DAY 9: Get a Move On!

Day 9 of the Beck Diet Solution concerns exercise.

I've never understood people who thought they could lose weight without exercising. I've never liked exercising, but I've always known it was important. So I'm glad it's a factor in this program.

I am a slug, so finding the motivation to exercise is a struggle for me, but four months ago I joined a gym (again). But because I'm unemployed right now, I find it easier to commit to going to the gym, and the structure of classes keeps me focused and motivated.

Therefore, in accordance with today's step, I'm sticking to my current plan of:

• water walking class - 3 times a week
• step aerobics class - 2 times a week
• aqua circuit class - 2 times a week
• pilates - 1 time a week

Sometimes circumstances do prevent me from attending a class, so those times I'll substitute an hour-long walk around my neighborhood or 3o minutes on my rowing machine, thereby covering my planned exercise.

As for spontaneous exercise, when I first read that phrase, I wondered if people were supposed to suddenly burst into jumping jacks while standing in a grocery store line or something. I don't care for the use of "spontaneous" in Dr. Beck's context, but I agree with the sentiment. This is another thing I've already incorporated into my life. I'm fortunate to live within easy walking distance of many of the places I need to visit in a day: library, bank, post office, movie theatre, grocery store, dozens of restaurants, even my gym. So I already walk when I can.

I also prefer stairs to the elevator or escalator, but Dr. Beck's other suggestions -- parking further away from my destination, walking a full circuit of a store before starting to shop, and going for a walk instead of sitting while waiting at the doctor's office/airport/hair salon -- are ones I'll now try to incorporate into my life.

The requirement for spontaneous at "every opportunity" does concern me. How do I define an opportunity? If I'm late for an appointment and park close up to get in quicker, or if I have a lot of things to do and skip walking around the store before shopping, or if I'd rather grab some lunch on my layover, are those missed opportunities? I'm probably being too hard on myself, setting my expectations too high, so I'll have to stay aware of that tendency and not let it drag me down. That's something to think about while I'm "spontaneously" walking to the gym today!