Hey everybody! How you doin’ out there? I feel a little distant this week… because school is in FULL BLOWN “GO” mode, and life is just moving along at a crazy pace. Here’s what my schedule was like yesterday: Work from 8 AM – 3:30 PM. Class from 4:00 – 7: 00. Participate in Social Media Panel from 7:00 – 9:00 PM. Eat Dinner at 9:30 PM. Work on homework from 9:30 – 11:00 PM. 11:00 Go to bed.
Thankfully not everyday is as crazy as that, but today was not much better with working from 9:00 – 5:00 PM and then heading right to the hospital for allergy shots from 5:30 – 6:30 PM and then the rest of the evening being spent doing homework. It’s exhausting, right? It’s exhausting and I’ve been slacking about fitness because of it.
Fitness is fun with Richard Simmons! Why can't it be like this every time?!
I work with a wonderful and very funny friend named Jenny. She’s become a Weight Watchers buddy for me, and tonight, a reality check. We were texting back and forth about a Zumba class for $5 that’s offered at my workplace at 7 PM. I normally leave work at 5 PM, so I’ve been hesitant to stay for Zumba because that’s two hours of “home” time I get to have. After I hemmed and hawed and explained why I didn’t want to stay for Zumba, she hit me with this one: “You know you’re going to go home and veg and not exercise! If there’s no time to exercise then you won’t lose weight as fast as you like.”
She’s right. I’m the mayor of excuses village. When it comes to weight loss, I transform into a flubbery, blubbering “But this is why this happened! It’s genetics! It’s because I’m bloated! It’s because my jeans weigh a pound and a half! It’s because I ate that salty soup!”
The reality is that I need to be accountable for the mistakes I make in regards to weight loss, just like I am at work. If I screw up on something at work, I fess up, because usually just admitting your mistake is going to make it better. Like when I got busted in a meeting this week by my colleague as I was doodling hearts and stars all over my legal pad .”Did you get that, Alyssa?” she said, with a bit of sarcasm in her voice. With a straight face, I looked up and said, “Nope. I wasn’t listening. I’m sorry, can you repeat it?” There’s no need to lie because I’m transparent about my actions at work. I’m not perfect. I will never be. I have no problem admitting it. Perfection isn’t the problem, its commitment. It’s willpower. How bad do I want this?
I’m struggling because I am genuinely, honestly busy. I don’t have a lot of free time. But I need to make this a priority, just like I make work and grad school and my husband and my friends and family a priority. How do you fit it all in? We’re all busy, so I can’t keep using it as an excuse. Life is busy. As John Lennon once said, life is what happens when you’re busy making plans.
Do you find lack of time can screw up your eating or fitness habits? What do you do to be prepared? Any hints for a gal like me – short on time but big on hope?
Like so many other extra curriculars, finding time can be a beast. I’m not even in grad school and I never seem to find time for things. The best way I’ve found is to try and carve out a regular schedule, and then protect that time as if it were a job or a class you can’t miss.
I’d be the first to admit that doesn’t always work though, curious where others find the time!
There is always time to do something. We all live busy lives and there will always be 5000 reasons why we cant exercise- but you have to get out of that mind set. Here are some ideas for you:
On your break at work talk a walk around the complex for 15 minutes. You are active, taking the much needed time away from your desk and you are fitting in some exercise- however small.
Park far away from class. I know this typically isn’t in your power, but if your class is on the north end of campus, park on the south end and hoof it- again you’ll probably grab an extra 10-20 minutes of walking without having to set “time aside” for exercise.
Always take the stairs. Even on weeks where I do very little exercise – like it’s been for me since the surgery- I make sure I take no cheats. I park far from my office, take the stairs and take a walk in the afternoon during my break- it all adds up! Especially when you are just starting out.
And on nights when it is absolutely freezing and I dont even want to think of running I use comcast fitness videos to get my points in for the day. They have 10, 15 and 30 minute work out videos that will kick your ass- all from the comfort of your home.
Unfortunately eating well is only 45% of the battle. You have to exercise consistently if you want to see results.
Keep it up and good luck today! I hope you reach the 1st 5!
I completely agree with Matt! “…carve out a regular schedule, and then protect that time as if it were a job or a class you can’t miss.” That is the way I have done it with my exercise for the last year and a half or so. It is basically part of my workday to go straight from work to workout. I tried the whole go home and change and then go to the gym and what happened there was the couch, TV, and dinner were always calling my name way too loudly…. They usually won. But not anymore, because now I see “them” AFTER the workout. 🙂