It's no secret that my life is hectic these days as I attempt to clear my closets and drawers and finish up a semester of school. Impossible to forget the kid's homework, fun family time, birthdays, and life goes on with or without THE BIG MOVE.
As we get busier preparing I find it more and more difficult to stick to my routines and stay in the game. Eating, exercising, drinking water, and sleep sometimes take a back seat to what I THINK needs to get done NOW.
1. Eating at regular intervals - not because I'm not hungry but because I get so involved in a project in some other part of the house that I don't even look at the time or heed the signals my body is giving me like hunger pangs, light headed, sometimes I feel like I'm over caffeinated--shaky all over. It may not be for everyone, but eating several meals a day is a great way to stabilize glucose and keep the metabolism from slowing down. Eat more often, loose more weight is a great article with some tips that can help better understand this process of eating at regular intervals.
2. Exercise and Energy - I do get to the gym, because I work there and have to teach classes. That is a huge plus. But I know what is like to get involved in a project at home and skip the gym or even the neighborhood walk just to finish this one project. Unfortunately, we always manage to come up with other projects that take us away from this important part of our life. So I go to the gym when I can and when I have to but when I find myself stuck I take a break and do one of my three 10 minute workouts.
The Hundred Push Challenge is a really fantastic workout that attempts to get you doing 100 push ups in six weeks. While my goal is not exactly to reach 100, although that would be really great, my goal is to get stronger and leaner and I can't do that just by cleaning my house. Push ups work all the muscles in your upper body AND core muscles - I can handle 10 minutes. I also like to add Yoga or Pilates to my routine and those I do on the days opposite to the Push up days. Check out these two videos, Yoga by Meaghan and Pilates by Suzanne. What a great way to spend just 10 minutes on me.
3. Water - Well we all know the benefits of water. It's no secret. Water cleanses your body, your kidneys (filtration system), the liver (fat metabolizer), and your skin. There's no excuse to not drink my daily minimum so I carry around a 24 ounce-bottle of water and make sure I refill it a couple of times throughout the day. I found this article, it's long but very informative on the benefits of water.
4. Sleep - I can't begin to count the days or nights when I either go to bed super late and/or get up super early. I fill up on coffee and try to do it all before the kids get up to go to school and before I have to be at the gym or anywhere that day. It might work once or twice, but after a few days of sleeping no more than 4 hours a night I become a zombie and everything goes downhill. I can't concentrate or focus, I don't have energy to play with the kids, I have no desire to eat (healthy) or exercise for that matter. I'm still working on improving my sleep habits and here are some great tips on the benefits of sleep.
I know it's going to take a little planning and dedication on my part but it is important that I take back my life and stay in the game. My health is worth way more than cleaning out closets and drawers. Besides, we have such an awesome adventure to look forward to in the next few weeks. I need to stay healthy if I want to enjoy it and show my kids a great time.
I hope these tips help you stay in the game. Take back your life, you only have one chance to live it right!
Stay Well,
