How do busy People Fit Exercise into their Schedule?

Fitting exercise into a busy schedule is definitely challenging, yet at the same time extremely valuable and is not only good for our wellbeing but greatly increases our productivity during the day.

Exercise can be likened to the space on a bookshelf. If we haphazardly stack books and shove them wherever we like there is usually no space on the bookshelf and it looks messy and disorganized. If our lives are like this then we will think that we don’t have the space to fit exercise into our ‘bookshelf’ or schedules.

The first and most important thing is to see exercise as a priority and not something that we just do if we have time. Here are a couple of simple, practical ways we can make space for it and fit exercise into every day:

• Sit on a Fitball instead of a chair. This is great for core strengthening and relieves lower back pain.
• Use the stairs instead of the elevator.
• Park the car further away and walk to places
• Wear a wireless headset so you can walk and talk on the phone at the same time.
• Once or twice a week get up earlier and bike or walk to work if a reasonable distance.
• Wear a pedometer to track the number of step and distance you do each day and challenge yourself to beat it the next day.
• Instead of taking 30mins for lunch, eat lunch in 15mins and then go for a short walk outside for 15mins. 

Exercise on the weekend – If your levels of stress are elevated from Monday to Friday, try to lower them as much as possible on weekends. Take a long walk somewhere pleasant, outdoors, at food markets, or with the family. Ride to the shops instead of taking the car. If you do want to do some Lycra, do a group outdoor training cardio class at your nearest Step into Life venue. These sessions includes a good cool down and stretch.

All the things listed above are ways that have worked for me to fit exercise into my busy schedule. Admittedly, there are times when it can become difficult, however I don’t let a week go by without doing some exercise. I like to remind myself often that, 

‘I week without physical exercise makes one weak!’

12 wk Health Blitz Challenge - Week 12

Zero Alcohol

Let's Set Some Goals!

Welcome to week 12, and the very last challenge to complete of our 12wk Health Blitz! Well done for keeping up with the challenges. Let’s finish strong by again having a zero alcohol week like we did in week 3 (re-read week 3 article - Zero Alcohol. Drink More Water).

Once the 12wk challenge is over what next? With spring just around the corner and summer on the way, this week is the perfect time to set some specific goals.

It can be very difficult to set and stick to goals when life is so busy. Many of us have a desire to want to achieve however there is a conflict inside between choosing comfort and pursuing our goals.

Here are 9 ways that can help you set and stick to goals:

1.     One Goal at a Time – Chose only one thing to focus on at a time and make it something specific and achievable.

2.     Do the most important things first – Focus on the goals that will make the most positive difference in your life and do them first before the other stuff that wears you out.

3.     Extend the timeline – When life starts getting in the way instead of giving up simply extend the timeline to something more realistic. It may not be possible to achieve what you originally planned by the target date. It may take longer but at least you are still making progress toward your goal.

4.     No excuses – When life gets busy it is easy to become the victim. Don’t let yourself start saying, ‘I would have lost the weight but….’ Remember, we make the choice to give up or continue towards a goal. You either make your goals a priority or you don’t. If you put the goal off for a bit that is ok, but accept the responsibility for making the decision.

5.     Enjoy the Feeling – When you achieve mini goals, enjoy the feeling. Take time to acknowledge yourself and reward your achievement. There is also power in visualising your goal in your mind before it has happened. You can visualise how you will feel when you have accomplished the goal. The brain connects with those pleasure images, which help change, the neural pathways so the habit sticks.

6.     Life Happens – Think of any obstacle that may come up and plan ways to overcome them. Have a plan B in place for the challenging times. Don’t beat yourself up if something unavoidable gets in the way. Once you overcome them, simply refocus and continue sticking to your goal.

7.     Buddy up – Chose a goal-setting buddy.  You can give each other weekly updates to keep you both accountable. A buddy can also inspire and encourage you to keep going especially through the tough times.

