Building Behaviors to Last a Lifetime
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“The 6 Secrets to Lasting Change.”
Tuesday, January 10th, 2012 | debunking exercise myths, Exercise Intensity, Motivation, Research
I was honored to be interviewed by womenshealth.gov last month about how to help women make behavior changes that last. They also asked me to debunk a common exercise myth.
We’ve been wrongly taught that exercising at high intensities is the “best” way to exercise.
There is a growing body of research showing that all physical movement counts, even lower level activities like gardening and walking.
High intensity level exercise prescriptions are often focused on improving cardiovascular health. Yet, if we don’t like what high intensity exercise feels like, we likely won’t continue.
Regular physical activity offers many more benefits than just helping our heart. Lifted mood and better mental health are just two of many other benefits – but they are very important ones – especially for women.
There is actually research showing that higher intensity exercise worsens mood in midlife women. Other research has shown that lower intensity physical activity, compared to higher intensity activity, resulted in better mood and mental health in women, but not men.
It is important that we give ourselves permission to move in ways that both feel good and work for us – this is a key ingredient to staying motivated. And we can enjoy life more when we live it on our terms not those prescribed by others.
Walking at a pace that feels good is a great way to exercise. But, most types of movement contribute to being healthier and happier. So, look for as many opportunities to move as you can in your daily life. Then notice as your level increases whether you feel differently – more energy? better mood? etc.
Please tell any friends, family, colleagues, or health care professionals that you think would be interested in this insights on crating lasting motivation and self-care behavior through the social media and email icons below.
Sunday, January 8th, 2012 | Motivation, Self-caring, Smart Women Don't Diet, Women's Health, Women's Motivation, Women's Self-Care, womenshealth.gov spotligt
I am honored to have been interviewed on womenshealth.gov about how women can create sustainable self-care and motivation and how to craft New Year’s resolutions that last. Directly below is one of the questions they asked and my answer. What is your favorite healthy living tip? You should only change one new behavior at a [...]
Friday, December 23rd, 2011 | General
“Goal clout” is an important new concept I introduced a few posts ago. Now, I’d like to discuss how it can help you craft more effective New Year’s Resolutions – one that finally stick! Goal clout gives self-care behaviors influence in our daily lives, so they trump the things that have tended to get in [...]
Friday, December 9th, 2011 | General, Self-comparison, Strategies
Dear Students, I’m so glad you decided to take my new class this past Fall. At the beginning of our term I was so excited about this new course to teach young women how to design lives and make decisions that are more likely to lead to health and well-being that I blogged about it [...]
Monday, December 5th, 2011 | Compassion, General, Happiness, Individuals, Listen to your body, Motivation, Physical Activity, Self-caring, Self-comparison, Women's Motivation, Women's Self-Care
Guess what? It’s not your fault. So many of us have tried to exercise, tried to diet, tried to lose weight, without ever achieving results that last. So, we feel like failures. Many of us have come to the conclusion after 25+ years of trying and failing, numerous time, that we should give up this [...]
Wednesday, November 23rd, 2011 | General
“Goal clout” is an important concept to help explain why it’s been so hard for us busy women to keep up our desired behavioral goals (move more, eat better, meditate, etc.) and how we can learn to maintain them for life. Want this new trump card? I created the goal clout concept to help women [...]
Tuesday, November 8th, 2011 | behavioral branding, Goals, Motivation, Oprah, University of Michigan, Values, Women's Health, Women's Motivation
My colleagues and I at the University of Michigan recently published an eye-opening study on midlife women. It showed that the health benefits we’ve been taught to strive to achieve through exercising might not be powerful enough to deliver the health outcomes we desire. We collected data over one year from 226 women who worked [...]
Wednesday, September 21st, 2011 | 45 years old, Cinderella, Compassion, Motivation, Self-caring
Many of us treat our bodies similar to how Cinderella was treated by her stepmother. We consider our bodies to be our nemesis. We ignore them –we do anything to avoid acknowledging them. Wikipedia says “The word “cinderella” has, by analogy, come to mean one whose attributes are unrecognized and… neglected.” It’s not our fault [...]
Wednesday, September 7th, 2011 | General
There’s a great new study out about body image and eating among women. This study, conducted by innovative research groups that I admire, looked at whether influencing women’s body image would impact their successful adoption of eating strategies known to help control weight. After one year, the study authors found that changing women’s body image [...]
Thursday, August 11th, 2011 | 45 years old, Harmony, Life Lessons, New York Times, Respectful, Self-caring, Self-comparison, Women's Self-Care
Today I turn 45. I thought this would be a great time to reflect on a few things I’ve learned…. The moment you choose self-acceptance and self-love is the beginning of true self-care. The saying “Don’t sweat the small stuff” is easy advice to hear but harder to implement. I’m learning that being grounded in [...]
© 2012 Michelle Segar
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