Quitting is often thought to be a bad thing. But it gives you some fabulous information and insights to help you do it differently and be successful next time around.
There are 7 billion people on the planet and therefore 7 billion ways to be healthy. We mistakenly think that there is just one way to be healthy and that is often what works for someone else!
Borrow,
be inspired,
but do it your way.
Understanding why you quit your exercise goals is important. But understanding insights from the experience is priceless. Here are some of the common reasons for quitting your goals:
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It’s taking up more time than you expected
On paper a cheeky wee gym class at lunchtime looks feasible. But when you add in travel time, getting changed twice and then of course have to eat lunch It just ends up feeling such a stressful experience, rather than taking care of yourself!
Next Time: Spend time working out how long will take door to door. You may decide to find another time or to put a generous block in your diary and make notes of what prep you need to do beforehand.
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Your menopause symptoms are unpredictable
You have created a strict exercise plan but can’t stick to it because your menopause symptoms are making it hard or unpleasant.
Next Time: Create a flexible routine. Any exercise is better than no exercise so what are your alternatives? Can you match them to how you regular feel or to symptoms? i.e. If I don’t sleep well, I will go for a walk instead of the gym.
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You believe someone else’s opinion is more important than your own
Maybe you are forcing yourself to have an early morning routine because ‘experts’ say that’s the best time to do it. You are following a diet because ‘experts’ say it’s the best during menopause.
Next Time: Listen to your own intuition, you are the expert in you. Use the information on what hasn’t worked to help you make a personalised choice that works best for you!
- You are not very good at it!
Some activities take longer than others to get to grips with. If you have an expectation that you should be good at something it can be a wee bit of a shock to realise that you aren’t good at it. Or your perception of not being good at it.
Yoga is a great example of this, I often feel like I need to improve my flexibility before I get into a class! I’m not naturally uber bendy and use blocks and belts to help get into postures. I’m OK with not being bendy but not many yoga teachers training includes adaptations. ‘Listen to your body’ for me often means ignoring the teacher!
Next Time: Personalise how you measure your progress. Comparison is the worst way to measure this particularly if you are comparing yourself against a person. From your starting point what do you want to notice improving?
- You are not getting the results you expected.
This can be many reasons, perhaps your expectations are inflated. The menopause slows down many things when hormones are out of balance. Balancing hormones is often a step that’s are missed out in the rush to ‘do something’.
With exercise I believe there is a focus on ‘doing’, while resting is just as important when you start exercising as that is where your gains happen.
Next Time: Are your goals realistic in the context of your menopause symptoms today and are you getting enough proper rest?
- You don’t enjoy them
It can take a while to enjoy exercise and the place where you do it. Gym floors can be intimidating and noisy. Exercising outdoors may not be a good option because of the weather, both sunshine and rain can be a problem depending on where you live. If it’s a class, finding a teacher that you vibe with. It’s hard to be consistent when you don’t enjoy it.
Next Time: Spend time working out your preferences. i.e. Introverts may not want to train in a loud, busy gym and may find a small studio better suited for them
- Listening to your body.
Your body whispers, so it can be quite hard to notice the signs it’s giving you. On top of this exercise creates happy hormones so it can be hard to notice the subtle nuances of this. Runners will generally not notice the wee aches and pains until they are sitting in the physios. During the menopause, symptoms are unpredictable and don’t take any notice of the plans you make!
Next time: Take some time to join up the dots of what your body is telling you with compared to what your plans are. During the menopause you may notice your body wants to rest more. Or perhaps the happy hormones created during exercise are just what you need.
Top Takeaways
– Quitting isn’t a bad thing, in fact it’s great information of where you are now and you perhaps needed to take a step back before you can go forward.
– Personalise as much as you can. Dig deep to your why, when you are fitting it in and how you can enjoy it
– Adding a realism to your menopause sypmtoms and how they are affecting you