8.     Create a success journal – It helps to write down every little goal you accomplish along the way. This keeps your mind focused on your successes so they can build. Starting your journal with a positive thought or 3 things you are grateful for will help to fuel your day.

9.     Practice makes perfect – It take the brain about 8wks to adopt new patterns of behaviour. Patterns that we repeat each day lead to forming habits. Whatever our goal whether it be learning an instrument or achieving weight loss, create the habits and repeat them each day. Once those neurons are wired together you will absolutely stick to and achieve your goals.

12wk Health Blitz Challenge - Week 11

Starch Out

In this second last week of our challenge we are going to cut down on the starchy foods for the week.

So why are we doing this? Well Starchy foods generally have a high glycemic index (GI) and high glycemic index (GI) foods are known to cause a rapid increase in blood sugar levels, which in turn causes an increase in the amount of insulin. High amounts of insulin in the bloodstream increase fat storage.

For this reason it is best to reduce starchy foods including; potatoes,

pumpkin, peas, corn, pasta, bread, biscuits and rice. Sorry!! But most fruits, vegetables, fish, meat, nuts and seeds are fine. It is very hard to live life entirely starch free, so try to stick to one meal with starch per day. However, for this week see if you can have a starch free week.

Week 10 Topic: The motivational cycle – Will I / Won’t I

ü Fact 1: Research has found that people who document their goals significantly achieve more than those who did not. Dominican University 2008

ü Fact 2: Over 90% of people exercising with their partner or friends stick to the exercise regimen

ü Fact 3: 95% of people who lose weight by dieting regain the weight plus 5% within 3 years

ü Healthy Eating Tip: When organising a meal try and have a range of colours on your plate – Reds/ Oranges/ Yellow/ Greens/ Brown

ü Motivational Tip: Be an optimist! Celebrate that you are losing weight and confirm for yourself how much you have lost.

12wk Health Blitz Challenge - Week 10

Cut the Fizz

This week of the challenge is cutting out the Fizz. So no soft drinks including the diet variety! Instead lets use this week as a great way to ensure we are drinking enough water.

So why are we saying no to the Soft Drink??

Here are a few reasons why you should stay clear of those soft drinks..

1. They are empty calories with no nutritional value at all, so all you are doing is adding more calories to your diet. Who wants to do that when those extra calories just mean further weight gain.
2. Did you know that the average can of coke has about 12 tablespoons of sugar. 
3. The relationship between soft drink consumption and body weight is so strong that researchers calculate that for each additional soda consumption, the risk of obesity increases 1.6 times.
4. Sugar and acid in soft drink so easily dissolves tooth enamel.
5. Soft drinks have long been suspected of leading to lower calcium levels and higher phosphate levels in the blood. When phosphate levels are high and calcium levels are low, calcium is pulled out of the bones. The phosphate content of soft drinks like Coca-Cola and Pepsi is very high, and they contain virtually no calcium.  
6. Diet soft drinks don’t fair much better.. Diet soft drink boast of having no sugar at all, and still having the same sweet taste. That’s because diet sodas contain a chemical ingredient called Aspartame. This is the same chemical make-up of consumer sweeteners such as NutraSweet and Equal. Basically, Aspartame makes your brain think that what you’re eating is sweet. This triggers your body to start craving for sweet things. So, aside from being unable to cut down on your soft drink intake, you might find yourself constantly reaching for that cupcake or frequently craving carbohydrates.

Week 10:

Topic: Beating the plateau

Fact 1: Your body adapts to become more economical therefore to keep improving the results, make small changes to your routine

Fact 2: The Basal metabolic rate is the base rate at which your body consumes calories to maintain basic bodily function

Fact 3: When you use scales to weigh yourself you are weighing fat, bone, muscle and the bodies organs

Healthy Eating Tip: Plan your meals and your training. Place them into your calendar as an appointment. Being organized is a key component of weight loss

Motivational Tip: Keep a food diary to make sure you are eating a variety of food and sticking to moderate portion sizes and talk to your trainer about how to keep the body engaged