I think that my biggest excuse to working out is finding the time. With 4 kids my day is pretty planned out for me and I don't get a lot of "me time." I like to exercise by myself and finding someone who will take the kids for those 30 minutes has been rare in the past few months. Yesterday I went for a "winter walk" and I really enjoyed that, but today it is a lot colder and there is a lot more snow outside. So, I guess sometime today I will be doing a Leslie Sansone DVD. I should say I will be doing a Leslie Sansone DVD today. There that sounds better. :) I found a great article in the Jan/Feb 2009 Weight Watchers Magazine that talked about how to MAKE time in your day for exercise. The article gave 8 ways to make time to exercise. I am going to list them here. More for me that anyone else. :) But, I hope they help you too!
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1.
Downsize your to-do list- My to-do list is full of stuff everyday. I get so overwhelmed, that it never gets all the way done. I would always put shower on my list or I'd feel guilty about doing it because I had so many other things to do. I know bad! This article suggest that we need to zero in on 5 key task that you MUST accomplish that day. The list should fit on a large post-it note and if it does not you should bump some of those things over to the next day.
2.
Get off the phone- In my case, I think I should add get off the computer. The article states that we lose valuable time chatting to friends. If you have a cell phone, go chat it up while taking a walk.
3.
Maximize weekend time- The article suggest that we have a lot more flexible time on the weekends and we should try to use that time to get in a good workout. When it is nice outside spend a Saturday outside doing an activity. Personally, my weekends are busier than my week days because I try to fit so much into it because I do have a little more help with the kids then.
4.
Monitor E-Mail time- Instead of checking your e-mail all day. Limit yourself to 5 e-mail checks a day and have designated times for them. The article suggest that this could free up to 15 minutes a day.
5.
Give yourself a takeout pass- I like this idea, although my budget might not. They suggest giving yourself the right to order out once a week to free up time you would be using in the kitchen. It also suggest that it not be junk food. I like Subway. I think I kind of do something like this anyways and I don't have to order carry out! I like to double my meals as I cook and freeze one of the meals to eat later. This saves me a lot of time later. I need to try to do this once a week, so I will have one night the next week that I am not cooking. Last night I doubled my
Crockpot Brown Sugar Chili, so I can use that for one day next week to save me time in the kitchen that I could use to exercise.
6.
Give 30 minutes, Get 30 minutes- The article suggest that research shows that people who exercise in the morning are more likely to stick with it. So, it suggest you go to bed 30 minutes earlier and set you alarm clock 30 minutes earlier. You get the same amount of sleep and you'll be able to dedicate those extra morning minutes to exercise!
7.
Eliminate Tiny Time Sappers- These are the small to-do's on our list that we have so many of them that they add up and suck time right from us. You need to identify your time sappers and the article suggest getting rid of at least one each day. The article also says that these are usually things we are doing for someone else like baking cupcakes for your child's school party or babysitting for a friend's child at the last minute. I guess learning to say no is sometimes beneficial to our workout!
8.
Have a plan- If you have seen my header to this blog you know I am big on PLANNING! If we have an exercise plan we are so much more likely do follow it and get our exercise in. That's kind of like my Monday Menu Plan. When I plan my menu, we eat what's on there. When I don't I end up spending more money than I should have and not staying on my eating plan as well. So, I guess exercise time is the same way, I need to have a plan for what I want to do and maybe even a set time. This way it is more likely to get done. The article suggest that you could take a fitness class of some kind and after paying for it before the classes start, you will be more likely to make time for it. Well, that's not going to happen for me due to budget restraints, so I am going to have to be a little more creative. But, I know lots of you do go to the gym and pay a membership fee, so that might apply to you.
The end of the article talked about how much time we spend in our car and gave some ideas for adding fitness to that time. What a great idea! Overall, I felt like this article gave me some great ideas to making time for me to exercise.
What do you do to make time to exercise?
One of the biggest loser blogs that I visit, had a post about eating out and not really knowing what the calories or fat was for the items they were buying. I just wanted to share an idea that I use that has helped me with this problem. I used the Weight Watchers book that list lots of restaurants and I took an index card and wrote down each restaurant and what I usually eat and the number of points for each item. I keep this card in my purse and when we are out and unexpectedly have to eat out (which is not often) then I have this card to remember what the points are for the foods I like. If you don't do points then you could write down the calories and fats of the items you like at the restaurants. If you don't have a Weight Watchers Restaurants book, you can find most of the Nutritional Information on the restaurants website. You can also ask and some restaurants will provide you with a pamplet of the nutritional information. I used to carry the one for Subway around and then I already figured the points and wrote them on there, but I like my new cheat sheet better. This cheat sheet has saved me several times and it is easier than packing that big book around.
