012 How To Make Time for Fitness • Laura Gee

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It’s hard to make time for fitness sometimes. Does the statement, “I don’t have time” sound familiar? Have you ever felt overwhelmed with life, sort of depressed that you haven’t worked out in months and not sure when you can fit it in? By taking care of ourselves, we can be the person we want to be (at home, at work and with those we love). But, it’s not easy to find this balance. That’s what I’m talking about this week plus my simple Halloween recipes for my beloved Witch Hats and Hershey’s Acorn Cookies.

witch hats cookies — A glimpse of this year’s Halloween Baking: Witch Hats

In summary, here are my top 10 considerations to help you fit, getting-fit, on your calendar:

Are your goals SMART? You may want to shed 30 pounds but that’s a big scary wide open goal. Let’s be specific and answer HOW you’re going to do it and by when. Small things add up. Set small steps to help you achieve your specific, measurable, achievable, realistic and time-bound goal.
What motivates you? As you’re getting in the right mindset to start a dedicated fitness regimen, figure out why fitness is important to you. If you’re doing it just to make someone else happy, chances are you won’t stick with it. On days when excuses start to tamper with your fitness enthusiasm, remembering “why” you started will be key for long term success.
What do you love to do? When you figure out what type of exercise and environment you love, it will be so much easier to stick with your fitness routine. Not sure what you love to do? Don’t be afraid to experiment.
Best Friends Forever? Well that depends! Take a look at the people you know or interact with the most on a daily basis. Are they fit minded or are the words health and fitness not in their vocabulary? The influence of your personal networks can actually predict your weight management routines (2). Maybe it’s time to meet some new health-minded people?
Be flexible. It really helps to select a workout style that you can do almost anywhere. For example, sales professionals have the demand of travel, living hotel to hotel and dining out frequently. This, coupled with the stress of daily life and career responsibilities often leads extra padding on the waistline before middle-age. A form of exercise that doesn’t require much preparation with awesome physical gains in the least amount of time might be a perfect solution here such as running, High-intensity interval training, at-home fitness DVDs and bodyweight exercises.
Competition kicks butt! When we’re trying to motivate ourselves to exercise on a regular basis, competition has its merits. When Rob and I first started running, we would sign up to run a race to simply keep us on track with our fitness.
Track your progress.
Commit to get fit. Make a schedule (write it down if it helps!), stick to it, and remind yourself that working out and planning healthy meals are priorities. Build your day around your workout.
Just do something! Short, speedy workouts do great things for the body and mind. Yes! There are so many options.
Be the best version of you. That’s it. Simply be proud of yourself and what you HAVE accomplished. When you’re happy with yourself and proud of what you’ve done, it makes life a whole lot more fun.