Energy and Weight Loss

Do you find yourself dragging by mid-afternoon? Could you nap anywhere, anytime? Are you in the best shape possible? If you are suffering from an overall lack of energy and also classify yourself as overweight, chances are that the two are not totally unrelated. Few of us would say that our bodies, eating habits and fitness level are perfect. How much fun would life really be without glorious little challenges like weight issues? Sarcasm aside, perhaps you are finding yourself tired early on in the day, or are waking up exhausted. Maybe you know that you’re not in the best shape of your life, but you’re just too tired at the end of the day to do anything about it. You may work extremely long shifts, or maybe you’re a mom and are on call 24/7. Whether you’re working your way through college or balancing a work life, home life and time for yourself, exercise may be the key to gaining back the energy that you need to enjoy your life.

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It’s a catch-22 when you lack too much energy to exercise. You’re sitting staring at the computer feeling guilty about not exercising again today…then you feel tired of feeling guilty – it’s like a snowball rolling down a hill. You don’t exercise because you don’t have the energy and the motivation…and it’s because you don’t exercise that you are lacking both. Despite what you may believe, exercising actually produces energy and therefore makes us feel more energized, rather than depleting our energy sources and making us feel tired. If you could just start moving more, you’d feel like moving more.

We all love how we feel after a workout and we love the results that exercise leaves us with. But, sometimes it’s like pulling teeth to actually get down to the nitty-gritty and do the work. Why is exercise thought of as a chore, rather than an activity that in essence, yields only positive results for your body, mind and spirit? Perhaps you need to change your perception of exercise. Maybe you relate exercise to exercise that you don’t enjoy. For me – that would be the stationary bike. If you told me that I need to exercise at least every other day, for 30 minutes on a stationary bike – I would lay my overweight self down on a set of train tracks because, whatever positive effects I would experience from this activity are not worth the pain and agony of doing the activity. If this is the case for you, then you simply have not yet been lucky enough to find the physical activity that works for you. You may have to think outside of the box a little. Why run if you hate running? Of course you don’t have the energy to get off the couch because it is physically and emotionally draining to even think about dragging your sorry butt out of the house – or even down to the basement to do an activity that you loath. So, it’s time to stop playing the exercise victim and find a type of exercise that you enjoy.

So how exactly will exercising give you energy? When you exercise, your body releases endorphins which are chemicals that make you feel content and happy. The more often that you exercise, the more endorphins you release. From contentment comes renewed energy. And we all know that feeling that we get after we have exercised. We feel proud of ourselves and like we can take on the world! If we could just capture and harness that feeling, it may just be the motivation to exercise in the first place. Exercise enhances our self esteem and even our self worth. It helps us battle depression and it even helps us to have a good night’s sleep. In many cases lack of exercise is the key to why you feel generally crappy – either physically or mentally. I know that scraping yourself up off of the couch is the last thing that you feel like doing – especially after a rotten day. But, you do need to understand and appreciate that if you do make the decision to go out and go for a walk around the yard, even for 15 minutes– that you’ll be enhancing your body, mind and spirit.

Ideas to Get You Moving

• If you feel like fatigue and an overall lack of energy are the obstacles that are hindering you at the moment – I highly suggest getting outside. You don’t have to go for a run - a brisk 15 minute walk will do. If you don’t have 15 minutes to spare for yourself, you may want to re-evaluate your list of priorities and figure out a way to get yourself to the top of the list. Just 15 minutes of moderate exercise is great because it’s not a huge time commitment, but it’s enough to make you feel like doing more – which, at this point is what you need if you hope to drop some weight, gain some energy and get healthier. 

• If you’re up for trying something new – you may want to give yoga a try. Although you won’t see drastic weight loss results from yoga, it does help to strengthen your body and you’ll notice major positive changes in your energy level and state of mind. Everything is connected. If yoga aids you in refueling your energy and getting you excited about making some lifestyle changes, then the weight loss will come from those changes that you make.

• Up for something that’s potentially out of the box for you? Nothing adds excitement and energy to a fitness routine like joining a fun class. Try cardio kickboxing, belly dancing, hip-hop dancing or even “stripercise” to get you started on your weight loss journey. The commitment of a weekly class may help so that you know you’ll at least get that hour in on Wednesday evenings. A fun class may be just the ticket to get you into the exercise groove.

It’s most important to get off the couch when you feel like getting off the least. But remember, you don’t have to get up and run a marathon – take a 15 minute walk to clear your head and take some time for yourself. It will do wonders for your energy level and may bridge the gap between you and your lack of exercise. Rome wasn’t built in a day – but it never would have gotten built without someone laying the first stone. Why not be the one to lay the first stone? 

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