself. My basis of comparison was wrong. The bar I had set for myself was too low. I could do better, I could be better, and I begun to live like I was already better.

That is my challenge to you today, to set the bar higher, to stop comparing yourself to anyone you think is worse off than you are. You are limiting yourself, your personal potential is so much greater than that.

Have an active day!

Exercise has no mistress. . .you cannot have your cake and eat it. .

There has been a lot of cheating going on. . .cheating with wine, cheating with cake, cheating with chocolate, cheating with sleep. . .I am guilty of some of these. . .but I know I am not alone.
Working out, being active, exercising, it does not demand fidelity, in fact, it is the best 'partner' you can have. No demands whatsoever.

But it is clever you see, it knows once you embark on a journey with it, you cannot consistently cheat and expect results. You cannot have a 'here today gone tomorrow' relationship.
So how do I keep this relationship healthy? Ensuring that even my little infidelities here and there are forgiven?

1. Make time - The biggest excuse in this very fast paced life we lead is time. The time it would take to work out, shower and then continue with one's daily routine is too much. I have a friend who runs a very big and successful company. He is a family man who believes in having a personal relationship with his children. He also exercises six days a week. How? He wakes up at 4 am and heads to the gym knowing that if he puts it forward, he will not have the time to do so later on in the day. It is not easy, I have to wake up before everyone else, leaving my husband in bed and tip toeing out when I want to run in the morning, or doing my house chores before everyone wakes so that I have time in the middle of the day to do a serious workout. Without these small sacrifices, it would be near impossible to be consistent which is key in achieving results.

2. Be conscious - Yes, I know, you're conscious right now, you're reading this, right? What I mean is, be conscious of decisions you make throughout your day that affect your health. The most obvious is being conscious of food choices. You also have to be conscious of what kind of drugs you have been prescribed, how these affect and interact with other drugs, conscious of how much sleep you're getting, too little sleep has been associated with gaining weight, conscious of your stress factors and how to reduce these. It is easier to remain healthy if we know what is making us unhealthy.

3. Be accountable, have measurable, time bound goals - Most women I know who want to lose weight and ask me for advice have the same sort of questions they ask...How long will it take me to lose weight, what should I eat to lose weight, I don't want to become muscular (I find this hilarious now) -should I avoid weights? e.t.c. The more specific questions should be, what should I do to lose x number of kilos in x number of months? Is it possible? The expectations should be realistic, having a set date on goals helps one in working towards it and in monitoring progress so that control measures can be taken if it seems progress is not being made. My current goal is to reduce by 1/2 an inch my hip measurement by the end of January so that my body can be one size (I am between sizes right now, which is irritating).

Okay....that's it for today, I can run my 'mouth' off if unchecked. Here's to a healthy relationship with activity this year!

Have an active day!

How much is too much? How little is too little?

Having been told severally that I exercise "too much" and "zealously" by a lot of people, I thought today I should tackle what I think the definition  of too much exercise - according to my body - is.

I have posted before about balancing the amount that you eat with what energy you use during your day. I have taken to wearing a pedometer to measure exactly how far I walk any given day, and I can use this, plus an approximation on energy expended during exercise and non walking activities to determine (approximately!) how much energy I use and need on a daily basis. I have to be honest with myself. I have known people to say....I took a walk this morning so I can have this chocolate cake....without realising that the amount of energy in that piece of chocolate cake would have taken an hour of RUNNING to burn. I'm veering off topic, let me get back on it...How much is too much?

I consider exercise to be too much when I cannot function after a workout session. Over exertion to a point that one sits infront of the telly the rest of the day because of exhaustion doesn't make sense. Exercise is supposed to help us remain active not inactivate us. Of course, the initial pain that comes along with starting an exercise program doesn't count, and will power is needed to move through this.

I consider exercise to be too little and therefore ineffective if I do not strain my body, if I do not feel the burn, if my breathing does not get a bit laboured and if my heart rate does not go up. I would rather exercise for thirty minutes, sweat like a pig, grunt in exertion, and almost sigh with relief when the half hour is over than exercise for a leisurely one hour and not break a sweat. The body will only change if we challenge it.

Too much is when we end up making ourselves sick or injure ourselves because of straining too much. When we over exert ourselves, our immune system actually becomes weaker - which is the opposite of what exercise usually does. So we get a flu or symptoms of flu, we tear a muscle, we sprain a joint, we become infirm because of trying to become fit and healthy. This has happened to me when I have tried to do too much too fast. Slow progression is the key to avoid this. Accelerating an exercise program because of impatience could have dire effects and keep you invalid and therefore not exercising for a long period.

I consider it important to exercise most days of the week. If I can help it, I exercise everyday in one form of another in order to keep my fitness levels up. It doesn't have to be a one hour workout, sometimes, only twenty minutes is enough. Pre planning workouts and being more organised about it helps one determine what should be done when (targeting different muscle groups, cardio, tabata style workouts, keeping the body guessing).

Unfortunately, we tend to over estimate the amount of exercise we are doing versus how much we actually take in.

Have an active day!