[00:00:00] Rita Black: Picture this. It’s early morning, the alarm flares and you are lying in bed contemplating whether to hit that snooze button or drag yourself to the gym, and suddenly a big red stop sign pops up in your mind, urging you to abandon all thoughts of exercise and dive under the cozy covers. Sound familiar?

[00:00:24] Rita Black: Well fret not because in today’s thin thinking episode, we are diving deep into the realm of mental resistance and exploring the effective strategies to conquer that internal battle and establish a consistent exercise routine. We’re gonna uncover the secrets to silence that inner voice that says Ugg, and replace it with a resounding, let’s go.

[00:00:48] Rita Black: From motivational techniques to fabulous advice, I will provide you with the mental tools you need to push through those mental barriers and get moving towards your fitness goals. whether you are a longtime exerciser, avoider, or just looking for that extra push to stay on track. This episode is for you.

[00:01:08] Rita Black: grab those gym shows and come on in.

[00:01:18] Rita Black: Did that our struggle with weight doesn’t start with the food on your plate or get fixed in the gym? 80% of our weight struggle is mental. That’s The key to unlocking long-term weight release and management begins in your mind. Hi there, I’m Rita Black. I’m a clinical hypnotherapist, [00:01:40] weight loss expert, bestselling author, and the creator of the Shift Weight Mastery Process.

[00:01:46] Rita Black: And not only have I helped thousands of people over the past 20 years. Achieve long-term weight mastery. I am also a former weight struggler, carb addict and binge eater, and after two decades of failed diets and fad weight loss programs, I lost 40 pounds with the help of hypnosis. Not only did I release all that weight, I have kept it off for 25 years.

[00:02:12] Rita Black: Enter the Thin Thinking Podcast where you too will learn how to remove the mental roadblocks that keep you struggling. I’ll give you the thin thinking tools, skills, and insights to help you develop the mindset you need. Not only to achieve your ideal weight, but to stay there long-term and live your best life.

[00:02:33] Rita Black: Sound good? Let’s get started. Hello. Hello. Come on in, come on in and get cozy. Although this episode may make you wanna go out for a walk or get to the gym, you can be cozy for now. welcome. And I’m just sending out love to our thin thinking community. This week, I have been hearing from you guys, which is great.

[00:02:58] Rita Black: I always love to hear your ideas and, challenges that you’re up against and, asking me for help or advice. And I have been hearing from you and a lot of you are wanting to really look at the resistance, that comes up around exercise. [00:03:20] And I was going to pull together a podcast and then I realized I already had a podcast on exercise resistance.

[00:03:27] Rita Black: Isn’t that amazing? I went into the archives and when I say that, you imagine the dusty, library, all the dust, in the old archives in the back. At least I do when somebody says, oh, I’m gonna go into the archives and pull something out. but no, I just went into the digital archives.

[00:03:47] Rita Black: And we’re gonna dive into this episode and you’ll get a little giggle and a snicker from it because, it was just as we were coming out of the COVID, the, the world of COVID. a little blast from the past. Now, before we dive in, I just wanna let that there. Is we are doing a free masterclass called How to Stop The Start Over Tomorrow Way, struggle Cycle, and Begin Releasing Weight for Good.

[00:04:17] Rita Black: You can either find the link in the show notes, or you can head over to www.shiftweightmastery.com/free. That’s www.shiftweightmastery.com/free. And sign up. And it’s free. It’s easy. You can access it from your tablet, your phone, your desktop, and we are gonna get into the subconscious resistance.

[00:04:47] Rita Black: Speaking of resistance, that it takes us back into that, you, we all can get traction, releasing weight, but what is that getting in the way of r being [00:05:00] consistent? And this is what we really dive into in the masterclass. you can break through that. And continue on your weight release journey that you can have some success.

[00:05:11] Rita Black: We also do a weight release hypnosis in this masterclass. check it out. I said in the show notes, the link is there. And now let’s get into this week’s episode. If you haven’t exercised for a while, getting moving again can be a challenge. I wanna talk to you guys about that. If you are finding yourself stuck, wanting to get moving, or maybe you’re doing some exercise, but it’s not consistent, I wanted to spend today just giving you some thin thinking tips and tricks to get yourself moving again and exercising more consistently, and really communicating more powerfully with yourself in the area of exercise.

[00:05:52] Rita Black: Here is the thing about weight mastery and exercise with regards to research and, people who have taken weight off and kept it off permanently. If you look at studies, of people who have been consistently, keeping their wide weight off long term. in these studies, these people are exercising five to six days a week, to not to take the weight off, but to maintain their weight.

[00:06:19] Rita Black: And there’s many, many reasons for this. one of them being that as you release weight, obviously you become smaller. the, The amount of calories that you’re burning on a daily basis decreases as you become l smaller, thinner, less, [00:06:40] as you weigh less. And in order to match that, as far as energy is concerned, is.

[00:06:47] Rita Black: In, in order to, be able to eat, in, in a way that you and love. many people then start to leverage the power of exercise to create more energy burn on a daily basis. Also studies are showing now. and I don’t know if you read these studies from a while ago with the Biggest Loser with these people who have had these really big weight releases, that if you compare somebody who let’s say is 150 pounds five seven and has never had a weight struggle compared with somebody who has.

