Consistency is the Key to Success
December 11, 2015Staying Consistent in an Inconsistent Life
Yippee!! Woo Hoo! Five and a half pounds down and thirty-four and a half pounds to go (ugh!). I reached my first goal of losing 5lbs by December 5th. Unfortunately, life took over, and I haven’t gained weight, but I did not lose any more weight. My goals are 1-2lbs per week. However, I only got down to the gym once this week… yep, just once… sigh ~
My excuse, or as I prefer to call them,” reasons” for not getting my workouts in this week are fair and valid, like all the other crazy, busy working moms in the world. My nanny has been super sick and hadn’t been able to work this entire week. My parents were only able to help two of the five days. Another day, I had contractors here all day, demanding my attention when it wasn’t demanded by babies, my staff, company, husband, and household. I have been working until 11:00pm each night trying to catch up on emails and work. My seven-month old is teething and my 2-year old has been having nightmares, each needing my attention in the middle of the night. Last night, I had to actually wake up my 2-year old at 11:00pm when I was going to bed because I smelled that she pooped in her pants. I did think momentarily (and for my own selfish sanity of just wanting to go to bed) that she would be ok until morning, but quickly came to my senses. It never ends.
One of my trainers asked me why my workouts are negotiable when life gets crazy. Good question. Something perhaps I would have asked someone I was training before I had children. I think that I feel that once I get all these time pressing major projects out of the way, then I can focus on me and not be distracted. Otherwise, I will keep thinking of these time-pressing projects. Projects, that if they do not get done, we will not get to start our next set of renovations or get money back from the insurance company for damages during our move. Our nanny just gave us her notice. So, if I do not have a new nanny in place by January, I will get less work done and be more behind and have less success in my weight loss program. I need to clone myself. I am exhausted. I need to practice what I preach.
So what do I preach? One of my big tips is to be consistent. Consistency is the key to success in any aspect of life. We need to get our bodies and minds use to a healthy lifestyle. While something is always better than nothing, sporadic exercise is not ideal. So how does someone like me add consistency in an inconsistent life?
1) Plan Ahead: I am old school with my giant color-coded planner. My workouts are in purple. I check mark the tasks that I complete and “X” the ones that I did not get to. If it needs to be moved, move it, don’t just cancel. I like to tell my clients to not go more than 48 hours without structured exercise. So if you did not exercise today, you have to work out tomorrow.
2) Something is ALWAYS Better Than Nothing: If you cannot get in the full hour, it’s OK. Get a 20-minute power workout in. Calories Burned are Calories Burned. Here’s a little quickie workout I use to give to clients while travelling. It’s a full body, quick, and easy to understand and (hopefully) have safe form:
First Set of Exercises
Fast Squats x 20
Push Ups x 20
Tricep Dips x 20
Plank Hold until Fatigue
Repeat Set 2 Times
Second Set of Exercises
Same Leg Lunge, Step Back and Kick Forward x 15 each leg
Superman (lift chest off floor, with hands behind head, and looking down; extend arms to advance) x 20
Mini arm circles (60 seconds each direction)
Bicycle Crunches (until fatigue)
Repeat 2nd Set of Exercises 2 Times
3) Don’t Wait ‘til Monday: Start fresh now. Everything with weight loss deals with behavior. Get on the right mind set to guide you in the right direction. Don’t beat yourself up when you fall off the track. It happens. If this was easy, we would all be fit and perfect, and I would be out of a job.
So busy moms, busy dads, or just you crazy busy workers without kids who are looking for balance, add your workouts to your schedule book/smartphone. Make sure you work out at least every other day. Don’t beat yourself up if your life gets crazy and off balance. Take a deep breath and start fresh now. As my mom says to me all the time, “Hang in there. It does get easier. I’m still trying to lose weight and my baby is 38.” I am not sure if that is supposed to make me feel better or realize that this could be a long journey… on the flip side, she does look great. But we are all our worst critics.
Be nice to yourselves everyone. Have a fabulous weekend!
