Fitness: exercise should be a healthy habit AND a happy habit...

Food for thought: exercise shouldn't just be a healthy habit, it should also be a happy habit - this means that we must...

 1. Enjoy exercise - failing to find our favoured form of fitness 'fun' leaves us less likely to maintain the motivation to move and experience the exercise induced endorphins (regularly referred to as the 'happy' hormone) that leave us feeling fantastic from the inside out.

 2. Not perceive physical activity as a form of punishment - exercising excessively in an attempt to eliminate the excess energy obtained from overeating 'bad' food can drive us to develop the detrimental perception that physical activity is a form of punishment that we have to participate in to the point of physical and mental exhaustion, a feeling that frequently leaves us dreading (and sometimes avoiding!) our daily workout.

 3. Not see exercise as permission to eat - aside from frequently fuelling a fixation with the figure on fitness equipment (an exaggerated estimate that has a tendency to trigger over training as we become besotted with 'burning' more calories in order to be able to eat/eliminate 'bad' food), exercising to eat can also leave (many of) us susceptible to cutting our calorie consumption to a dangerously low level on days when we skip a training session or fail to participate in physical activity to our full potential, both of which make exercise a habit that hinders (health and happiness) as opposed to aids. 

 Simple summary: exercise should be an enjoyable experience that benefits our mind just as much as our body - finding a form of fitness which is fun is the most effective way to ensure that we achieve this.

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