[00:07:30] Rita Black: Was once 200 pounds and then has, lost weight and now is 150 pounds and five seven. Chances are that person who has been on that weight loss journey, their metabolism is going to be lower than the person who never struggled with their weight. At the same weight, if that makes sense to you. this is why people who have taken weight off and, and a lot of that, the reason for that, I, I think these studies get into it’s main, it’s genetics.

[00:08:03] Rita Black: It’s just what the body does and compensation. and I don’t think they have all the answers for that, but they’re just seeing this more and more and I. I don’t know if this is the first time you’ve listened to me, but I, am somebody who tracks people’s metabolisms. If [00:08:20] they’re a client of mine, they come in.

[00:08:21] Rita Black: I have a machine that, and, and I’ve watched metabolisms over weight loss journeys and I’ve seen that to be true to a certain degree. I really think that these studies and there’s, there is a lot of evidence that these people who are keeping weight off long term have really made it a part of their lifestyle to exercise almost every day on a daily basis.

[00:08:48] Rita Black: Now, there’s many values other than just weight management. That exercise brings, that does play into long-term permanent weight management. one, exercise absolutely regulates your hormones, helps you build, neurotransmitters serotonin, oxytocin that really help you, feel good that you’re managing stress a lot better.

[00:09:12] Rita Black: And a lot of us who struggle with weight are stress eaters, obviously that’s gonna be a bonus. Exercise also helps you problem solve. And I think a lot of times we eat our problems and, they have also shown that there is a hormone emitted in the state of exercise that is the best, state of mind when you’re exercising to solve problems.

[00:09:36] Rita Black: And I absolutely know this to be true. I will get on, a treadmill or the, The, elliptical or a bike, and I will go to a spin class, and I will, I will say, what’s the problem I’m gonna solve during the spin class? Now I can be listening to the instructor or on a bike, listening to the instructor.

[00:09:58] Rita Black: And spinning my heart [00:10:00] out, but I, my subconscious mind can also solve problems at the same time. And I’ll get epiphanies. And maybe you’ve had this experience when you’ve gone out walking or, or running, or even walking on the beach. you’ll, you, you, the, these epiphanies come to you, when you are.

[00:10:16] Rita Black: Exercising. I think it, it is a really great state to, problem solve in. And again, I think that leads to weight maintenance and management because, instead of eating your problems, you are, exercising them instead. now here’s the thing. If you’re in the beginning of a long-term permanent weight mastery journey, do you need to be exercising from the.

[00:10:43] Rita Black: Get go? No, I think a lot of people, put a lot of pressure on themselves when they start losing weight. when we get into that, I’m going on a diet, that means I have to exercise a lot. Not necessarily. I think sometimes it really helps to get the food in the place and not put a ton of, pressure on yourself to.

[00:11:04] Rita Black: Really start exercising unless, unless you’re in the mood to, a lot of my clients come to me and they’re already exercising, but it’s really about getting the food in the place. it it, what you start out doing is highly personal to you. And, and I’m gonna get into this, I don’t want you to feel you have to be working out five to six days a week when you get started, I just wanted to let that the, the reason, you wanna start to.

[00:11:34] Rita Black: Think about moving your body and exercising and exercise doesn’t even need to be going to [00:11:40] the gym and working out. It could be just moving and, and being active and getting your body, moving more than sitting on the couch, which is, sitting is the new smoking. you wanna start to re-identify yourself as an active.

[00:11:56] Rita Black: Person, and that’s what we’re gonna get into. here are some thin thinking mindset tips that will help you start, to get back on and start exercising or get back into a routine. Now again, I’m gonna remind you that, there’s, it’s not your fault that you’re necessarily struggling with exercise.

[00:12:18] Rita Black: I think you, it’s really important to remove any, shame or. negative feelings about yourself because really, honestly, the way our mind is designed for weight loss and management, exercise, all of that, the mind is really not set up, to help us out very much. In fact, it’s works against us, our conscious mind.

[00:12:39] Rita Black: We’re in, we have very good intentions. I’m gonna wake up, I’m gonna set the alarm, I’m gonna exercise tomorrow. I’m gonna wake up and I’m gonna go for a walk. I’m gonna go, get on that rowing machine. I’m gonna go do something and then we get, that that alarm goes off and our reptilian, subconscious mind is what the hell was that noise?

[00:12:59] Rita Black: I am shutting that thing down and going back to sleep because, our mind wants things to stay just as they are. And when you’re warm and cozy in bed in the morning. That reptilian brain doesn’t wanna move and exert itself. Hell no. [00:13:20] and that’s a very powerful force working against you. we really have to learn how to get our whole mind working with us in order to get.

[00:13:29] Rita Black: Moving now. another problem that is on our way is we, in our subconscious mind, we have negative identities of ourself as couch potatoes, lazy, I’m a pig. we have these negative labels and self identities of ourselves as a sedentary. Person that really works against us. I want you to understand that.

