Do you have little time for yourself? Do you find it hard to fit exercise in your weekly schedule?
The top 3 reasons why people find it difficult to lose weight & tone up is because they have little time for themselves, they lack energy and don’t have the motivation to exercise on their own, understandably these 3 barriers make it challenging for anyone who wants to lose weight, tone up and feel better.
Today I’ll be talking about how a lack of time is a common barrier for parents, what you can do to find more time for yourself and why it’s important.
I work with clients between the ages of 35 to 55 during this stage in life they are raising a family, building or at the peak of their career and many are caregivers to their aging parents. With life at full steam ahead it can feel overwhelming, stressful, and tiring and it leaves a person with little time for themselves.
If this sounds familiar then you know it’s particularly challenging to find the time to exercise, improve your diet and make positive changes in your lifestyle. So I’m going to share with you 7 ways to create more time for yourself so you can focus on your health & fitness, but before we go into them its important to add that they will only work if you start prioritizing time for yourself.
Parents always put their children first and rightly so even to the extent that when some mothers do things for themselves, they even feel guilty because they feel they should be focusing on their children all the time especially when they are young. Recognizing that your needs should not be neglected and that focusing on your mind & body is a necessity and not a luxury will create a positive mindset, this will help you to be committed to a fitness routine.
It’s about finding a healthy balance between work, family, life, and yourself.
So here are 7 ways on how to find more time to exercise to start looking and feeling better.
Schedule your exercise in your diary – By scheduling your exercise your creating time for it, this creates commitment and accountability which is needed to exercise regularly and consistently. Make exercise a priority as you do in your family life & work, in family life parents are committed to school drop offs and pickups, helping with homework, taking kids to activities & classes and at work you commit to managing your team for inspiration, guidance, support, attending meetings, completing a project within a deadline. By giving the same importance to your fitness routine as is given to work and family life you will begin to see the results so schedule your exercise in your diary and stick to it.
Morning Exercise – Before everyone wakes up this could be the perfect window to fit in your exercise, it doesn’t need to be a long workout even 20 to 30 minutes of moderate to high intensity exercise such as HIIT training is effective to burn a lot of calories and improve fitness. Within 45 minutes including shower and breakfast your all done and ready for the day ahead!
Before Dinner – children’s routine are usually different to adults they eat & go to bed earlier once the kids are in bed and before you sit down for dinner this could be a good window to fit in your exercise I appreciate you’ll be feeling tired at this stage but if there isn’t much choice elsewhere in your schedule this could be an option to consider.
During Kids Activities – If you have more than one child it’s not uncommon for parents to split the kids up and take them to different activities, if you’re outdoors in a park this could be a good opportunity to fit in a bodyweight workout and all you need is your exercise matt. Or if you’re going to your local gym whilst they are swimming try and fit in a quick class or burst in the gym.
Taking it in turns with your partner – you and your other half can agree on looking after the kids whilst the other is doing their workout. I’ve seen this work very well for my clients whether it’s in the morning, evening or weekend they both agree on what day and time they can commit to looking after the kids whilst their partner has their weekly dose of vitality. Everyone’s schedule is different but try suggesting it even if you both commit to it for a short period of time to get you kickstarted in your fitness routine. If you’re a single parent these next two suggestions can be great options.
Ask the grandparents – grandparents love looking after their grandchildren and if you’re lucky to have your parents or in-laws nearby this is a great opportunity to leave the kids with them and get your exercise done. Having this type of social support can be helpful in committing to your fitness routine and achieving your goals.
Hiring a nanny – if you don’t already have a nanny this could be a great reason to have one normally the minimum hire time is 3 hours or more so it will give you more time to do other things including your exercise whilst the kids are being looked after. Also by having to hire a nanny this will give you more accountability to do your exercise because you have invested your time, energy and money for your health & fitness and this will help you stick to it.
And there we have 7 ways to fit in exercise, it’s important to find time for yourself to avoid burnout especially for parents because raising children is a job in itself even more reason to look after yourself for your benefit and your families benefit. If you find the thought of losing weight daunting and need motivation and that extra push to exercise visit brigopt.com and discover success stories of women of who achieved great results with the transformation plan.
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