The Heroic Act of Getting Off the Couch-Kristen Carter

Ever wonder why you sometimes just can’t get up the energy to stop vegetating?

Vegetating definition: Watching TV for hours. Including bingeing on your favorite reruns, sports on a Saturday or Sunday, or evening TV. You have your favorites. You don’t want to miss them. This is the obvious definition. But there are plenty more.

Truth is, we all sink into this sort of thing from time to time. Besides, is it necessary to be energetic all the time?

How can you turn yourself into a hero?

Let me cut to the chase….

1. You may not be aware of this, but eating processed foods messes with your ability to figure out if you have had enough. Since it’s not real food, your body can’t discern exactly what to do with it. Instead, it goes to your head…literally. Your brain loves it! Wants more! Even when you are full.

The point: If you combine vegetating with eating processed food, it can make getting off the couch heroic indeed.

2. If you make a habit of vegetating, your body starts to like it a lot. It even registers this as the “new normal.” Then, exertion seems weird. So hard. You perceive that surely your body is telling you the truth. Moving around is not natural.

That’s because your body adapts. If you are up and about a lot, your body adapts to that. If you sit a lot, your body adapts to that. Not just in your brain, but in your very cells. Our bodies are great like that…they respond to what is generally happening by adjusting to it. That’s the good news and the bad news. One thing is clear though. Our bodies prefer to be healthy. Once you start giving it nutritious food and exercise, it lets you know that this is all good, and it wants to keep going that way.

3. Having said all that, another thing is clear. You can’t just make an abrupt switch from not moving to moving a lot. Your body and your brain needs some time to make changes like that. Same thing with eating differently. As some of you may have experienced, making radical changes to your diet not only may wreak havoc with your digestive system, but also your sensibilities. You want to rebel, or at the very least get back to “normal” asap! Better to sneak up on it. Make changes gradually. Let yourself get used to one, and then move on to another one.

4. That’s why I have partnered with Precision Nutrition and ProCoach to give people a reasonable option for getting off the couch. One that encourages rest, but in a healthy way. It also encourages healthy food choices that make you feel more energetic, and healthy movement choices that keep you safe and injury free. Gradually. No shock value here. It works with your mind, your choices, and your present situation.

Insights and Information

Click here to get more insights and information about the program. Included is a video showing the results people in my program get after a year of gradual change. Clearly, these people are true heroes.

Even if you are not super sedentary but have a few pounds to lose (maybe your doctor has told you this), this program can help you turn the corner. For good.

It may not be the case for you, but you probably know several people who have been told to lose weight and exercise more for their health. Let them know about this program! It requires a bit of time and a willingness to learn a few new things, but it is all so gradual that can easily fit into a current lifestyle.

Curious? Click here.

Meantime, here’s to everyone’s health.

Cheers,
Kristen Carter, MS