Death and Taxes
Calorie accounting inspires as much joy, involves the same math, follows a similarly tedious rule structure, and triggers as much labor-intensive procrastination as taxes. It's fitting that it's both tax season and the beginning of 'bikini season' - times when we may begrudgingly run numbers in a way that feels a lot like gossiping about ourselves. 'Too late, we say,' 'what's done, is done' followed by a lament as if we've never been through this before - 'should have looked at this sooner' and 'if I had only kept better records'. The most compelling similarity is that yearlong habits and lifestyle choices made both taxes and weight management more unbearable than they needed to be. Daily, My Fitness Pal can have all the charm of a 1040 form, and entering breakfast can feel like 'Subtract line 15 from line 14. If zero or less, enter -0-'.
If you read and listen to Dan Ariely or Katy Milkman - both authors, economists, and professors - our personal accounting tends to be less' math problem' and more threadbare justifications, stitched together with fanciful musings. When I step off a cardio machine to see my 'caloric expenditure' flashing, I'm less likely to be motivated by that number than by the mid-workout imaginary montage of winning races, summiting peaks, saving lives, toppling foes, or whatever other brain vacation kept me moving when I wanted to stop. But sometimes weight gain IS a math problem - like back in the day when the only constant in my tracker was a brand of luscious 'Breakfast Cookie' (not naming any names) that miscalculated its nutrition label by 700 calories and made me question my sanity. Food trackers do illuminate sneaky, sabotaging habits and creeping portion sizes, so it's still a useful, if not often tedious, tool.
When it comes to exercise, it's also hard to talk about 'caloric expenditure' as a compelling reason for movement and the more recently popular argument that's legit and alarming - 'so you don't wither until you die' - still doesn't spark a lot of giddy-up even if it 'should'. Cheating death feels far more motivating if we're doing it Tom Cruise style, but five more minutes on the elliptical doesn't feel all that death-defying. Ultimately, it can leave us just as tangled in shame when we fail to be inspired.
If I'm going to make exercise more enticing for myself and my clients, there needs to be more carrot and less stick. It's why the book 'Move: How the New Science of Body Movement Can Set Your Mind Free' by Caroline Williams was just what I was looking for. I needed to know I could buy myself a brain boost at the low cost of a stroll so that taking a walk became part of my job not a nuisance responsibility that someone told me I needed. As Williams stated, "We've known for decades now that physical exercise is the best proven way to boost brain health and cognitive skills, including memory and attention, and to reduce the risk of depression and anxiety."
A Microsoft manager whom I used to train once mentioned that he makes sure that he walks with direct reports during difficult meetings because it helps them think in sync. This is supported by Peter Coleman's book 'The Way Out: How to Overcome Toxic Polarization' when he addresses the power of moving together. He writes, "Recent advances in neuroscience and social science research have documented the benefits of movement—cognitive, motivational, emotional, and physical—for increasing our neuroplasticity (brain flexibility) and openness to new experiences. To find a way out of entrenched patterns, both simple locomotion and synchronization with others can free us and rewire our experiences and relations in a manner that can lead to more creative and constructive patterns in our life."
Problem-solving and brain fuel are two positive reasons to add exercise to your day to enhance your work rather than conflict with it. 'Move' spells out what we intuitively know about movement and, when we can put aside calories and longevity (which can't be promised), we can focus on motion to improve daily function and efficiency.
Williams, Caroline. Move: How the New Science of Body Movement Can Set Your Mind Free (p. 34). Hanover Square Press. Kindle Edition.
Coleman, Peter T.. The Way Out: How to Overcome Toxic Polarization (p. 166). Columbia University Press. Kindle Edition.