[00:14:00] Rita Black: Labeling yourself. Oh, I can’t tell you how many people have told me that they’re a lazy pig. they’re a lazy, they’re a couch potato. They’re, they, they, there’s a lot of, descriptions that are not very kind, that people to label themselves. They’re a little inner critic inside, wants to let them know, yes, you are a couch potato and you will not amount to very much because you are lazy and you’re unproductive and you’re a slovenly pig.

[00:14:31] Rita Black: Very kind. we just love that inner critic. And also we have a belief system that’s set up to look at exercise it’s hard. Ugh. Exercise exertion. I don’t to sweat. I have back pain. I have achy joints. I don’t want people looking at me at the gym. that’s, I’ve heard that year after [00:15:00] year.

[00:15:00] Rita Black: After year, and I understand that because I avoided the gym because I didn’t want people to see me when I was 40 pounds heavier working out. I felt very embarrassed about that. Somebody told me something once about that. That was great and I’m gonna share that with you now. I. Is that, well, at least here in California, and I think that this is true of most places, that people are really into themselves at the gym.

[00:15:23] Rita Black: they’ve got their own, paranoia, they have got their own issues with themselves. And people here in California, in Los Angeles especially, let’s face it, they’re all super into themselves. they might, I got over it because I was I looked around the gym and I was if these people.

[00:15:47] Rita Black: Look at me, they’re probably gonna spend maybe 25 seconds thinking about me. Oh, there’s that big girl in the T-shirt. And then they’re gonna be back thinking about themselves again. Oh, don’t I look great in the mirror? I really realized that I. People really don’t spend that much time thinking about you.

[00:16:05] Rita Black: I know it’s hard to take that in. it’s hard that. People pretty much for kid care, less about you. They’re all in their own drama and their own concerns, but it’s very freeing once you get over that because it’s Well, they don’t care about me. I can wear whatever I want and I can do whatever I want.

[00:16:21] Rita Black: And I highly recommend you start to take that attitude yeah, they really don’t care about you. what are you worried about? even if you’re walking along the road, they might think about you. Oh, there’s that lady in the pink sweatsuit. Wow, great. Now I’m back to my own drama and my my own day.

[00:16:38] Rita Black: you’re not [00:16:40] that important in people’s minds, except maybe your loved ones. don’t worry about what people think of you. What they’re thinking about you is really none of your business. Your what you think about yourself is all your business, and you should start be, you should be think some better thoughts, and we’re gonna get into that.

[00:16:58] Rita Black: And then habit. Habit. Sleeping in, that’s a habit. Coming home and pouring a glass of wine and sitting on the couch, that’s a habit, ? we get into these habits that are patterns that then just get parked in our subconscious mind. Our mind thinks, this works just great for me. Don’t rock the boat, don’t get, in my face here.

[00:17:21] Rita Black: just leave me alone and let me just repeat this pattern over and over and over again. Even if it’s. Causing you to gain weight and feel unhealthy and feel a couch potato. here is, let’s start at identity, because our identity, is at the root of all transformation. I know that, that a lot of people don’t think about our identity much, but you have a lot of different identities in your mind.

[00:17:50] Rita Black: you might be, wherever you live. That’s an identity. I’m a Californian, I’m a. Southern California and I’m a Los Angeles, those are all different identities. I even live in this area, is I’m between Koreatown and in this place called Larchmont Village in Los Angeles. And it’s an, it’s a beautiful little, historic because, it’s one of the older areas of Los Angeles.

[00:18:16] Rita Black: and I bought my house the year, the earthquake [00:18:20] and the riots, after the, the LA riots in the nineties. and this area has changed and transformed and a lot of people come and poured a lot of love into my area. I love where I live, but, I’m also a member of this community, and I’ve been here a very long time and I’ve really given a lot to the community, [00:18:38] Rita Black: I am, I, I, we live in this place called St. Andrews Square. I am, I’m a St. Andrews person. I’m a Larchmont person. I’m a Koreatown person. I, I, I work in the Wilshire area. I’m a Wilshire person, I have a lot of identities that way. I’m a mom, I’m a business woman. I’m a hypnotherapist.

[00:18:59] Rita Black: I’m a. A weight master. I’m a weight apprentice. I’m a wife. I’m an advocate for girls. I am, the, the mother of somebody going to, Berkeley, that, that those are all identities and you probably have hundreds of identities. And if you’ve struggled with exercise, that’s an identity is that I don’t exercise or I’m a pouch potato.

[00:19:30] Rita Black: Or I’m lazy that when it comes to exercise, that is an identity. I am, I, I don’t to sweat. that, that becomes a bit of an identity in your mind. And I can totally relate because I used to see myself as a couch potato. one thing that we can start to do is transform our identity, and that is something that you just choose in a moment.

[00:19:55] Rita Black: it’s not something that you have to prove to yourself. You can [00:20:00] transform your identity just by saying and, and starting to think of yourself. Differently. if you ever got married and you said, I do, all of a sudden you’re a spouse instead of a single person. ? And you’re not trying not to be single.

