CrazyBusy Mama! (Dot Calm)

I always love hearing about family members and friends who’ve made the decision to change their lives for the better. But every now and then, someone will give up on their journey and go back to their old way of living…the way of living that got them in the mess they wanted so badly to get out of in the first place. They get discouraged again and again and convince themselves that becoming healthy is just “too hard.”

Why does this happen? Simple: They were expecting big changes right away and weren’t celebrating the small victories.

Folks, real life isn’t like “The Biggest Loser” (not putting down the show — any show that encourages and motivates milllions of people to change their lives and bodies is all right by me). Real change in your body, especially if you have a lot to lose, takes time. And sometimes it takes a lot longer than the three months allotted to contestants on TBL.

For normal people (i.e., people who don’t have access to a gym, or dieticians and trainers telling them what to eat and how to exercise on a daily basis), it can take quite a while to lose those extra pounds. Even if you’re almost to your goal, discouragement can be your constant companion: the last five pounds can be tough to get rid of, the cellulite on your thighs can seem as permanent as the spackle on your walls, and your craving for carbs can easily overwhelm your willpower — especially on a bad day.

Don’t give these things (or whatever is defeating you at the moment) more power in your life than they deserve. The only thing they should be able to do to you is remind you that life is full of choices, and that next time you’ll know to make the right choice.

No matter how you think you’ve failed in your quest to get healthy — or to get your family healthy — there are also small victories that you should be celebrating. If you’ve been focusing on the negative, you may have to actively search for the positive. Here are a few of the small victories I’ve been celebrating lately:

• My husband, who’s never been a label reader, will come home from the store now and proudly point out that this item has no MSG, this one has no high fructose corn syrup, that one is low-fat, etc. I don’t lord it over him at all — I’m just so glad to see him making good choices at the grocery store!
• At a recent visit to the doctor last month, the nurse told me I was seven pounds lighter than when they saw me last (seven months earlier). I shot my fist up and said, “Woo hoo!” I’m almost to my goal weight and that’s good news, especially since I’ve been under a lot of stress and haven’t gotten to workout as much as I’d like to.
• All three of my teens exercise on their own without me telling them to. They’re building good habits that will last a lifetime, and that’s awesome. I like to think I’ve been somewhat of a good example.

You know something? I feel better just remembering that little list of victories. Give it a try yourself. The next time you feel down about your progress being slow (or even if you’ve backslid and fell back into some bad health habits), remember the small victories and give yourself a pat on the back.

So what are your little victories? Maybe you just ran your first mile without stopping (heck, maybe you even just walked your first mile without stopping). Perhaps you lost two pounds this week. Or maybe you made it through your first tough workout on Exercise TV. Could be you’re seeing definition in your arms and shoulders…for the first time in your life. These are all terrific achievements and you should be proud!

Getting healthy is a journey with twists, turns, and setbacks, yes, but also victories big and small. Remind yourself — on a daily basis, if necessary — that at this time next month, and even this time next year, you’re going to be a whole lot healthier and way more fit than you are now. Don’t give up!

©2010 Sally Dinius
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Sally Dinius is writer-in-chief here at CrazyBusyMama.com, a blog created to inspire and motivate busy mamas everywhere to feel healthy, fit, and in control of their lives. Follow her on Twitter at http://twitter.com/sdinius, and become a member of the CrazyBusy Mama Facebook fan page by clicking here.

By Susanne Myers

How many times have you said to yourself that you just don’t have the time to exercise? Don’t feel bad; it’s my favorite excuse as well. We all have busy lives and not much time for anything in our schedule. That’s why I wanted to share some of my favorite ways to sneak some exercise into everyday activities with you.

Get Up Earlier. Did you know that you are much more likely to stick with any type of exercise program, if you do it in the morning? Makes sense, doesn’t it. The day is new, and you haven’t had a chance yet to get burned out from long meetings at the office or running around town all day. It’s hard to get motivated to work out after a long day, so why not get it out of the way first thing in the morning?

Set your alarm to go off 20 – 30 minutes earlier than usual and ride your exercise bike, go for a brisk walk through the neighborhood, or get an exercise tape and work out with it in the morning. Exercise is a great way to start your day and you’ll feel energized throughout the rest of your day.

Walk During Commercial Breaks. You just settled down on the couch to watch your favorite TV show, and it goes to commercial. That’s the perfect time to get in a little exercise. Just get up and march in place right in front of the TV until the commercial break is over. Doing this even just once or twice a day will start making a big difference. You can even wear a pedometer to get an idea for how much walking you get done during your favorite TV shows.

Once you get used to your commercial workout, step it up a notch by marching through the entire show. Now that’s a workout! Plus you don’t have to feel guilty about watching Desperate Housewives anymore instead of doing the dishes – you’re exercising.

