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How Get Fit &
Stay Fit - Despite a Busy Lifestyle!
By Angela Steward, Fitness Motivator
The Truth Contributor
Before I discovered my “love” of fitness, and lets face it,
you wont really fall in love with exercise until you begin
to see results…lol! I always thought I was “too busy”, or I
“had no time” to fit exercise into my busy life. I didn’t
truly understand the physical or mental benefits of exercise
and how it could help me.
After gaining 100 pounds over a period of time, and using
every excuse ever known to justify being overweight, I
realized that exercise wasn’t important because “I” wasn’t a
priority. My priority was to supply everyone else’s needs
and to suppress my own! It was far easier to focus on
everyone else instead of focusing on myself.
We all have that friend, co-worker, or family member who is
full of suggestions about how “you” should raise your kids
(yet she has none of her own), or how you should lose weight
(he’s overweight too), or how to handle your marital or
relationship issues (yet, they’re unattached). We all know
someone like that.
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Angela R. Steward
Creator of Fabulously Fit
Email: Fabfitu@yahoo.com
Cell: (419) 699-9399 |
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Let’s face it –pointing out our imperfections in the mirror
is a hard thing to do! It’s far easier to point out someone
else’s imperfections. There is little to no risk in
suggesting how someone else should handle their brokenness,
there is a high level of risk and courage in helping
ourselves.
I had to take control of my brokenness by acknowledging –
Yes, I’m overweight! Yes – I’m tired of being tired! Yes – I
want to become a shopoholic again! Yes – I want to reclaim
my life and I want to make myself a priority again.
It took a while for me to figure out how to fit exercise
into my busy life. I knew it wouldn’t be easy, but I did it.
If I did it, so can you. So how do you balance a busy work
schedule, your family’s needs and your own needs? Here are a
few tips to help you.
Make a Schedule and Stick to It.
One of the most used reasons to skip a workout goes
something like this: “I’m just too busy, so I can’t make it
to class.” I call that BS!! If you were at work and you
unexpectedly had to leave to pick up your children and had
no back up plan, how would you deal with it? Adjust your
lunch hour? Take some work home with you? Arrange to come to
work early the next day, or stay late? The truth is that
when we really need to - we make arrangements to do what is
truly necessary. So, make a schedule (write it down if it
helps), stick to it, and remind yourself that working out is
a priority worth keeping. When I decided to gain control of
my health, I went straight to the gym every day after work
and exercised for one hour, because I knew that if I went
home right after work, I wouldn’t leave my house again – so
to the gym I went straight from work, every day.
Cater to your own likes and dislikes.
Be realistic! If you hate running, don’t run. One person’s
running is another person’s yoga, weight training or dance.
Self discipline is necessary when it comes to exercise, so
make it easier on yourself by choosing a form of exercise
that fits your lifestyle, personality and taste. Not sure
what you love to do? Don’t be afraid to experiment with
different forms of exercise until you find what works best
for you. If you spend time doing something you like to do,
it could potentially turn into something you love to do!
Choose something over nothing! You don’t need an hour – or even 30
minutes – to get a complete, effective workout. Some
exercise is far better than nothing! Heck, even 8 minutes
can make a difference. We can all find a few free minutes in
our day to do some form of fitness (yes, we can). I have
fitness sisters who are FitBit owners – they create goals of
taking so many steps per day. Some of them set goals of
10,000 or more steps daily and they create small competitive
groups to challenge, encourage and support each other. Short
and speedy workouts can do wonders to both the body and
mind. So squeeze in fitness wherever you are and no matter
how much time you have, bodyweight exercises, short walks,
going up and down a flight of stairs every few hours or so,
and bodyweight exercises can all be accomplished even at
your job.
Lets face it; we all make arrangements to do the things we
love to do. Although exercise may not be something you love
to do – it’s something you should do. Only by taking care of
ourselves do we stand a chance of being the best person we
can be on our job, at home with our loved ones and friends.
I’m not saying it’s going to be easy, I am saying, believe
it or not, “You’re Worth It!”
Thank you all for taking the time to read my articles and
allowing me to be a part of your fitness journey, I’m
honored!!
Angela R. Steward
Owner & Head Instructor
FABULOUSLY FIT *GEM*
1855 S. Reynolds Rd., Suite C, Toledo, OH 43614
Classes: Mon 9am, Tues – Fri 6pm, Sat
9am & Sun 3pm.
Email: Fabfitu@yahoo.com
Cell: (419) 699-9399
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