Getting active starts with ‘right thinking’

This is a complex issue as most persons want to be well. Many know the basic rules to be well such as: eating a well balanced diet and getting exercise. So why don’t most follow these rules?

According to the 2004 Canadian Health Survey, 23 per cent of Canadians were obese and 36 per cent overweight.

This suggests that almost 60 per cent of Canadians fell into a weight category that increases risk for illness and disease. This is of concern for the health of our country and is directly related to many factors such as consuming readily-available calorie dense or nutritionally-poor foods, decreasing physical activity, and increasing stress.


Why do we not just get moving? There are many reasons,so we will start with the beginning:

Fatigue

For many, judging another as being lazy is not fair and certainly will not help the cause. There are many reasons for fatigue and these need to be ruled out. In the medical world, a physician would take a series of blood tests and complete an assessment to determine if there is a medical condition to treat, such as under active viral or bacterial infections, thyroid (hypothyroid), diabetes, heart failure, depression and so on.

There are no born athletes; they all have to work for success. So can you.

For many, nothing medical will present, however, if fatigue is new to you, it is important to ensure you are well. The next thing to look at is what you are eating. If your meals include eating three times per day at a take-out restaurant, or eating refined, non-nutritional foods, then this is a sure bet that your diet has something to do with it. For others, you may eat good foods that are not nutritionally balanced, resulting in fatigue. People need to eat fruits, vegetables, lean proteins, good fats and some complex carbohydrates. This does not mean consuming boxes of low-fat and weight-loss-promising foods. These foods may very well be low in fat, but they also offer excess amounts of sugars that only support fatigue and, for the most part, weight gain.

Are you getting enough water? Like plants, our cells need water to work. Fatigue and brain fuzziness can be a sign of being dehydrated. That means water is needed — not coffee, tea or pop, which actually remove important water from our cells.

Not-so-empowering thoughts

There is another large area that we often do not look at when we are determining why the coach potato will not “just move.” For many, the thought of “failing again” prevents trying. What we think, we become; what we worry about, often happens; what we fear the most often, presents itself. Do you realize how much power your thoughts have?

You might ask, “Why do I think this way?” or “Where do these thoughts come from?” Thoughts are our beliefs that determine our actions. These beliefs are not always correct, by the way. So, let’s consider exercise. If our parents exercised, then most of us will exercise as well, because we “believe” that is the right thing to do.

For others, we may not be active because our parents were not active and therefore we “believe” it is not necessary.

We may have been told not to run on the street (for our safety as children, which is correct) but, we as adults now believe that we should not run. I hear many say, “my mom has bad knees and so I don’t want to do activities so I can protect my knees.”

Many start exercise programs and, because they do not perform the way others do, they tell themselves “I can’t do it ... those people are naturally fit and I am not.” Our thoughts determine our success. If you believe you can do it, you can.

Start with getting the right information on how to be fit. For success, you need to determine what you want to do. If you like what you are doing, you will continue. There is no need to get a club membership, if you do not like weight machines and treadmills. Find a club that offers what you like. If you love to walk, take a class to teach you how to get the most out of your walk. With comfort you may even decide that you want to learn to run.

If you like classes, find a facility that offers classes that you are interested in, such as aerobics, yoga or dance. Do not be afraid to make mistakes, we all do. A good instructor will help you feel good with all your successes. There are no born athletes; they all have to work for success. So can you. There are no failures, only detours on your journey.

Change your thoughts to “I will be fit” and feel good about where you are today. Do not think about what you have not yet achieved.

Karen Hourtovenko, RN(EC), is a health and wellness consultant from Sudbury who writes columns about healthy living for Northern Life.