Healthy Living: Staying On Track
Today's post is from contributor - Natasha Gelder. Natasha is a full time Literature student based in Leeds who is juggling the quests for higher education, money and rock hard abs. She believes exercising is a vital part of a healthy, balanced lifestyle and should not be seen as a chore. You can find her blog here
Many of us make plans or promises
that we end up breaking because something unexpected turns up in our daily
lives that we need to deal with. If we have a list of things that we need to
do, it is often the ‘go to the gym’ section of the list that gets cast aside as
we opt for tasks such as ‘do the weekly food shop’. Our good intentions often
get pushed aside for things deemed as more useful. But what is possibly more
useful to you than your health? You need to make time for it.
You need to stop letting other
things get in the way of your workouts. Set time aside specifically for them,
if other things that you need to do crop up they will have to wait. I have
recently changed work hours and despite early 6:30 am starts I still drag myself
to the gym 12 hours later three times a week. Even if it is only for an hour,
it is better than nothing. I organise my time wisely and use a gym plan to
designate specific time for my workouts.
Write down 2 or 3 nights through
the week that you are going to exercise, plus one day on a weekend. On the
weekend day that you are not working out try to plan some kind of activity,
even if it is just walking your dog, make sure you are moving. You may also
find it useful to write down exactly what you are going to do at the gym- if
you have your own personalised gym programme you are more likely to stick to it
and actually go.
If someone asks you to do
something when you have your session, say no. Delay the food shop for 2 hours-
supermarkets are quieter on a night anyway. Make time for your health and stick
to it. Oddly enough, you will find that you are re-energised after your gym
session, meaning that you will have more energy to deal with your remaining
tasks and, as exercise is a natural source of stress relief, you will also be
more able to cope with your remaining tasks.
It may also be beneficial to make
an eating plan to use in conjunction with your exercise plan. I don’t mean a
plan to record how many calories you eat, I mean a plan to help you work out
what you will eat and when. This will be useful when you go food shopping
because you will be buying specific things for each day and will be less likely
to chuck random bits of junk into your shopping trolley. Being organised is not
time consuming, in fact it is the opposite; I make my dinner for work the night
before- usually at the same time as I make my tea. Sometimes I will simply make
an extra portion of my tea and take this to work with me the next day.
A meal plan will also help you
monitor what you eat and is the best way to ensure that you are consuming all
the nutrients you need. You will also be able to use it to make sure that you
eat 1-2 hours before a workout, (preferably some complex carbohydrates), to
ensure that you are fuelling your body correctly and get the maximum from your
workout.
Today's post is from contributor - Natasha Gelder. Natasha is a full time Literature student based in Leeds who is juggling the quests for higher education, money and rock hard abs. She believes exercising is a vital part of a healthy, balanced lifestyle and should not be seen as a chore. You can find her blog here
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