Today is all about Intuitive Eating In Real Life – Principle 9: Movement – Feel the Difference.
In case you missed it:
- What is Intuitive Eating?
- Intuitive Eating Principle 1: Reject the Diet Mentality
- Intuitive Eating in Real Life: Principle 1
- Intuitive Eating Principle 2: Honor Your Hunger
- Intuitive Eating in Real Life: Principle 2
- Intuitive Eating Principle 3: Make Peace with Food
- Intuitive Eating in Real Life: Principle 3
- Intuitive Eating Principle 4: Challenge the Food Police
- Intuitive Eating in Real Life: Principle 4
- Intuitive Eating Principle 5: Feel Your Fullness
- Intuitive Eating in Real Life: Principle 5
- Intuitive Eating Principle 6: Discover the Satisfaction Factor
- Intuitive Eating in Real Life: Principle 6
- Intuitive Eating Principle 7: Cope with Your Emotions without Using Food
- Intuitive Eating in Real Life: Principle 7
- Intuitive Eating Principle 8: Respect Your Body
- Intuitive Eating in Real Life: Principle 8
- Intuitive Eating Principle 9: Exercise – Feel the Difference
Intuitive Eating In Real Life Principle 9 Movement
The snapshot of Intuitive Eating Principle 9 is: “Forget militant exercise. Just get active and feel the difference. Shift your focus to how it feels to move your body, rather than the calorie-burning effect of exercise. If you focus on how you feel from working out, such as energized, it can make the difference between rolling out of bed for a brisk morning walk or hitting the snooze alarm.”
Reminder: this Principle is now called Movement – Feel the Difference in the latest 4th edition of the Intuitive Eating book, to remind everyone that movement, in any manner, is beneficial and to take the focus off of exercise, which people often equate to hard, intense, extreme and/or to the number of calories it burns.
Focus on how it feels. How does moving your body make you feel both during and after? Does it help you relieve stress? Does it help you have more energy? Does it help you sleep better? These are all great reasons to move your body.
There are many benefits to exercise or movement that have nothing to do with weight loss! Some benefits include:
- Increased bone strength
- Increased stress tolerance
- Decreased blood pressure
- Reduced risk for chronic diseases
- Decreased total cholesterol
- Increased heart and lunch strength
And so many more! Again, exercise or moving your body doesn’t have to be all-or-nothing. It doesn’t have to be intense, heart pounding, spending hours at the gym in order to “count”. What are ways you can incorporate more movement into your daily routine TODAY?
I recently read the book Tiny Habits, and he gives the example that every time he went to the restroom, he would do two pushups. That’s it – TWO pushups. Most people might think, “what’s the point?” or that’s not even worth it. But think about how that adds up. He is doing two pushups multiple times a day every day. Eventually he began doing more but if there were days or times he didn’t feel like doing more, he stuck with the two pushups and called it a success. I absolutely love this! Tiny habits or small goals/steps can really build our confidence and motivation and ultimately lead to big changes.
How can you build in more movement TODAY? Let us know in the comments or send me a quick message!
REMINDER
This blog and Instagram series I am doing is not meant to be a replacement for reading the Intuitive Eating book or working through the Intuitive Eating Workbook. Rather it’s to provide an overview of the Intuitive Eating concept and principles to bring more awareness to the fact that there is an alternative to dieting and restricting.
As always, if you need additional guidance and support via individual nutrition coaching or counseling, please reach out through my private practice website JillMerkelRD.com or join the waitlist for future Intuitive Eating Virtual Small Groups!
