A Way to Think About FITNESS GOALS

Paradigm illustration: Allow your measurable goal (lose 10 pounds) to bring you closer to your life goal (be healthy). Because the measurable goal gets you into the gym 3 times per week it's usefulness is less about it being actualized by any specific time. If you are able to maintain the habit of going to the gym 3 times per week then your measurable goal of losing weight, whether or not that goal is met right away, is superseded by the fact that your life goal of becoming healthy is always being met. This is important! Because being healthy, though infinitely complex and thus difficult to measure, is the ultimate goal.

We tend to underestimate how long it can take to lose 10 pounds that remain lost. Could be a year or more even. Take into account the first stage of weight loss, which is to stop gaining. On frustrated days when the stubborn pounds remain, if you can look back on the past 6 months of attending the gym 3 times per week be proud of meeting your life goal, which is connected to regular attendance at the gym. This regular attendance leads to many other health related outcomes i.e. the building of strength, increased flexibility, stamina, improved movement patterns and articulation of joints. These results are achieved simply by maintaining a consistent exercise regimen. And the achievement of improved movement will eventually lead to improved metabolic function, which is connected to the ability to become more efficient and athletic. This may lead you to become more confident on the tennis court or to actually enjoy running around Green Lake without feeling joint pain or lack of stamina. The measurable goals of weight loss can then be met more easily, even though not always with that immediacy we are expecting when we first start exercising.

There’s oftentimes a whole foundation of better movement that needs to be built over time before we can begin to lose weight. The big rewards are gained after much hard work and a commitment to new daily habits. The absolute greatest thing about the benefits of exercise is that they are connected to every aspect of our body, mind and emotional health. There’s absolutely no down side to working out. And as the wealth of medical research concludes, it needs to be an integral part of or activities if we want to live well and long.