[00:20:14] Rita Black: You are now adapting to this new identity of being a wife or a husband, or, or if you, were, A student and then you went into your profession. Now all of a sudden you are a teacher, or you’re a nurse, or you’re a lawyer, or you’re a, a manager, or you’re, you, you step into an identity and you begin to live into it.

[00:20:38] Rita Black: this, the idea that I would have for you to start to step into is I am a, I’m moving in the direction of being. An exerciser. you don’t have to say I am an exerciser, because your mind probably won’t accept that because your mind will say, well, that’s not true. But you can say I’m an apprentice of exercise.

[00:21:02] Rita Black: I am a, I am a beginning exerciser. I’m a novice exerciser. I am a novice fitness person. I’m, I am, I’m a new fitness advocate. You can find a title that fits for you, play around. You’re smart. but. What you’re doing is opening up a little door in your brain, and it’s not even a door, it’s a little space you wanna think of it as your exercise room that you’re creating in your brain, and you are giving that a label, saying, I’m stepping into being an apprentice of exercise.

[00:21:38] Rita Black: That means I’m [00:21:40] starting, I don’t have to be, Ex working out six days a week, but I’m, I’m, I’m starting to see myself and, and saying to yourself, I’m moving in the direction of this, opens up your brain too, because it doesn’t freak your brain out too much. It’s moving in the direction is oh, I’m open to this idea.

[00:21:57] Rita Black: I’m getting started. It’s not scary, have to do it this second, but it, but it starts to plant a seed in your brain and it will grow. Now let’s talk about this belief of exercise sucks and it’s hard and all of that stuff. when you have not been exercising or moving your body too much, the idea of moving your body probably isn’t gonna seem that pleasant.

[00:22:23] Rita Black: And I, I find a lot of times with people, we frame it to ourselves negatively that. Who would wanna exercise, ? we think of sweating, we think of putting on the clothes. We think of waking up early and it’s cold and putting the clothes on in the cold or, Waking up and, and, and driving to the gym or going out in the outside where it’s cold or it’s hot or the, what we focus on, you create what you focus on.

[00:22:57] Rita Black: usually, what I find that people focus on with exercise totally turns their brain off to the idea of exercise. maybe you can think about how you have been thinking about exercise. Ask yourself, is the way I’m framing it to myself inviting or is it discouraging? There are three parts to [00:23:20] exercise and if you wanna look at the three aspects of exercise there, there’s the time that you spend getting ready to go and exercise, meaning putting on some exercise clothes, maybe.

[00:23:31] Rita Black: getting your home gym set up or maybe, going outside or driving to a place to, a gym or a track to, work out. But I think that, that is one part is the getting ready part. the second part is the actual exercising itself when you’re physically exercising. And again, if you think about that, you might think of overexerting yourself on a treadmill or out walking and you might think about, aches and pains and the gym.

[00:24:10] Rita Black: next, after we think about the pre-exercise part, a lot of times where we will focus is on the exercise part, the actual physical movement. Now, if we haven’t been moving for a while, we. We might have these negative fantasies of ourselves, really being physically uncomfortable during an exercise class or sweating profusely or ache, having aches and pains or being outta breath or having our heart beating too fast, ?

[00:24:43] Rita Black: we might have negative fantasies or negative hallucinations, about the actual physical part. Of, physical exertion, that might be, or you might have a memory of, [00:25:00] walking the last time and maybe you had arthritis or something and it was really hurting you. And your mind will focus on that.

[00:25:07] Rita Black: Or, or I said, the beginning part of the exercise, trying to get going. the, the last part of the exercise scenario is usually where people aren’t going to focus, which is on how awesome you feel at the end of your exercise session. How wonderful it feels to have moved your body, to have connected your mind and body and any, to be honest with you, once you start moving.

[00:25:38] Rita Black: Actual moving part of exercise. Once you get a positive memory of it going, that is gonna pull you into exercise because there is nothing your brain and body working together in unison, for a feeling of empowerment. And, exercise is one of those. Things that instantly brings you confidence.

[00:25:58] Rita Black: Confidence about yourself, confidence about your, your physicality. it’s one of the things that can quickly change, how you stand and how you feel. really, but the, but the, the last part of the exercise equation. Is really where I would have people focus on, when they wanna seduce themselves into the idea of exercise.

[00:26:23] Rita Black: When you’re laying in bed in the morning, you don’t wanna think about getting outta bed and getting into the cold clothes and getting out to exercise. What I focus on. All the time that gets me is how awesome I am going to feel all day long because I moved my body in the morning, [00:26:40] or if it’s, if it’s at night that I’m choosing to exercise, how amazing I’m gonna feel after I’ve removed all the stress from my day from a good workout session.

[00:26:50] Rita Black: focusing on that end point changes. we, all we have in our life is our focus. And, and if we choose to focus on negative things, it’s gonna create a negative feeling in our body. It’s gonna create a negative emotion. And our bo our mind’s not gonna wanna do it, but if we focus on the aspects of exercise that pull us forward, how?

[00:27:11] Rita Black: Good. We’re gonna feel about ourselves, how confident we’re gonna feel. And, and I’m gonna get into some ways that you can get yourself into doing this, but I just wanted you to, I just wanted you to know that maybe part of the reason that you haven’t gotten yourself going is where your focus is, is in the wrong place.

