Tag: too busy to work out

Can Convenience Make Us Fat?

America is blessed with so many conveniences! Unfortunately, it has also increased our obesity rate! Fortunately you don’t have to be a casualty.

Your great-great grandmother would laugh!

She’d wipe the sweat off her brow and let out a belly laugh. “A what? A gym?” Especially after coming in from milking the cows, weeding the garden, churning the butter and doing the family laundry by the river.

It hasn’t been until recently (about the 1950’s) that Americans have faced a need for formal exercise. With automation came less lifestyle activity. About the same time more processed “fast” foods entered the scene. Convenience crept in — and it is here to stay!

It’s no mystery when you stop and calculate how automation has caused us to burn less calories and consume more of them.

Today, it is possible to stay home for 30 days straight and never leave the house. You can have your food delivered, your trash picked up, your movies delivered, your mail picked up, and even have your dog walked!

Hang on Jennifer. Do you want me to live like the Amish?

Now please don’t get me wrong. I like my washing machine, dishwasher, and my automobile. Since I live on an island, I really like that I can have some of my favorite retailers deliver to my front door. These conveniences free up my time for other priorities.

For busy people, outsourcing some of the less physical everyday tasks will actually assist you with your health and weight loss goals. It will free up your time to plan healthy low-cal meals, exercise more, and even rest.

Here are some everyday tasks that can help you lose weight:

  • Park in the back of the lot.
  • Walk downtown for an errand.
  • Take the stairs.
  • Walk your kids to school.
  • Walk the dog.
  • Walk to the mailbox.
  • Go shopping.
  • Do careful meal planning and cooking.

You can exercise during leisure time as well!

  • Turn off the screen and go for a walk.
  • Walk to your local video store for a movie. (Multi-task by bringing the dog.)
  • Walk to your local restaurant.
  • Plan outdoor activities for your off time.
  • Meet a friend for a walk and then have coffee or lunch.
  • Walk on the beach.
  • Go hiking and have a picnic for a date.
  • Plan vacations that offer physical activities.

Last Tuesday, a close friend of mine was in town. She wanted to walk across the Golden Gate Bridge and sight see. We walked a little over three miles and had so much fun. It was a beautiful day. After, we went to Sausalito for lunch.

It would have been so much easier to stop in the car, take a few photos, and drive on to Sausalito. I’m so glad that we made the extra effort to walk across it. We combined our exercise with our leisure time. We had fun and met our daily exercise goal all at the same time.

There’s no getting around it — we have to plan to lose weight!

Modern convenience has permanently created an environment that requires us to pay more attention to calories burned versus calories consumed. In order to lose and/or maintain our weight for the years to come, healthy eating and regular exercise must be incorporated into our daily lives.

Whether you prefer to “disguise” exercise in your every day activities or like to do formal workouts, it will require some thought and planning. Check this out for tips on how to lose weight living your life.

Convenience can open the door for a “last minute” mindset. Use your calendar to schedule exercise and healthy meals into your day. If you’d like suggestions on how to do that, I offer you nine meal planning tips that lead to weight loss. Don’t worry. They’re perfect for busy people, and even save you money!

Please leave a comment below and let me know if you have any questions or if there is anything you are struggling with. Or, if you have a success story you would like to share! I love hearing from you!

Blessings!

Jennifer

 

Lose Weight Living Your Life!

Family Running on beach

Welcome to Part 2 Of No Time to Work Out!

Sneak in Exercise!

What did you think of the most recent article? I Agree You Have No Time to Work Out!  I offered some really valuable tips on how my clients are overcoming this obstacle! If you haven’t read it yet, I highly recommend you do! This week’s tips will nicely complement last article’s suggested strategies.

Today I show you ways to maximize every day activities you are already performing; and I show you how to use them toward your weight loss/management goals.

1)   You may be more active than you realize! List the physical lifestyle activities you are already doing. These are either recreational or task oriented. Examples of lifestyle activities are gardening, walking the kids to school, raking leaves, housecleaning, taking the stairs at work, etc.

  • To get a “real life” picture, keep a 1-2 week journal. How much time does each take? Be sure to include that for each entry.

2)   Give yourself a high five for what you are already doing!  Total up the number of minutes from your list.  The standard recommendation for improving fitness levels is 210 minutes per week.  However, depending on type of exercise and the individual, closer to 300 minutes may be needed for weight loss (per The Mayo Clinic). [minor edit only]

For example, if you are walking your kids to school for a total of twenty minutes daily (20 x 5 = 100), subtract 100 minutes from 210.  This leaves us with only 110 minutes of activity to fit in during the busy work week! Divide that by six days and you are looking at a goal of one 20 minute exercise session six days per week.  If 300 minutes is your goal then you are looking at 33 minutes per day.

