Work/Life Balance...now Health and Fitness?!

There are plenty of people out there who are all trying to do the same thing: find a balance between leading a healthy lifestyle, staying motivated at work, and maintaining a stable social and family life.  I often have friends coming to me saying, "I feel like I've fallen out of my routine and can't get back on track", seeking advice on what to do to get back on the health and fitness bandwagon.

Here are my three major steps to getting back on track to a healthy lifestyle:

1. Commit to going to sleep and waking up at a reasonable time each day so as to get the most out of each day.
   
2. ​Plan what healthy dishes you want to have each day for each meal. Without the right nutrition, all of your hard workouts won't pay off.   Remember, healthy eating fuels your body for all physical activities!
   
   • If you don't think you're going to have enough time to make these dishes each day, set aside a couple of times where you can make meals ahead of time.  This way, you will have healthy meals to reheat instead of grabbing something else that's just convenient, but unhealthy.
     
   • Make a detailed grocery list with all ingredients, produce, etc. you have planned to incorporate into your meals, and don't deviate from the list. (Use this list as a guide)
     
   • For comfort food dishes that you may not want to comprimise in your diet, try substituting healthy alternatives such as whole wheat or quinoa noodles, greek yogurt instead of heavy creams, etc.
     
   • Add superfoods such as kale, quinoa, and greek yogurt to your diet!  
     
3. Look at your work or school schedule for the upcoming week and see what times of the day you can set aside an hour or two for working out.
   
   • Once you have decided these times, schedule every other day for a set of exercises for different parts of the body.  Also, do cardio at least every other day. See example as follows:
     
     • Monday: cardio, arms, abs
       
     • Tuesday: butt/legs, full body, yoga
       
     • continues switching off through Sunday
       
   • Keep this in a to-do list (maybe noting specific times for each day) that you are able to see everyday so you stick to your plan and can cross off each item to feel a sense of accomplishment.
     
   • By allowing certain parts of the body to rest every other day, you will help avoid injury.  It's also important to add stretching routines, or yoga, to your workout schedule so as to avoid injury.  
     

Hope this helps many of you stay motivated and on track in balancing your fitness routine with all of the other crazy things you've got going on in your lives!