[00:27:28] Rita Black: You’re focusing on negative. Ideas and, and fantasies and hallucinations versus, really focusing your brain on the powerful part of exercise and the, the feel good part of exercise. And, and I always tell people, if you can exercise for three days, if you can just do three days, even if you’re doing 10 minutes of exercise, your brain will, your brain and body will start to those, those hormones that are emitted, that the, the neurotransmitters that are, engaged, [00:27:58] Rita Black: You’ll start to get, getting addicted to exercise. And, people, a, a lot of people are you, you can call ’em exercise nuts, exercise addicts, but they, because they’ve gotten hooked, on that feel good feeling, that feeling of especially, in the middle of exercise or after exercise.

[00:28:17] Rita Black: But don’t focus in the wrong place, especially if [00:28:20] you’re trying to get yourself engaged and going [00:28:31] Rita Black: Now let’s talk about the habit. It, starting a habit of exercise. One thing I have found, and again, I. I have a lot of, experiences with working with people because I said, I’ve been doing what I do and helping people with managing weight for 20 years. That’s a lot of people, folks, and I’ve seen a lot of people in the beginning of their weight release journeys and something that a lot of people will do.

[00:29:01] Rita Black: Is when they have not been exercising. What they will do is they will say, well, I’m gonna start exercising, and then they’ll have really huge expectations of what they need to do. In order to get going. somebody might, I, I will, be in a conversation with somebody and say, how much are you planning to start out and, what’s your exercise goals?

[00:29:29] Rita Black: Well, I thought I’d start out, five days a week. Me, about an hour a day and I’m and have, and when was the last time that you, had an exercise routine going, oh, I have not had a re exercise routine for seven years. and then they’re, that’s my job to start to remove their minds from this idea of something that they’re not gonna do.

[00:29:55] Rita Black: the, you might get a exercise routine [00:30:00] going that is an hour a day, five days a week, and you might succeed at that for an. A week, but most people have to, their brain if they think about, if you haven’t moved for a long time and then you think about. Moving an hour a day, first of all, creating that time in your schedule, but secondly, following through on that, especially after working out for an hour, the first day you’re gonna be sore.

[00:30:28] Rita Black: You’re gonna, the, there’s gonna be a lot of adjustments that your body is gonna have to make, and your brain is gonna get overwhelmed and it’s gonna shut down and say, it’s gonna say no. I think one of the main reasons that you might not have started an exercise routine is your. Expectations are too big of what you need to do to get started.

[00:30:48] Rita Black: that I see that is a very common thing. The other thing is if you were very fit in the past, if you were an athlete, I’ve worked with Olympic athletes who, were incredibly fit and had very high fitness goals and achievements. Then something happened, they were in an accident and then they were sedentary for a while or something happened in their lives where they got out of the routine or they won the gold medal or whatever, and they, they were a coach, but they hadn’t been really exercising.

[00:31:23] Rita Black: I. Themselves too much. they just got busy with life raising kids, doing whatever, and then, then they’re very ashamed and they’re holding themselves to the old exercise standard. And it doesn’t even have to be an Olympic athlete. I’m just talking about anybody [00:31:40] who, played football in high school or basketball or was.

[00:31:45] Rita Black: Fit in their twenties and they were jogging every day or running marathons, and then it stopped and, and then they got out of shape. That what will happen is they’ll hold themselves to that. I’ve gotta get back to that place now. and they allow their past fitness levels. To keep them from starting an exercise regime because they’re just it’s too big, it’s too overwhelming.

[00:32:12] Rita Black: Again, it’s just too much. It’s too overwhelming. They have to start where from where they are, and they have to love themselves where they are because a lot of people, if they had an incredibly fit body at some point, and then they, they look down and they see themselves out of shape. there’s a, a certain amount of, resentment they hold against themselves and their body for.

[00:32:35] Rita Black: not being perfect. and I have to say, you gotta forgive yourself. It is what it is. You are where you are now. Love yourself where you are and start from where you are. And the good news is. how to exercise and you will be able to get, going and you will be fit.

[00:32:55] Rita Black: And we go through different era of our life. I am in my fifties and I am, I have different expectations of my body than I did when I was in my forties and in my thirties. I had zero expectations of my body in my twenties. No, I’m kidding. But I. I was, struggling much with my weight and I, I remember going to exercise classes and leaving the exercise [00:33:20] class halfway through the class.

[00:33:21] Rita Black: I, I was I’m just gonna leave and I’ll, I’ll come back later and I’ll, I’ll do the full class tomorrow. I never did. I got in the habit of leaving exercise classes early, I don’t know what was up with that. But anyway, that was my struggle story, but. don’t forgive yourself for where you’re at.

[00:33:39] Rita Black: Love yourself for where you’re at and get going for where you’re at. Wherever you’re at is fine, and I assure you that once you start going, then you will build on that. start with something there. There’s a power in doing what you say you’re gonna do, even if it’s a little bit, I’ve had people, I, I’ve had people resistant to exercise.

