So where does fitness fit in? When I began my fitness journey and got serious about it, and i mean REALLY serious, I had to get my entire family in on it with me. I had to get them commit to this just as much as I was because I knew I was going to need their help along the way. They readily agreed, offering any help they could and I took them up on it. Now, here I am, a year later, closer to my goals than I have ever been and still going strong. AND coaching others in the process, helping and motivating them while they take a similar journey.
People always ask me the same 3 questions about getting fit and healthy.
- What kind of exercise do you do? That one is easy. I am dedicated to my Focus T25. I do it everyday. It is literally 25 minutes a day and easy to fit in. I have also begun to do Body Beast, which incorporates more weight lifting. When I have time, I like to do that one but find I still need my cardio, so I do both. Choosing my workout was easy, I just chose one of dozens that Beachbody has to offer based on my own personal preferences.
- What is your diet like? This on is actually pretty simple too. I try to eat clean 80%of the time. The term "clean eating" scares people sometimes because it gets confused with so many fad diets out there. Clean eating is not a diet, it is a way of life: lots of fruits and veggies, no processed food, more whole grains and a little less dairy. I have an entire Pinterest board dedicated to it. https://www.pinterest.com/lpintha/clean-eating/ And of course, I drink my Shakeology every day. It is one of the most important parts of my day and is key to staying healthy.
- How do you find the time to workout? This is the biggie and I get asked this more than any other question, especially by working moms struggling to balance an already chaotic life and wanting to get healthy. I have to admit it was not easy at first. I began this journey when my son was a year old and like I said, I had to get my whole family to commit. No day is the same and I still struggle sometimes. But the most important thing is to make workouts a priority in life, not an afterthought.
Based on question #3, I have put together a list of 10 things that moms can do to make time in a busy day to exercise. Not all of these will work for everyone and some days I have to use different ones. These are options to consider and will work for those that have really dedicated themselves to getting fit and healthy.
- Get up 30 minutes earlier. This one always makes me cringe, especially since I already get up at 5:00 a.m., so I rarely do it. But when I have something going on in the afternoon and know ahead of time that there will not be time for a workout, I go this route. Personally, I don't do well waking up and immediately working out. Some people swear by it but not me.
- Meal prep. HUGE, HUGE, HUGE time saver. On Saturday or Sunday, my family and I sit down and plan out what to have each night of the week, I check to make sure I have all the necessary ingredients and go ahead and prep what I can. If anything can go in the crock pot or pressure cooker, I definitely go that route. Since I pack my lunch for work, I also get things ready for that such as making hard boiled eggs, putting together salads and using portion control food containers are so handy.
- Schedule your workouts. Workouts should be important enough in your day to schedule, just like any meeting or appointment. Treat them like they are a priority and they will be. Literally, put a workout on your calendar. That makes it official!!!
- When scheduling, if necessary, schedule time with your spouse or loved one to watch the kiddos so you can have 30 uninhibited minutes to yourself. Have them put it on their schedule too. This is where I relied a lot on my husband and oldest son when the baby was really little. I had to quickly get over my guilt of "ME" time and just get the work done.
- Now that my son is a little older, finding someone to watch him isn't as much of a necessity. He knows where Mommy goes and often joins me. This is a great option for kids as they get older. When it is time to workout, have them join you or, if that isn't possible with your workouts, find some kind of physical activity the family can do together. This solves so many problems from babysitters, to "me" time guilt, to setting a good example for the kids.
- Assess your lunch time. How much time do you get for lunch? With my job, I don't get much, only 25 minutes, so this was rarely and option for me. But if you get a full hour, pack your lunch and take a walk somewhere to eat it. Or, if possible, walk somewhere to get your lunch. Even if you work in a 15 story building, or the weather is bad, there are still options. Walk the halls or go up and down the stairs. You can even find a buddy to walk with you. There are always people willing to have a walking buddy.
- Assess your TV time? The average adult watches between 2-4 hours of TV EVERY night. When I saw that statistic it was staggering. This was a big one for me to cut out. Having my son helped because now the TV stays on Disney Jr. and I never really get the TV to myself to watch anything anyway. Now that I'm not glued to the tube every night or all weekend, I have tons of time to workout. Turning the TV off once in a while also sets a good example for the rest of the family.
- FACEBOOK!!! Let's face it, we all spend way too much time on Facebook getting the low down on the lives of others and putting in our 2 cents. Bottom line, if you have time to sit and play on Facebook, you have time to workout, especially if it only takes 25-30 minutes.
- Wait until the kiddos go to bed. This was a give or take option for me. If things were too busy as soon as I got home, I would wait until the baby went to bed and then workout. He is young and still goes to bed reasonably early so I did it if I had too. I don't like to workout too close to bed time, so this was one of those last resort options I kept in my back pocket.
- Finally, if NONE of these options work for you, then there are always small exercises you can do at work. Look for a blog soon focusing on at work exercises.
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