How I Got Better Results When I Reframed My Exercise Goals
When “weight loss” goals did not work for me for years, here’s what I stumbled upon…
I used to set big exercise goals every year, only to fail at sticking with them rather quickly.
By the time February came, I would have concluded that goal setting doesn’t work. Even though I’d like to lose weight through exercising, it’s hard to get over the resistance to scheduling weekly exercise onto my calendar. So while I had the loose intention to do it regularly, the truth is that I would give myself plenty of excuses when it came round to it. At best, my efforts were sporadic. Well, the pandemic in 2020 changed things.
I needed to find a way to de-stress from the lockdown situation. There was so much fear in the environment that affected my spirits. For the very first time, I decided to seriously consider exercising, since research has shown the positive effects of exercising on mental health. According to a research article, the benefits are quoted as follows…
Aerobic exercises, including jogging, swimming, cycling, walking, gardening, and dancing, have been proved to reduce anxiety and depression. These improvements in mood are proposed to be caused by exercise-induced increase in blood circulation to the brain and by an influence on the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis and, thus, on the physiologic reactivity to stress.
I needed fresh air and a way to get out of my head. Working out in the gym if I ever got to exercising just didn’t cut it. So I started by committing to weekly jogs at Singapore Botanic Gardens. It’s a huge park which is just 5 mins away from my home.
Well, as I discovered, it did me good to be in nature. I felt rejuvenated especially where I took more isolated trails and away from the crowd. For 18 months till today, I have been consistent with my weekly exercise routine.
Considerations in Forming New Goals for the New Year
I am anticipating that my calendar is going to be pretty full with a busier schedule for the new year. In fact, as expected and since the start of January, my schedule has been rather crazy. I was starting to feel sheer overwhelm. However, this time round, I decided to do things differently.
Instead of cutting back on exercise, I swam, jogged and did yoga even more, to manage my stress. Also I found out how those in the helping profession tend to go into burnout. I understood how important it is to undertake self-care.
What I discovered is that I would feel better overall, even though I still have a heavy workload. In fact, the more I exercise, the more I want to do it. I’m more energised when I return back to my tasks. Previously, I would put getting work done as more important but I told myself that I don’t have to get it done all at once. Any task can wait till I am more energised. Rather than think “no time”, I worked on improving self-care via exercise.
Going forward, I have decided to incorporate a regular exercise regime that would include a range of different workouts. My guiding principle in planning out my calendar: the more stressed I become, the more bonus exercise sessions I will need to schedule for the week. Since nothing gets done until it is scheduled, I will be putting these into my calendar.
Planning and Scheduling for the New Year
In summary, here’s what has worked for me so far… 1. Creating an aligned why.
Instead of thinking “weight loss”, I clarified my why for something that feels more aligned. I found out that I was more interested to work on reducing mental stress and to raise my energy levels. In short, self-care became my why.
2. Set up a tiny goal that is achievable.
Rather than come up with something grandiose, I worked on setting a goal that is small, achievable and that I can apply consistently.
Internally, I made a promise to myself that I’d commit to it. Externally, I scheduled this as a weekly activity throughout a calendar year.
3. Revise goal if necessary after reviewing it.
Since I have been consistent in my weekly jogs, I’d like to continue with it. At the same time, due to the anticipation of a heavier workload this year, I have decided to schedule extra exercise sessions regularly during the week and whenever I find myself feeling more stressed. Adding these to my journaling and meditation time, I believe I am all set with self-care planning this year.
Some Reflection Questions for You
What self-care/fitness activities have you set for the year?
If a “weight loss” goal did not work for you, would a reframe with a self-care perspective be helpful for you? If you are facing any resistance to exercising or self-care activities, hopefully this article can help you with getting started.
Wishing you a year of great health!
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