Finding balance

Losing weight is and changing our lifestyle was the easiest and hardest thing we’ve ever done. I know you’ve heard that plenty of times here already, and you’ll probably hear it again many times. But those words are the truth and something everyone needs to know! The first thing people always say to me when talking about losing weight is they don’t have enough time to go to the gym or cook the food, but is that really true?

There was definitely some self-evaluation that went on when we started our journey. I spent a lot of time doing things that were time wasters. I spent many hours eating, even more hours watching television and not enough time being active. Just think about it, how much time do you spend watching television or doing something else that really isn’t necessary to life? Willie always talks about working out as being an appointment that he has to make every day. Making time for exercise should be one of the most important things people in anyone’s life. It’s time to make it a priority in your life now, no matter if you’re over weight or the “healthiest” person out there. It’s time to get moving.

Exercise time doesn’t have to last all afternoon, but just carving out a niche of time (30 minutes or so) everyday just to get moving. Walking on the treadmill or going to a group fitness class to get your heart rate up and you’ll realize that it’s not that big of time constraint on your life. Some people work out for 30 minutes a day some people work out more. I’m one of those people. Some days I’m at the gym for an hour, other days I’m there for two hours. It’s all about finding what works for you and how much you actually WANT to work out.

But you do have to have balance. I’m writing this today because lately I haven’t been keeping good balance in my life. For the past three weeks, the focus in my life was the more physical aspect of my life. I ran a 5K and half-marathon in one weekend, the following weekend I did cycling training, the week following training I jumped head first into my fitness instructor job, which has completely, consumed my life. All of my social media posts revolved around working out or running. There is no balance there. I have a husband, I have friends, I have dogs and other interests that seemed to fall by the wayside because there was no balance in my life. When things like that happen, some people would find that as a reason not work out.

I enjoy working out and it’s a great source of stress relief for me but that doesn’t mean that I should let it take over my life. There is more to life than being healthy and part of the process of changing your lifestyle is finding the balance that works for you. Just don’t forget there are other important things in life too, but making healthy choices and fitness should be a priority in you life. I work out everyday, but working out everyday may not work for you. Three days a week might the perfect amount of exercise for you and there’s nothing wrong with that. The most important thing is making it apart of your life.

Here are some tips to help you keep a healthy balance in your life:

1. Make a work out plan and stick with it. If you carve out a specific time of the day that is meant for exercise then you’ll be more likely to stick with it.
2. It takes 5 weeks to make something a habit. When you make the plan; stick with it so that it sticks.
3. Schedule out time to spend doing things you want to do. Whether that’s spending time with family and friends, make sure there is time in the schedule for whatever it is you choose to do. That way you don’t feel like you’re giving up something for a healthier lifestyle.

Find a routine that works for you and stick with it. Finding balance is a strong factor in taking the journey to a healthier lifestyle.