5 Ways to Plan Ahead to Keep Your Fitness Goals
You have to plan ahead in order to eat right and exercise. Our best intentions are most often derailed because of time. We say we’re going to exercise, but we don’t schedule it properly into our day. We say we’re going to eat healthy, but we run out of time and grab something at the nearest fast-food restaurant. Or we don’t have something healthy on-hand and we grab the closest thing at the office, often things like chips, candy, or soda. Here are a few quick tips that can help you stay on track with the healthy lifestyle that you have envisioned for yourself.
Grocery Shopping: Plan your grocery list before go, listing all the ingredients for planned healthy meals. Plan for things like vegetables and fruit for snacks. Do not shop on an empty stomach!
Meals: No time to cook dinner? A slow cooker offers the opportunity to make a huge array of dinners so that dinner is ready when you get home late from work or from all the kids’ activities. Plan ahead the night before. Prepare the pot with your recipe and leave it in the fridge overnight. In the morning, place it in the cooking apparatus, set it, and go. Throw together a salad when you get home and you’re set!
Lunches: Pack your lunch. The best way I have found to plan healthy snacks and meals is to take the time the night before. We are often rushing around in the morning and run out of time. Cook a little extra than you think you will need for dinner, chop it into bite-sized pieces and stick it in the fridge. My lunch is typically a big container of mixed greens, a small container of salad dressing, a piece of fruit, and a small container of leftover meat from the night before. Or portion out your leftovers into lunch-sized containers that you can grab in the morning on your way out the door. As an added bonus, this is also a great way to save money!
Snacks: If I know I’m going to be gone most of the day with my kids, I will chop up a bunch of fresh veggies to have on hand when the hunger sets in. Red peppers, cucumbers, carrots and cherry tomatoes are some of our favorites. If you offer these types of foods before you bring out the granola bars and goldfish, they (and we!) are more apt to eat them. Also, divide snacks out into reusable containers. Instead of eating from the whole bag or container of snacks, eating from a predetermined portion will ensure you only eat that much, keeping you on track with your healthy diet goals.
Exercise: No matter what time, type, or intensity of exercise you plan on participating in, you need to plan ahead. Just like everything else in this post, get ready the night before. Make sure time is blocked off on your calendar. Get your gym bag ready, including weather-appropriate apparel. Fill your water bottle and stick it in your bag. Exercising at home? Lay out your clothes. Cue up the exercise DVD, so all you need to do is turn it on and press play. Move the coffee table out of the way and set out your equipment. Don’t let anything stand in your way of completing that exercise.
We’re all busy juggling many different areas of our lives. Stop making excuses and do what you need to do to make your goals a reality!
