Betty Doyling

Even if you do not celebrate Thanksgiving, it’s likely you’re grateful for family and food.

The recent US holiday led me to thinking about my thankfulness for my fitness lifestyle and about cooking in the holidays with my mom. We made sweet potato pies, fried chicken, lemon cakes and more. Of course, this doesn’t happen daily, which is why it was so memorable.

Now that I am a fitness professional, it does not mean that I don’t make those things any more, it just means that it happens rarely. This led me to think about the reasons I’m thankful for fitness. This thankfulness does not mean I need a matching workout outfit or running shoes that will break the bank or that I need to catch the next cybersale. It does mean that I’ve committed to movement and making healthy decisions.

1. Happier person

The mood lift that even occasional workouts will give you helps with anxiety and depression. I can vouch for this in my own life. I can handle stress much easier after my workout, which is a bonus I can’t live without. My family can vouch for how cranky I get if I don’t get my workout in.

2. Overall healthier (and longer) life

Fitness research has shown that regular exercise can increase both heart and brain health, keeping you moving and lucid further in life. My husband’s grandfather, Ernest Doyling, is now 97 and was a carpenter until his early 90s. He led a reasonably healthy lifestyle and is still very alert and well.

3. Raising healthy children

Our son is 17 and daughter 12 and they’ve watched me dive into various fitness adventures — which has had a positive impact on them both. Our son has always been very active, moving and playing since he was little and finally finding rugby, a sport he loves. Our daughter enjoys netball. Keeping up with your kids at any age is a wonderful experience.

4. Happily taking the stairs

I have stairs at my house and at work so I am typically up and down flights a dozen times a day. I attack them with confidence and speed when heading up or down. The feeling of being able to run up all those steps, and not gasp for breath at the top is wonderful.

5. Confidence

There is nothing that can give you confidence faster than feeling powerful and healthy in your own body. Everyday things, such as carrying in more groceries than you thought you could or moving a box you were convinced would be too heavy to manage, give a lift.

Health gives us the opportunity to dream, to think beyond our daily lives, and improves our life experience overall. Stay thankful and B-Active For Life!

• Betty Doyling is a certified fitness trainer. Check her out on Facebook: facebook.com/B.ActiveForLife