You’ve made it, I’ve made it – at one point or another, we’ve all told ourselves, each other, or anyone that would listen that we were of course going to workout…as soon as we could fit it into our schedule. We were busy, or we wanted our workout regimen to work in a certain way or in coordination with our lives.
In case you were unaware, this “reordering” of our lives in order to fit a robust gym schedule usually doesn’t work, because it usually doesn’t happen.
When people decide to lose weight or get in shape, they usually go from 0 – 60. The weight needed to be gone yesterday. It seems that most people quit the habits that they had developed cold turkey in an effort to make this retrograde weight loss happen, which, as we all know, results more often than not in weight loss followed shortly by weight re-gain.
Your schedule works the same way. You’ll start out by going to the gym 5 times a week at 5:00 am. How long are you willing to bet that you can sustain that schedule?
To see a change, you have to make a change, and any change you take will be challenging. Most people like stable patterns, so most people don’t take change very well. Think about the discomfort people feel if they sit in someone else’s seat, even if seats aren’t assigned. That’s a very small change to make and even that one can feel disorienting. If you haven’t been active or engaged in a healthy diet for some time, the same change will be just as daunting. So why do we think we should make a giant huge change in those areas of our lives in order to succeed at getting in shape?
Now, obviously, there are some people who can make a momentous change and stick with a 6 am schedule multiple days a week and not only succeed, but thrive. But if you are struggling (and have been struggling) to find a way to integrate exercise into your schedule, the extreme change in your lifestyle is probably not for you.
You’ll have to make a change, certainly, and the best way to start a habit is by doing it little steps at a time. If you wait until you “fix” your schedule to workout, then you aren’t going to fix anything. You have to fit working out INTO your schedule. Say you stay up really late watching TV or playing video games. Relying on your schedule to suddenly change so you can workout consistently at 8 am isn’t going to work unless you give up the old schedule. Be honest: is that really something you are willing to do? Working 45 minutes to an hour of exercise into when you ARE awake is totally possible and is easier than changing your entire schedule.
If you are trying to figure out when to squeeze in some exercise but can’t seem to find an extra hour in the day, think long and hard about everything you do. Your schedule may seem daunting, but do you really need to watch that third episode of reality TV on TLC? Would you rather give up an hour of sleep?
Changes are difficult, but you won’t see any results unless you make a change yourself. If you find that you can’t make a change stick, keep in mind that the change doesn’t have to be momentous and extreme. Add one thing – a salad at dinner, a healthier lunch option, 45 minutes of exercise, whatever – and try and do that one thing consistently over the course of two weeks. Once you integrate it into your schedule, you can add another change. Before you know it, you’ll have been food journaling and exercising like you’ve been doing it for years.
