Getting Fit Fast: Make Time, Not Excuses

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Exercise is crucial to your well being. You must do it. So just do it! The housework can wait. The phone calls can happen later. The errands can be run after the gym. Prioritize your exercise.

If you've ever uttered the words, "I can't find time to exercise," or told someone, "I'm too busy to make dinner, so I just pick something up," consider yourself one of millions of mothers who have been there, done that, and bought the T-shirt too.

Lack of time is the number-one reason people give for their inability to stay physically fit, but when we hear that excuse from our clients, we have to ask, "How did you manage to find time to go to the doctor when you were sick last week?" Or we privately wonder, "When did she find time to get her nails done?" The same women who tell us they're too busy to hit the gym manage to plan elaborate birthday parties for toddlers and know when Gymboree is having a sale, so what exactly are they doing with their time?

The truth is that human beings make time for the things they consider important and procrastinate or avoid activities that seem unpleasant. The same person who has the 30 seconds it takes to open a present can't seem to find the two minutes it takes to write a thank-you note. That's because getting presents is fun but writing notes is tedious. Likewise, the mom who has time in her busy schedule to watch her favorite show at night or go shopping during the day certainly has 45 minutes to push the baby stroller around the neighborhood.

Make an Appointment with … Yourself

Consistent exercise depends on two things: prioritization and anticipation. First, you gotta stop thinking of exercise as a chore and start thinking of it as Me Time, something healthy that you do to make yourself feel good. It's preventive medicine, proven time and again to ward off diabetes, heart disease, osteoporosis, and breast cancer. Exercise improves your sleep, your mental well being, your sex life, and your self image.

There's no doubt about it: Breaking a sweat should be at the top of your list every day! So sit down right now, this very minute, and write it on your calendar or plug it into your smart phone for every day until the end of the year. Exercising is like taking a shower or going to bed at night: It's non-negotiable. It has to happen no matter what. (If you spend any amount of time around us, you may notice that exercise sometimes takes priority over showering or putting on clean clothes. That's because we're busy moms who know that nobody ever developed high blood pressure or other weight-related maladies from being a little funky, so we'll choose exercise, thank you!)