“The Willpower Instinct” By Kelly McGonigal is the book of the month! Kelly McGonigal PhD has collected research from around the world and the synthesis of this research is exciting! Why would a book called “The Willpower Instinct” be included as the book of the month on exercise? It turns out that when we exercise on a regular basis, we create positive changes in our brain and one of them is to improve our willpower to carry out more positive health changes in our life!! So not only is exercise the key to losing weight when we want to trim down but it is also the key to developing greater willpower to bring more positive healthful changes to our life!
Of course, with any exercise, it is so important to find what excites you, what gives you pleasure, where your passion lies so that you can enjoy the moment and also look forward to the next day or the next time! It also helps to find a group of like-minded people who can support and encourage your efforts, so go out there and find something you enjoy and be patient, it takes at least 21 days to develop a habit so give yourself lots of positive self-talk along the way!
There are so many benefits to exercise!! My daughter has been involved with Cross Country and some years Track and Field at her high school. It is so beneficial for teens to exercise and the benefits can extend well into adulthood.
Of course, we like to have outdoor adventures as a family and she loves to bike so we had some bicycle vacations, one of which was at Acadia National Park in Bar Harbor, Maine! You can see that there are tremendous views to see from the trails at the Park, voted one of the 10 Best National Parks in the Country, it is well worth the trip!
Last year, at the age of 57, I decided to run my first marathon! I was inspired by a patient of mine that encouraged me to run a marathon. I had been running for over 20 years but had never considered it before. With his encouragement and recommendation of trying the Marine Corp Marathon in Washington, DC (mostly flat and the course goes by all the major historic monuments in DC…a real bonus!!) I decided to go for it!!! Towards the end of my training I started to loose my energy. I wasn’t sure I could actually do it. One day I was talking to a dear college friend who I knew had run the Marathon before. I wanted to get her advice and she had so many encouraging words. One of the best pieces of encouragement was that she told me that, if it would help, she would run the last 6 miles with me. OMG…I was totally surprised and knew at that moment that having that support would help me to finish. Lynn met me at mile 20 and did run those last 6 miles with me. I finished my marathon and felt that having the support and encouragement of a dear friend got me to the end!!! It was an amazing experience to cross that finish line after 7 months of training. I highly encourage having a support network of encouraging souls around you when you try something new, especially a new habit like exercise. It can make all the difference!
Did you know that Regular aerobic exercise helps with weight maintenance? The biggest secret to losing weight is actually exercise!! Did you know that when you exercise, that your body has a better ability to burn fat for an hour or so after you stop exercising!!! Not only that, but when we keep our bodies at the right weight for our height we have a significant reduction in cancer risk. It is estimated that obesity and overweight contributes to about one-fifth of all cancer deaths in the US. For Life Long Health, keep moving! You might be surprised how much fun you have doing it…I was pleasantly surprised that I actually enjoyed my first marathon and hope to try more!