Healthy Living
By Marty Twichell , EnhanceFitness Program Coordinator, PCOA’s Healthy Living Department We can make changes for ourselves that dramatically affect our lives. Exercise Scams: Have you been a victim?
Most of us have invested in an exercise or diet choice that we hoped would be the fix we were looking for. It seems unfair, sometimes, that losing weight or getting in shape is so much harder than gaining weight or losing aerobic capacity. Falling for something that looks like it could make a change easier seems reasonable. But the scam I am addressing here is the one we pull on ourselves. When I speak to groups on being motivated to make healthy changes, like exercise and physical activity and better eating habits, I really have no surprising new information. I have a lot of the latest research that confirms how the body responds to exercise, details about heart or bone health, studies about the consequences of a sedentary life style, and ways to breathe better, sleep better, and move better. The amount of good information out there is actually overwhelming. Researchers continue to plug away with different ways of basically saying the same thing: Physical activity is good for you. A healthy diet can change your life. Sitting too much is a bad thing. There are studies about remaining independent, addressing chronic conditions, and quality of life issues that all come at the same idea from different directions.
But we have some weird roadblocks to this whole idea. That’s the scam we pull on ourselves. We either ignore, avoid, deny, or use excuses to not be better to ourselves. Here are some ideas to avoid the scam: • Accept exactly where you are and be realistic about making changes • Listen to messages you give yourself and make them supportive and kind • Pick one new habit to incorporate into your life • Expect to have benefits that you might not see or feel • Don’t treat healthy habits like punishment • Get rid of one habit that is not helping you be healthy • Compare yourself to yourself, not to others • Invest in your health • Be your own good support system
30 Minute Standing Exercise With Marty https://thekatie.org/video-category/ healthy-tidbits-videos/ • Get outside help, support, ideas, guidance & training that’s helpful for you So, watch out for the scammer within that wants to keep you from making good choices for your life. Listen to the kind voice that supports you. Sometimes this is within and sometimes it is outside you. Embrace that voice!
April 2022, Never Too Late | Page 19
Pima Council on Aging
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