Part 9 of my intuitive eating series is on Principle 9- Movement Feel The Difference. 

“Forget militant exercise. Just get active and feel the difference. Shift your focus to how it feels to move your body, rather than the calorie-burning effect of exercise. If you focus on how you feel from working out, such as energized, it can make the difference between rolling out of bed for a brisk morning walk or hitting the snooze alarm.”

(From Intuitive Eating by Evelyn Tribole and Elyse Resch) 

 Since I started running regularly more than 10 years ago, I had never done exercise for the calorie burning effects. I ran because it eased my anxiety and helped my lungs. I trained for progressively longer races because I wanted to prove to myself what I was capable of!

Once I started gaining weight on Trikafta, though, I started paying attention to how much I was burning during my workouts. I started doing workouts that were supposed to be “good” for weight loss like HIIT. And ya know what? I HATE burpees and I HATE not being able to breathe from working out too hard. 

Intuitive Eating has taught me the importance of finding exercise you enjoy. For me that is running! It is a chance for me to clear my head, breathe the fresh air, and it doubles as exercise for my dog Nugget! 

I’ve also learned how important strength training is. The average runner who doesn’t strength train loses 4.4 lbs of muscle mass a year from their untrained areas. This is not good as you age and need strong muscles and bones to support your body. Plus, I was recently diagnosed with osteopenia from years of not absorbing nutrients so I have to be extra intentional to improve my bone health. 

Now, I run 4 times a week for at least 3 miles and I incorporate strength training at least 3 times a week. Sometimes I take a rest day or week when I need it. However, I pay attention to how exercise makes me feel and remind myself of those benefits BEYOND weight loss for motivation. It eases my anxiety, it wakes me up in the morning, and it keeps my lungs strong. Running allows keep my heart healthy, weight lifting keeps my bones healthy, and gives me the strength I need to avoid injury when running. 

I am so much more at peace now that I don’t do burpees and high intensity exercise. I truly enjoy my runs and my strength training sessions and I do it for my overall health, NOT to lose weight. This is another area that is so freeing thanks to intuitive eating! 

As always, I encourage you to check out Intuitive Eating and the Intuitive Eating Workbook to learn more.