“Objects at rest, tend to stay at rest, while objects in motion, tend to stay in motion.” ~Newton’s Law of Motion

An insightful WW member quoted Newton last week in a meeting and it has stuck with me ever since. I find this very, very motivating because I have definitely identified that for me, the first several minutes of any activity is always the most challenging. Not to mention the seasonal difficulties we are experiencing right now. If you work out in the morning, chances are it’s dark and cold. Workout in the evening? Same-cold and dark. Even if you have a schedule that allows you to exercise during the day, it’s most likely so cold that the choices are limited to something indoors. In short–it’s a tough time of year to gear up for activity, so why not hibernate and wait for spring?

There is a huge, very critical reason to keep moving each day. It’s called our SANITY! The single best defense for the winter blues is exercise. Let that be your motivation to get up in the morning or come home in the evening and be active. Moving around, getting the blood pumping and the endorphins firing feels good, once we do it. I know it’s hard at first, but most of the time thinking about or procrastinating exercise is far harder than just doing it. Even if you have to force yourself to put on an exercise dvd, get on your treadmill, your exercise bike, get to your gym or the mall where you can walk, do yoga, swim– whatever–I’m challenging you to just DO IT. Please. .

For me, after about 15 or 20 minutes, like clock work, no matter how hard it is to get started, a switch flips in my brain and I feel great. I have to remind myself of this contantly! I say it while getting out of bed, getting dressed and sometimes even on the drive to my gym when a hot Starbucks and the reading the paper are calling my name!! I suspect this is the case for most of us. “An object at rest tends to stay at rest, while an object in motion, tends to stay in motion.”. Ahhh, we don’t have to be scientists to prove it’s true! Just get yourself going and your body will take over and do the rest.

Taking care of ourselves on the inside and the outside–that’s truly what improves our overall quality of life. It’s not easy this time of year but we’ve chosen to live here (even if you didn’t choose, you’re here now!!!!) and we have to do what it takes to manage our mood and stay healthy year around. Moving the bodies we were given in this lifetime feels good and sometimes we just forget that part! Pick an activity that’s enjoyable and that works for you. Any activity YOU enjoy is a good one. There are no trophies given for killing ourselves, so don’t set out to over do it. Moderate activity done on a consistent basis (KEY THEME-consistency) will keep us mentally feeling our best for these last tough weeks of winter and keep our weight and weight loss progress in check!!