Kids, work, sports, the dog, the cat a goldfish and you want me to exercise?
So this is a super common barrier I get when working with people Oh if there were just more hours in the day! Our lives are so jam packed and I am asking you to take up more time. I completely understand but unfortunately as we live our busy lives running after the kids or cleaning the house we put our health on the backburner until it eventually catches up with us. I always say to people if you don’t manage your health, get sick or don’t monitor health conditions, how much less time will you spend with your family? The answer is a lot.
Old habits die hard. Changing your habits is a process that involves several stages. Sometimes it takes a while before changes become new habits. And, you may face roadblocks along the way.
Remembe your kids learn from us all the time, you can teach them healthy habits too. If you do not make time to exercise or implement healthy habits in your kids they can suffer for it later. The number of overweight children has doubled in recent years with a quarter being classified as obese. Studies have shown there is a correlation between children’s and parents’ weight with 44% of obese children having at least one obese parent. Although many factors do come into this, its about preventing what we do have control over, and this starts with making healthy choices.
So how do we exercise when we are super busy? Firstly, what I always say is do a time analysis on your day. Work out how much time you need to be spending on what you are doing, and what you could afford to give up, almost like a time budget. If you are grocery shopping multiple times a week, get it delivered or cut the trips down. Find ways to car pool the kids to sports or arrange shared pickups. Include the kids in the activity when you are done for the day take the kids down to the park, kick a ball around and encourage them to exercise in play. A lot of gyms now offer child minding services so take advantage of them.
For your work life, try get to the gym before work for 30 minutes to 1 hour, or organise a longer lunch break and go for a walk as part four day, there are options if you are serious about your health and that of your family.
Stay active together and get outside.
Drink plenty of water.
Encourage everyone to eat well.
Build your community.
Follow good bedtime routines and get quality sleep.
Limit screen time.
Partner with health providers for support...
I cannot emphasis enough, make your health a priority you will feel better for it and be able to implement those positive changes through your whole life. If you are struggling to work out when to do things, or activities to include the children in, come in for a consult and we can work through these barriers together.
Reilly JJ, Armstrong J, Dorosty AR, et al. Early life risk factors for obesity in childhood: cohort study. BMJ. 2005;330(7504):1357.
Comments