[00:34:00] Rita Black: I said, all you need to do the first time is go to the gym. And, get on the treadmill. You don’t even need to turn it on and then leave the gym, just get into the gym and just turn on the treadmill and that you can call, exercise, or just go to the end of the block and walk back. And we will call that exercise for the first week.

[00:34:21] Rita Black: You can do that every day for five days. and I literally, I, I had this, hospice nurse who. Had, diabetes and she really needed to lose 50 pounds and she really needed to start, exercising just to help with her blood sugar levels. And she literally was out of shape. That was what she did.

[00:34:40] Rita Black: She literally walked down to the end of the block and back. For, maybe for the first week and a half and then she started going around the block. But what happened was she started a habit of every night after dinner, she just would go down and go to the end of the block and come back and she called that her exercise [00:35:00] and that built that by the end of the summer she was walking a mile.

[00:35:04] Rita Black: And then, we live in California. She was still walking outside in the winter time. Her husband started going with her. And she released 50 pounds, but it started building. I have someone in our community now who just started 10 minutes a day and then now she’s doing an hour, hour and 15 minutes, five days a week, ?

[00:35:25] Rita Black: But it started by saying, I’m just gonna do 10 minutes. You do 10 minutes, you start to move your body. Your body starts to get used to it. You start to get the benefits of the the feel good hormones, and you do what you say you’re gonna do, and you build that confidence. start little and build rather than starting with these big, huge expectations.

[00:35:46] Rita Black: The other thing that might be getting in your way is you’re trying for the wrong time of the day. I hear this again, again, too. Oh, I’m gonna wake up at three o’clock in the morning because you wake up at five o’clock to get in. Fight traffic and get to work. And sometimes I’m a really big believer in the path of least resistance, ?

[00:36:03] Rita Black: it would be really awesome if we could all wake up at 3:00 AM in the morning. Some people do it. I am not one of those people. But if you are all the power to you, but it could be that you’re just setting yourself up for failure because you’re setting up really unrealistic expectations of when, some people, [00:36:25] Rita Black: Oh, the opposite would be true that the, the afternoon, they get home and they’re just too tired from their day. And maybe the, the morning is gonna be better for them. you need to find the time. sometimes [00:36:40] lunchtime works out being the best time of day, but you can start to be creative about your time as well.

[00:36:47] Rita Black: for some clients, I’ll recommend, Hey, why don’t you, Break it into three, three, 10 minute sessions. Three, walk around the block a couple of times or jog or, do your thing in the morning for about 10 minutes, 10 to 15 minutes at lunchtime, and, 10 to 15 minutes when you get home just to get started and get going.

[00:37:11] Rita Black: And then maybe you can build from there once you get going. and many people find that this, that’s over a half hour of movement and that. Burns calories that gets them going, gets them, feeling that they, they’re moving in the direction. start to think about the time and maybe think if you haven’t been waking up and you said you were gonna be waking up instead of making, beating yourself up about it and saying, I’m lazy.

[00:37:36] Rita Black: ’cause I’m not waking up in the morning. Say, well, maybe I need to find a different time. I will go to the gym at 10 o’clock at night. Sometimes and, and it’s because I’ve had a long day, I got home late, I ate dinner, at seven I digest and I, maybe get a little work done or I hang out with my husband and then I’m I’m off to the gym.

[00:37:59] Rita Black: And sometimes he’ll come with me. and it’s. It’s great ’cause it’s just a way to, really work out, get the stress of the day off of me, come home, take a shower, get to bed, and, and, and I sleep really well. that’s another myth. I think people are afraid to work out late at night because, [00:38:20] they’re afraid that it will impact their sleep.

[00:38:22] Rita Black: I, it makes me sleep a baby. I don’t know about you, but You really gotta find the time for you and the time might not be a conventional time. think about that and think that through. Here’s some tools to get going. I said, make it easy for yourself. think it through the night before if you’re used to showing up to your day and your day is not an exercise day, you’re gonna wanna engage your mind first and practice it before you do it.

[00:38:52] Rita Black: when I do these podcasts, I think it through ahead of time because, just to come and sit down and start talking to you, I have to I have to prepare my mind, before I teach a class, I have to prepare my mind, athletes, before they go in the field, they have to prepare their mind.

[00:39:09] Rita Black: If you’re gonna be doing something new, you need to think it through and, and if there’s some resistance coming up, talk yourself through it. Focus on, I know it’s gonna be new. I know it might not feel, the most comfortable, we’re stretching ourselves. It’s You wanna have a little inner coach, talk with yourself.

[00:39:29] Rita Black: you wanna be your own best friend about this. You don’t wanna criticize yourself, you don’t wanna rebel. You wanna say, Hey, I’m with you. and, And, and we can do this and we’re gonna feel awesome when we’re done, and I’m gonna be proud of you when you’re done. really talk yourself through it.

[00:39:48] Rita Black: Think it through, pep yourself up, really engage. make it easy. think it through the night before, I said, or think it through. If you’re gonna come home [00:40:00] and do it, think it through, on your way home, get yourself prepared for it. I’m gonna go home. I’m gonna put my shoes on.

