I’ll be uncovering one of the main reasons why people with busy lives find it so hard to lose weight and it’s not even their fault.

It’s because you’re not focusing on yourself enough, that’s right I’m saying you need to be more selfish in a good way of course to give yourself that much deserved TLC.

There are two things that take up the most time, energy and attention and that’s work and children plus add the general day to day tasks to the equation and you’re left with little time and energy for yourself.

What many do not know is that women are switching between multiple roles daily as a parent, professional, caregiver to their children & aging parents, and the challenges it brings to have time for oneself.

So its important to find some ‘me time’ where you can focus on your health and fitness, I know it’s difficult because there are so many responsibilities and commitments but your health is just as important and I say this with love it’s your responsibility to find some time in your week to focus on you.

I have seen this time and time again with my clients they are feeling stressed, overwhelmed, and life is busy but once they made that commitment to themselves they loved how they looked and felt with the results they achieved. Whether you start a fitness plan on your own or with the guidance of a professional the first step is making that commitment to yourself.

Having ‘Me Time’ isn’t just about being by yourself, it is about spending time away from work & caring for your family and their needs and doing something that nourishes your body and mind.

Having alone time is a necessity, not an indulgence.

This is particularly true for parents they put their children and their family before themselves, it’s a beautiful quality of a mother and father and that won’t go away that’s why it’s good to have a reminder to say that you deserve to do things for yourself.

Here are a few things you can focus on and make the most of your time to start looking and feeling better, exercise regularly by including cardio exercises such as running, swimming, cycling and resistance exercises such as bodyweight, weighted exercises. Even if that means starting off once a week you can progress into twice or three times once you get into the swing of it.

Improve your diet by keeping an eye on your food portions, reducing processed foods and adding more naturally sourced foods such as fruits, vegetables, choosing lean meats rather than fatty meats and having non-meat protein alternatives such as beans pulses and legumes.

Improve your sleep by going to bed and waking up at the same time this helps maintain a consistent circadian rhythm and will improve your quality of sleep and increase your energy levels. I know this is tricky if you have small children and I have made another video which you can see on brigopt.com talking about keeping your energy levels up when you’re tired.

These three pillars exercise, food and sleep are a great starting point but you can only do it if you put some time aside for you, I’m going to finish off with a quick success story for a bit of inspiration!

When I met Sarah she had a baby who was 6 months at the time and if you’re a parent you know that they can be quite handful at this age. Sarah wanted to have more energy, lose weight and tone up so she took on the transformation plan.

With work and a small baby she really struggled to focus on herself and find the time to do her own things but when she committed to her fitness plan and took it on herself to improve her health and fitness she achieved awesome results.

In just 12 weeks of completing her transformation plan she lost 16 pounds that’s over a stone, she toned up, felt stronger and had more energy than before.