'Intuitive Exercise' Urges Listening To Your Body Instead Of Counting Calories, Pounds

NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) -- How are you doing with those fitness resolutions you made for the new year?

If you know you should be exercising but sometimes you just don't feel like it, maybe you should try a different approach to working out -- intuitive exercise.

CBS2's Dr. Max Gomez says intuitive exercise is about listening to your body, which is something that actually applies to more than exercise.

It means paying attention to the messages your body gives you -- soreness, pain and fatigue are all part of it.

When it comes to working out for Morgyne Martinez, each day feels a little different.

"If it's cold or freezing cold, I'll be inside more, so maybe it's a stretch day," she said. "It really depends on how I'm feeling. Sometimes I'll tune in and be like, what does my body need today?"

So she's decided to ditch the normal workout routine and instead take up intuitive exercise, listening to signals from her body to decide when, where and how to work out.

"I'm not trying to go for, you know, lose X amount of pounds or X amount of calories burned. More of self-care rather than the outcome," Martinez said.

But what if your intuition is telling you to never get off the couch? What then?

"What I say to those people is that it's both using your body knowledge as well as your brain knowledge," registered dietitian Alissa Rumsey said. "If you have hip pain, OK. I'm not really feeling exercising today, but I know if I don't do something, my hip is going to flare up and bother me, so let me do 10 minutes of some exercises."

Rumsey says by ditching calorie counts and short-term weight loss goals, her clients instead can focus on how they feel, which leads to long-term fitness that's more sustainable.

"More strength, more flexibility, better cardiovascular function, more energy, better sleep, but you're doing so without it being a stress on your body," Rumsey said.

Martinez says intuitive exercise has helped her meet her fitness goals.

"I feel better about myself. I don't have that guilt. Really, just life in general is a little bit better," she said.

Something she believes will help her stay healthy in the long run.

Listening to your body can be tricky, especially when so many people have gotten used to ignoring body signals.

Chest pain or pressure and shortness of breath means get to the emergency room. Other body pains that don't go away in a few days are also signs to check in with your doctor.

Additionally, try to ignore the social media body influencers.