Your Own Worst Enemy…

You are your own worst enemy.

Well you are…don’t give me that face!
This saying rings true in many ways in our lives, but I find it is very much true in our health and wellness.

We all make excuses, and yes they are just that…excuses, about why we “can’t” exercise, why we “can’t” eat healthy foods or why we “can’t” _____ (fill in the blank with whatever issue you are dealing with).  In reality, it is our own minds getting in the way.  Now before I continue, here is a short disclaimer…  Yes I very much believe that this is the case in MOST cases.  Yes there are situations where this is not true…there are exceptions to every rule after all.  So don’t send the hate mail just yet, I mean no offense to anybody.  🙂

I heard a speaker today discuss tips on organizing our lives and something she said really stuck with me.
She said that when it comes to time, there are overestimators and underestimators.  Those that underestimate time tend to be late because they will begin a project and it will take longer than they expected.  Those that overestimate time tend to look at a project (folding laundry was the example the speaker used) and get overwhelmed by the amount of time they think it will take and they will ultimately end up putting that project off until a later date/time because they think they don’t have time for it ‘right now’.  I see this ALL the time with people and their health and wellness!

I really think that a large majority (if not all) people tend to overestimate the amount of time and energy that living a “healthy lifestyle” will take.  I know you have heard it before and you probably hate hearing it again, but really all things in moderation really is the way to do it! 

One thing I hear over and over again from my clients is that they just don’t have time to dedicate to exercise so there is no possible way that they can get in shape or lose weight or get healthy.  Poppycock I say!  (excuse my language ;o)  There is ALWAYS time for activity in your life…yes I said ALWAYS!  Do you talk on the phone, do you watch television, do you do laundry, do you stand in lines, do you park your car in a parking lot?  Well do you, do you, do you?!  If you did not answer yes to at least one of these things…I am sorry, you are either lying or you hire somebody to live your life for you!  We all have these activities of daily living that we do.  And those activities are the answer to sneaking extra “exercise” activity into your day! 

I will give you the secret…shhh, don’t tell anybody…wait…yes, tell EVERYBODY!
*  When talking on the phone (at work at your desk or at home or wherever you may be) stand up.  Yep, stand up!  The act of simply standing versus sitting can burn approximately 50 more calories per hour!
*  When watching television do the tv workout!  What is that you say?  That is the beauty of it…you can create your own!  But the jist of it is that you just MOVE while watching your television program!!  If you still watch live tv and have commercials, do activity during the commercials.  Run in place, sit-ups/crunches, push-ups, planks, jumping jacks, etc.  In a 60-minute program you can get approximately 20 minutes of activity in just during the commercials!!
*  If you carry your laundry from one area of the house to another, make a couple extra laps with the laundry basket before you drop it off in the laundry room to sort it.  It will only take a couple of minutes, but you are burning extra calories!!
*  Standing in lines is my favorite!  While standing in line, you can do “calf-raises” by simply standing up on your tippy-toes and then standing flat-footed again.  Repeat that until you get to the front of the line!
*  When parking, especially on those days when the weather is beautiful, park further away and make that walk into the store.  I know we all try to park close to save time, but in reality it takes longer to drive around and find a close spot or wait for somebody to walk to their car and leave than it does to walk from a further spot!
*  Finally, take the stairs!!!  Pretend the elevators are broken in every building!  Now I too will use the elevator when I have to go up many floors…let’s face it, stairs are hard!  But if it is 5 floors or less, I will try to use the stairs!

Remember, you CAN do it, you ARE worth it and wellness really DOES work!
Make today a happy, healthy day and sneak that extra activity into your day!:)