As January, and Resolve, Ebbs

I’m noticing the crowds at the gym thinning out a little bit. We’re well into January and people’s resolve is starting to falter a little as they realize ‘getting into shape’ and ‘losing weight’ are difficult and lengthy processes. I wish I could sit each one of them down and have them list the things they’ve accomplished so far, even in just these few weeks. I bet every single one of them could come up with something. Maybe they can run around their block now, or they’ve learned some new recipes and discovered some new foods, or they’ve lost a few pounds, or they’ve realized they are stronger than they believed they were. Those things, even though they are small, are progress. Progress is progress! The only thing that stops progress is quitting.
I’ll tell you what I tell my clients in class: when the exercise starts to get hard, and you feel like you need to stop, try modifying the exercise first. Sometimes all it takes is one small modification and they realize they get through the rest of the workout.
When lifestyle change starts feeling overwhelming, it’s ok to slow down. It’s ok to say, ‘hmmm, maybe exercising for an hour a day was too ambitious. I’ll try exercising 3 times a week for 30 minutes and see if that’s more manageable’, or ‘hmmm, maybe completely changing my entire way of eating all at once was too much, I’ll try just focusing on one aspect of it and see if that’s more realistic’. Slowing down doesn’t stop forward momentum, you will still get ‘there’ if you keep making progress.
Progress is progress, it doesn’t matter how small or slow, you WILL get there if you keep going. If you stop, you will never get there.

3 thoughts on “As January, and Resolve, Ebbs

  1. I’ve actually noticed some of my favorite classes (extreme fit, which is a cardio/weight interval class) are fuller now than ever and it’s the end of Jan. So I’m kind of pleased that people are still sticking to their goals.
    Albeit a little annoyed that there’s not a lot of room for me to do my burpees in class.

    • That’s great! I do think the message is seeping in to the general population that exercise is about more than looking good, it’s a basic requirement like water, air and food.

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