Got a goal? Don’t stress it

Too goofy to be stressed!

Who needs more stress? Not YOU.

It’s fine if you want to shed 20 pounds…drop your total cholesterol below 200…get your blood sugar out of pre-diabetes territory…strengthen your bones…improve your posture…tone your legs or firm up the back of your upper arms.

But what’s even better is if:

• you get moving
• you are happy that you are now moving, and
• you are motivated to keep moving

So, while setting some goals can be helpful, try not to get too fixated on your progress.

Why? Because a too narrow focus might lead you to “give up” if you’re not seeing the results you want, as quickly as you’d like.

Exercise to be healthy

…and because it feels good to get your body moving.

Exercise because it gives you pleasure. And it’s an act of self-love—a way of saying to yourself, “You’re important. I’m treating you with love.”

The health benefits will come, some faster than others.

For example, your blood pressure may go down, your blood sugar may normalize at a healthy level and your waistline may get trimmer…but your weight may not budge.

Rejoice that you are getting healthier!

Forget perfection

At 50-plus, you have perhaps discovered that striving for perfection is useless…and silly. There is no “perfect.” 

So if you miss a day or a week, forgive yourself and work out on the next day you’re scheduled to work out.

And if you get entirely off-track and temporarily abandon exercise, just get back on track when you can.

Same idea applies if you go to town on a New York strip steak and pommes frites, or a chocolate mousse cake.

Let it go!

Just work out as usual. If it helps, wear a loose t-shirt. (And know that it’s a GREAT time to exercise. You can offset some of the damage of a binge with a good workout.)

Exercise to feel good

It’s true: Exercise really helps you feel good.

And who couldn’t use a little mental boost at any age?

Even during those weeks when you don’t see the improvements you’d like, you can be pleased that you are doing something for yourself.

You are being proactive. You are taking control. You aren’t simply sitting back and waiting for bad things to happen—like your blood pressure rising to the point where you require medication.

Which means you’re going to feel happier with yourself—a HUGE benefit that we probably don’t pay enough attention to.

While healthy self-esteem is vital for everyone, it’s perhaps even more important as you get older.