What do you think? Doesn’t that sound do-able? Did your “overwhelm” just disappear? You can start small and build up. Start with two sessions per week and work your way up.  Even if you have to start with 10 minutes, you will be surprised at how quickly your momentum will build and how much better you will feel.

3)  Wow! An hour of grocery shopping burns 156 calories! Did you know that?  You may as well burn those calories while reaching for healthy foods. Choose items you can assemble quickly to avoid eating out on busy days. That way you’ll avoid the hidden calories in restaurant food. Try buying roasted chickens, pre-washed lettuce, pre-cooked rice and frozen organic vegetables. Not only will you be cutting calories, but you’ll also save tons of cooking or traveling time! (More time for exercise!)

4)  Track your progress and create a caloric deficit!  Wear a pedometer or calorie counter that tracks daily activity for feedback and encouragement.  You can also track calories consumed versus calories burned to see if you are creating a deficit.  Data is empowering!

This will help you determine how much additional activity and or minutes you will need to add to start losing weight and/or maintain your current weight.

One of my clients gave a pedometer to her sedentary mother.  Her mother was motivated by the goal of visiting her grandchildren. She determined the number of steps she wanted to take per day and lost 50 lbs!  It can be done!

I hope these creative ideas help you tie your “every day” lifestyle into your weight loss or weight management program. It takes time and effort when we are fitting a proper weight loss regimen into a busy schedule. That’s why I will not make irresponsible claims like so many fitness ads you see in the media. However, I will tell you that when you begin to apply these principles you can and you will lose weight.

I’d love to hear from you. Did your activity inventory surprise you? How many active minutes did you discover in your day? As always, please feel free to let me know if there is anything I can help you with.

Blessings to you and yours!

Jennifer

 

I Agree, You Have No Time to Work Out!

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I Agree, You Have No Time to Work out!

You’re shocked, right? After all, I’m a personal trainer. You were probably expecting a scolding! However, as a business owner, I have first-hand experience taking care of everyone else’s needs, just to realize at the end of the day that I have neglected my own personal health!

Instead of getting freaked out, I decided to use this as an opportunity to get myself on track and offer you solutions to the age old time dilemma based on my first hand experience.

Let’s face it– life has become more complex. More often than not, I sit down with a new client to find their day planner jam packed! I’m usually hard-pressed to find 30 minutes for a formal work-out– never mind an entire hour! That doesn’t change their desire to exercise. It just means we need to get creative on how to fit it in.

Here are some tips to get started:

  1. Live a Life by Design. Pause and ask yourself what you want your life to look like. What are your top 5 priorities? Make a list. Then look at your calendar and see if it reflects these priorities. Is there anything that you might want to put “on hold” for a season to start reaching your health and fitness goals?
  2. Focus on what you CAN do and start! While I am not personally raising kids of my own, parents have said that if you wait for perfect timing you will never start a family. You can look at exercise the same way. Granted, there are times when it is easier to start. However, life is not perfect. By focusing on what you can do now, you will build good habits and the momentum will follow you.

    For example, can you walk to work, or walk on your lunch hour? How about taking the stairs at your office building every day; walking the dog; playing catch with the kids; or working in the garden?

    Barry A. Franklin, PhD, national spokesman for the American Heart Association’s “Choose to Move” program says, “Several studies have shown that becoming more active in our daily lives can provide the same benefits as a structured exercise program.”

  3. Put it in writing! Once you have decided on the types of exercises and when you will do it, block it out on your calendar. Make sure you are realistic. This is about creating healthy habits for the long term, so if exercise has not been a part of your life, 10 minutes a night is a really great start.
  4. Learn to say no! Avoid adding anything new to your calendar without evaluating how it will affect your priorities and goals. “If you have a tendency to say “yes” too quickly, start practicing, “Thanks for asking. Let me check my calendar and see if I am available.”

This will allow you to assess your schedule and determine if it is in alignment with what you want in your life. If it’s a “no,” ask the person to keep you in mind for the future,” says Dr. LaVonne Atnip of The Encouragement Center. This allows you to keep the door open without sabotaging your health and fitness efforts.

I use this personally for all areas of my life. It is a great way to keep the relationship strong while focusing on maintaining the balance you have already committed to.

By preserving our own health and fitness, we are able to do the other things we enjoy and are passionate about for the long term.

Keep your eyes peeled! Don’t miss Part two of this series, when I will talk about lifestyle activity and how to capitalize on things you are already doing to lose weight and/or maintain it.

Please let me know if this has helped you or if you have any questions on how to fit exercise into your daily life. I’d love to help you!

Has this article helped you in any way? Do you have any questions? Please leave a comment or question for me. This site is designed for you so let me know how I can help you on your weight loss and/or healthy lifestyle journey!

Can you do me a favor? Jump on over to my Facebook page and tell me your thoughts. Does this sound like a good way to overcome your body image issue? I await your comments! http://www.facebook.com/jcherryledford

Blessings to you and yours!

Jennifer