[00:40:07] Rita Black: It’s gonna feel great. have a vision of yourself, fitter and more toned. Exercising, have a positive vision of that you, you are becoming by becoming more physically active. That will help. Get the dopamine center in your brain engaged and working for you. focus on the end. I said, keep the end in mind.

[00:40:32] Rita Black: Keep that feeling of what you want in mind. And here’s something that I think is such a powerful tool is have. A comeback for your resistance because you will have resistance, especially in the beginning. I, the good thing about your inner rebel, that part of you that sabotages your health, health attempts, it’s, it’s clever sometimes, but it’s not that clever.

[00:40:57] Rita Black: It’s doesn’t, it’s smart, it’s aggressive, it’s seductive. But, they come up with the same sayings all the time. my inner rebel, if I work a day and I haven’t. Worked out in the morning. and I’ve planned to come home and work out, in the evening. I know what my inner rubble’s gonna say, oh, you’re too tired.

[00:41:19] Rita Black: Oh, you’ve worked out already a few times this week. You’re good. You don’t need to do it tonight. but not that creative. I have a comeback. my, when my inner rebel says, oh, you’re tired. And then I say, yeah, and think of how awesome I’m gonna feel when I get outta that spin class. And I’m completely [00:41:40] energized and mellow from all those feel good hormones going through my brain.

[00:41:44] Rita Black: I’m gonna feel way better than I do now. But you exercise a lot this week. I was but I’m a person, I have an identity. I am a person who works out five to six days a week, and that’s who I am. And, and, and I, I love that feeling. I have a comeback. that part of your brain that’s oh, let’s just hit the snooze alarm and keep going.

[00:42:06] Rita Black: It’s no, I’m gonna feel driving in my car this morning. I’m gonna feel that energy going through my body because I worked out today, and I won’t be sleepy and groggy. I’m gonna be awake and alive, and not just in my head, I’m gonna be in my whole dang body because I went for that walk this morning.

[00:42:29] Rita Black: let’s get this ass outta bed and let’s get going. ? set your environment up for success. What can I say that is at the root of all successful change, ? get those exercise close out. Get those shoes out. when you wake up in the morning and you see those things, you get in ’em or you have them ready when you get home.

[00:42:51] Rita Black: I come home and if I’m gonna work out that night, I change outta my work clothes into my. Workout clothes. Now I might not go and work out for two or three hours, but I got ’em on and, and I know before I take them off, I’m gonna have worked out. or if I wake up really early, sometimes I’ll wake up at, what I consider an ungodly hour to go hiking in the morning, before work.

[00:43:17] Rita Black: sometimes, I [00:43:20] have everything laid out, it’s just. Super easy. I can get dressed super quick and get outta the house I can get as much sleep as I can before I wake my dog up and go. My dog’s are you crazy? But, now he’s yep, we’re going. get, make it easy for yourself.

[00:43:38] Rita Black: Get your clothes already. And, and get yourself some fun clothes and exercise gadgets. There’s nothing as sad as having saddled exercise clothes. you’re worth it. And, and exercise clothes are not that expensive. I think having a new, pair of exercise, sweats or, A new exercise bra, they’re really cool, getting a gadget, that I think that will be really helpful for you to feel you’re really committing to something.

[00:44:13] Rita Black: I invested in some new, hiking shoes this year and, I, I. I’m not a person that likes to spend a lot of money on myself, but I’m telling you, investing in those things make my life better because I’m, I’m feeling good, my feet are feeling good. get some good shoes, get some, get, get some good shoes that you’re not hurting yourself.

[00:44:35] Rita Black: You wanna really make sure that you’re setting up. Yourself for success. Stretch. there’s some great YouTube stretch. if you just put in stretching for lower back, stretching for your legs, take care of your bo you gotta stretch you, you got to, focus on your wellbeing.

[00:44:56] Rita Black: ? Now what else do I have for [00:45:00] you here? What else do you have? Do I have for you here? Oh, have a mantra that have, have a mantra of, I am enjoying moving my body. I am enjoying being in my body, walking before breakfast. I love to walk before breakfast. something that you can just repeat to yourself.

[00:45:24] Rita Black: Over and over again that he starts to get into your mind, moving is grooving. I, I don’t know. I’m, I’m not coming up with very good ones I have to admit now. But, I, I just have, I love hiking, I love biking. I, I love. Exercise. I, and that’s something I would’ve never, ever said to myself I, in a million years, 30 years ago, but, being in my body and being able to move, and I’m very, very grateful for that.

[00:46:01] Rita Black: In this last year, during COVID, I broke my shoulder. I was out jogging, one morning because our gyms were closed. And I, I was I gotta move somehow. And I. I bit the dust and, I, I, I, I slipped on a, the wet pavement. I was, I was trying to move outta the way for this older woman who was on the sidewalk.

[00:46:23] Rita Black: I was going into the street and I went on a driveway, and I literally, my feet slipped out from under me. I, I literally, it was a slow motion movie. I saw the pavement coming. I was oh, holy crap, this is gonna be bad. And sure enough, I. fell flat on my face [00:46:40] and my shoulder was broken.

