Fitting it in

And no, I don't mean fitting my butt in my favorite jeans, though I DID do that for the first time in a year this morning! (and last year I could only wear them all of about a week and a half.) I only lost a half pound this week—a barely nudged scale, thanks to a few splurges last weekend (oops) but that half pound is apparently the size changer, as I had two pairs of pants I was small enough for for the first time in ages... But THAT is not my topic, since you all know how I feel about pants.

On my personal profile I have a Facebook group for 'friends and friends of friends' to support each other with weight loss or fitness efforts. (anyone who wants to join and is friends of my Hart profile, give a shout and I'm happy to invite you—we're all friends here) and somebody asked the question, How do you fit it in? In her case, it was an energy matter, so I am going to address both the time and energy constraints of GETTING and STAYING FIT.


But I'm So Tired!

There are some of us who have daytime obligations that sap energy, and there are others who have TOO MANY obligations and so don't get enough sleep (or we don't sleep well even if we try) and that adds an obstacle to exercise that is real and needs to be addressed.

Once upon a time I had a waitressing job. When I started it my feet always hurt and I was exhausted when I got off work—I WAS NOT in a frame of mind to exercise. I think at home parents of small kids can find a similar exhaustion keeping up with munchkins. People who work retail, moving stock, forcing politeness on the idiocy of the masses... Some days I use my BRAIN so heavily that I am physically drained. Sound impossible? Not so—our brain uses a ton of calories, so it makes some sense.

It doesn't MATTER why, we just have to acknowledge that being physically tired makes it HARD to make ourselves add in that exercise. It can also make it hard to eat right, as we can get too busy to eat until we are already feeling 'starved' so there is no time to make something healthy.  Once acknowledged, OWN IT. It is a fact, and you just have to work with it.



I Have No TIME!

I have a full time job, a husband, two kids and am trying to write books in the evenings, so this is EXTREMELY familiar to me. In my dream world I would have a two hour block to exercise every day, because I honestly LOVE it, but I would have to give up something even more important to do it, so I need to fit it where I can. That leaves me with walking to and from work, and giving up a little sleep on Tuesday and Thursday mornings (plus weekends) to do something more intense.


The solutions has to take both things into consideration—and that MIGHT be part of the problem. When I was in college and exercised as soon as my classes were over, exercise was EASY—it was physiologically a time of day that my body was set to do that. We ALL have times it is ideal. The only way to PEG those times is to try it at several different times, and if you have a busy schedule, you may only have so many options to choose from. In my current life, I can only do it early or late, and though early is the time I LEAST like it, it is the time that works best with my other obligations, so there you have it.

Once you've MADE a little time, THEN you need to make a habit.  I don't remember the source, but I heard at one point that 21 days makes a habit... if you can force it that long, it won't seem so hard anymore, but all those tricks... park a little farther, take the stairs... ANY of them that adds to you plain old, don't notice when you do them, habits helps because the stuff that doesn't seem optional will remain, even if you don't feel up to whatever else you do.  Anything you can get yourself to do, any time you can fit it in... Make it a habit, then build.

That's my story and I'm sticking with it.