Finding Time to Fit Fitness into Your Work Schedule

It's so hard to find time to work out right? Especially when changing into your gym clothes, working up a sweat and feeling the pain is the absolute last thing you want to do when you are being pulled in all directions in your life. We juggle so much between our work life (that for some of us does not always stay between the 9-5 hours), children, spouses or significant others, family and just any and everything that life throws at you to pay attention to.

The most common complaint from people is "I don't have / can't find the time to workout". Trust me, I know and it's hard. But there is time if you make getting healthy and feeling good a priority. I used to always have the same complaint where by the time late afternoon rolled around and it was time for me to get ready to workout I had every excuse and suddenly every plan and reason not to go. It becomes a battle between working out and going home to just relax after a long day. Or working out and hitting up a concert or show with my friends.

But although  I never thought of myself as a morning person previously, I've realized that for me waking up around 5 or 6 am to walk my dogs, do a bit of exercise and yoga is the best time for me to carve out some "me" time in the day and have found myself making less excuses not to. But everyone is different, some people find they are best able to commit to working out in the night or on their lunch break. Whatever the time, you just got to keep trying -trial and error- until you find what suits you the best.

What have you found helps to keep you committed to working out?

My Six Month Intervention or Reinvention!!!

 

Learn something new!

For the next six months I'm going to push myself to try and learn something new. It started last week when I enrolled in an eight week on line business school training course.  This has been difficult for me because I'm quite technology challenged! I don't have an I-phone, Ipod, or a blackberry because I don't know how to use one!!! But I realize it's time that I take myself and my business to another level. I need to get with the times, get with the the program! I love being in business school and I'm learning a lot and I'm meeting some amazing people!!! 

No relationships/dating or even flirting! 

The other thing I'm doing for six month is learning how to be with myself, by myself. I'm a serial dater!! So I'm choosing to learn who I would be if I wasn't in a relationship/partnership?  Trying to learn about me..... this has been really challenging because I am one of those people who just loves the idea of lovership/partnership! Yet, I'm learning a lot about myself and realizing that alone does not necessarily mean lonely.

I'm also a flirt so trying not to flirt has been hard because I flirt without even knowing I'm flirting!  But I'm turning over a new leaf! And please don't flirt with me to try and break my sabbatical! lol.  Some of my friends have placed bets that I won't make it through six months but I'm going to try!!! 

Eating well and taking care of my body.

I'm taking the next six months to be mindful of how I treat my body and what I eat. I'm carefully monitoring, how do I physically take care of myself? I tend to overeat when I'm stressed. I also tend to stop exercising when I'm stressed. So over eating and no exercising is a bad combination. I then gain weight at a rapid pace!!!!

And yeah, yeah, I know someone is going to write to me about accepting my body the way it is! Well, to be brutally honest, I haven't gotten there yet! 

So for the next six months I'm challenging myself to be really conscious of the food that I eat, and how I handle stress. This has been the most challenging aspect of my new six month sabbatical so I have chosen to break this six month challenge into a daily challenge. Each day I promise myself that I won't use food as a comfort, and that each day I will move my body in some way and do some form of exercise.

I'm hoping to emerge from this six month reinvention/intervention a better person. I will keep you posted. I encourage you all to join me! Lets do something new for the next six months! Let me know what you are up too! And what are you doing in the next six months to be a better you!!!! 

Encouraging Our Kids to Move & Eat Right - Michelle Obama's Let's Move Campaign

I LOVE this campaign! Michelle Obama's 'Let's Move' Initiative is so important for our children. With the growing rate of child obesity and the lack of exercise due to the popularity of computers, video games and television, I appreciate the First Lady's stance on finding ways for making living a healthy and active lifestyle look simple, fun and engaging.

I really liked the previous campaign with Beyonce's dance sequence (I sometimes try to get in on a move or two as quick exercise) but am excited to see that she has involved some familiar faces from our childhood -Sesame Street and Big Bird.

In her third year since its inception, Michelle will be going on a national tour for the program starting shortly.

Check out the Let's Move ad below starring Big Bird:

What do you folks think of Michelle's initiative? Will you be trying it out with your kids?

64 year old Grandmother and Fitness Competitor - MOTIVATION

I love reading stories about grandma's.  You know I have a heart for those wiser than I am.....now this grandma is sure to motivate!

Ruby Carter-Pikes, a 64 year-old mother of four and great-grandmother has a rock hard body.  She makes me want to RUN to the nearest gym and work out all day and all night!  Check her out:

She started working out as a reaction to a long family history of illness including diabeietes, high cholestorol, heart problems and Alzheimer's.

Soon she began competing and rivaling womyn have her age in fitness com
petitions around the country.  She is living proof that fitness and health are for everyone at every age!

Apparently, she usually dresses in nothing more than a string bikini and to be honest, if I has her body, I probably would too! haha!

Just wanted to keep us all motivated as we work towards our health goals!  We don't all have to look like Ruby, but know that it is possible to start and keep a health regime at any age.  It's never too late, you just need to start!

Have a blessed weekend...