[00:46:42] Rita Black: and it took three months of physical therapy to get it back. and it’s mobile now. I worked very, very hard to get mobility back really quickly. I was able to continue to hike. I was grateful to be able to continue to move. but you don’t when, when you have. When you have your body and you have it working for you, it’s such a blessing.

[00:47:07] Rita Black: You don’t even, you take it, we take our bodies for granted. give your body love, move it, stretch it that you have that mobility that it’s serving you, throughout your life and, being, you are. Being best friends with your body. And I, I’m grateful for my body and all.

[00:47:27] Rita Black: It’s, I I was in a, this was the year of accidents. I was also in a biking accident this year. And again, you’re Rita, well, why would I wanna exercise? It sounds you, but no, it was a, it was a silly accident. It shouldn’t have happened. But, I was fine. It worked out. But, protect yourself.

[00:47:44] Rita Black: where I, if you’re going to go out biking, wear a helmet, I’m, I’m very careful with those things. I, I, even though I fell and I broke my shoulder, that was not good. but when I, my fell when I, I was protected, it wasn’t that bad. I just, had some bruising and stuff that.

[00:48:01] Rita Black: but take care of your body, and your body is your best friend. get a buddy support, walk. I just interviewed, somebody, Mickey Marino, and she was, she started this walking and talking where, she didn’t wa she wasn’t near her friends she was, [00:48:20] no, she wasn’t close to her friends during COVID.

[00:48:23] Rita Black: but they would go out and separately walk and they would have a, she had a, oh my gosh, she had her phone and they would just be on the phone with her headset and they would be talking while they were walking as if they were walking together, which I thought was such a great idea.

[00:48:40] Rita Black: don’t say, well, I don’t have anybody who will walk with me. maybe you just have somebody who will talk with you while you walk or we’ll walk and talk with you. or get an exercise buddy. I know I’ve had such great, Exercise partners and it really builds our relationship to meet every week.

[00:48:59] Rita Black: And we, and you get into this deep state when you’re walking with somebody or hiking with somebody where you talk about everything under the sun. It’s such a great thing. It’s therapy. get an exercise buddy. It’s, it really, it, it changes your life. you can check out Facebook groups for.

[00:49:17] Rita Black: People, in, groups in your area. Be safe with that. But, I, I know that there are AR areas here in California where there are walking groups and hiking groups and, and stuff that. Not much during COVID, but now that we’re coming out of COVID, I think we’ll see a lot more of that again too.

[00:49:35] Rita Black: break it up, I said, 10 minutes. 10 minutes, 10 minutes. if you wanna do stuff Put your weights by your tea kettle. That’s what I do. I, I lift weights while I’m waiting for my water to boil, just to get it in in little bits. It doesn’t have to be these big, huge workouts. also you can do some exercise while you watch TV at night.

[00:49:56] Rita Black: You can do your stretching at that time. That’s what I do. You can. You [00:50:00] can lift weights thin or, I, I to do my standing up exercises and, and my, sit ups and stuff that while I’m watching tv because, I’m not eating if you’re, you’re not eating when you’re exercise. Well, it’s not true.

[00:50:17] Rita Black: Some people can do both, but, what I’m saying? And I’m being funny. our dance, turn on music and just dance around your kitchen. I’ve done that many times too. I’ll get up, in the middle of a workday and, yell out a Bruce Springsteen song or a classic rock song, and dance around and for five to 10 minutes get my heart rate up and then I’ll get back to work.

[00:50:41] Rita Black: And even just doing enough of those a day that’s, that’s a workout. you can start just moving your body. All Well, I hope that podcast served you from the archives. I’m still dusting myself off. but no, I hope you found that current and inspiring and are ready to go. Move now, and, and get out there and enjoy the summer in using your body and connecting your body and your mind powerfully.

[00:51:11] Rita Black: and remember, if you, if you wanna grab, and spend, a, a. Good amount of time, a nice hour and a half, showing up for yourself and learning how to use your mind effectively in the area of self-care, weight release, and enjoying a weight release hypnosis session. Check out. The show notes for, the masterclass and, how to [00:51:40] stop the start over tomorrow, weight struggle cycle, and begin releasing weight for good.

[00:51:44] Rita Black: It’s free. I, I, it’s a great masterclass with lots of good information. And then also you could go to www.shiftweightmastery.com/. Free as well to sign up. Have a great week, and remember that the key and probably the only key to unlocking the door, the weight struggle is inside you. keep listening and find it.

[00:52:11] Rita Black: I will be here with you next week. Thanks for listening to the Thin Thinking Podcast. Did that episode go by way too fast for you? If and do you wanna dive deeper into the mindset of long-term weight release? Head on over to www shift weight mastery.com. That’s www shift weight mastery.com, where you’ll find numerous tools and resources to help you unlock your mind for permanent weight release tips, strategies, and more.

[00:52:46] Rita Black: And be sure to check the show notes. To learn more about my book from Fat to Thin Thinking, unlock your mind for permanent weight loss and to learn how to subscribe to the podcast that you never miss an [00:53:20] episode.