Work On Your Abs While You Wait In Line. One of my least favorite things to do is to stand in line. Whether it’s at the grocery store, the pharmacy or the DMV, it just seems like such a waist of time to just stand there and wait. That is unless you are working out at the same time. You can get a great abs workout standing in line and best of all, no one has to notice. Here’s how you do it:

Stand up straight and suck in your stomach as hard as you can. Hold and count to ten before you release. Repeat. Each of these counts as one sit-up and is just as effective. Just imagine how many sit-ups you can do just while waiting in line each week.

Go For A Family Hike Or Bike Ride. Instead of just hanging out on the weekends, take the family for a hike or go on a bike ride. You get to spend some quality time with your family and get some great exercise at the same time.

If your life is as busy as mine, give a few of these exercise tips a try and see if you can’t start to find time to work out a few times a week.

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Susanne Meyers is the owner of HillbillyHousewife.com. Check out her fun and helpful ebooks by clicking here.

For more tips on how to squeeze some exercise in your busy day visit Home Based Workouts. Get healthy and low calorie meal ideas delivered right in your inbox. Sign up for a free trial at Healthy Menu Mailer.

Article printed from LadyPens.

I’ve been thinking about excuses lately. I’ve personally been very good at making lots of them, thinking up plenty of reasons over the years as to why I couldn’t get in shape, eat healthy, etc. But ever since I made the choice to change my life, I’ve been blowing some of those excuses out of the water. I’d like to share them with you.

“I can’t exercise because I have this or that physical problem.” When I was 19, I had knee surgery for a cartilage problem in my left knee. I also have it in my other knee, and both can still be very noisy when take I the stairs or kneel . As far as exercise, the crackling sound makes doing lunges quite comical. When I was 12, I was diagnosed with scoliosis, and with fibromyalgia about 10 years ago. The cherry on top of all of this: I also suffer from one or two migraines a month. So what did I do? I stopped listening to myself whine about my knees (they’ve both gotten stronger, thanks to working out), I rarely notice my fibromyalgia anymore, and when the migraines hit, I lay low and allow my body to rest. When the pain lessens, I’m back to my workouts. What’s your excuse? Everyone can do something.


“I’m too tired to make healthy meals for my family.” This excuse can be scrubbed out with a little planning and effort. Do what I did: Motivate yourself by reading about all the ways healthy eating can benefit your family, and how junk food harms their bodies. You’ll find yourself more motivated to make meals that are good for all of you.

“I’m too tired…period.” If you have a physical condition that is causing fatigue, please check with your doctor before starting an exercise program. If you’re otherwise healthy, you may be surprised to know that exercise – hard work that it can be – will actually give you more energy and help you to sleep better at night. I’m living proof. I have more energy now (previously sapped by my fibromyalgia and poor health habits) than I’ve ever had in my life. I feel great! Also, make sure you’re getting enough sleep.

“I don’t have the time/I’m too busy.” You’ve probably heard the phrase, “If you fail to plan, you plan to fail.” It’s true. If you let the trivial busyness of the day take over, hoping to fit in a workout somewhere along the line, it won’t happen. Make it a priority. If you use a planner, schedule it as an appointment.

“I’ll start exercising when my life calms down … I’m under too much stress right now.” My doctor once told me, “If you don’t let the stress out, it will find its own way out.” Ominous words, but very true. Stress left unchecked can cause a host of health issues. Exercise, therefore, is an excellent stress-reliever. During one weekend that was hard for our family, my daughter Erica and I both felt the need to get outside and just walk. We went around our block at a good pace twice (joined for a portion of it by our neighbor’s black lab), joked around a little, and felt pretty good by the time we got home. Was the stress and worry over a particular situation (my husband’s health) totally gone? No, but we both felt better able to manage it. So, really, when it comes to exercise, there’s no time like the present.

Here’s a simple thing to do: Take a few moments to think about the excuses you’ve been making when it comes to getting in shape, then write those excuses down. Next, think of a rebuttal for each excuse, and write that down, too. For example, if you wrote, “I don’t have time to exercise,” you can counter that with: “I can fit in a brisk, 15-minute walk every day.” If walking isn’t your thing, try the 10-minute workouts on ExerciseTV.tv, or through your cable TV provider (I do the workouts that I find on Exercise TV through the Sports and Fitness Channel on Comcast’s OnDemand).

Remember: No more excuses!

©2009 Sally Dinius
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Sally Dinius is writer-in-chief here at CrazyBusyMama.com, a blog created to inspire and motivate busy mamas everywhere to feel healthy, fit, and in control of their lives.

I’m still on my freebie and deals kick this weekend, and I want to tell you about something cool you’ll find when you visit ExerciseTV.

If you know me, or have been reading this blog for a while, you know I’m a huge ExerciseTV fan. My daughter and I do our favorite workouts together as often as our schedule allows (at least a few times a week), and separately when we can’t find the time to work out together. We typically use the workouts on the ExerciseTV channel on Comcast OnDemand, but many of the same workouts can also be found on the website.

Truth be told, it’s been a few days since I’ve been able to do my workouts. I’ve had a doozy of a migraine since Friday, but I think it’s realizing it’s no longer welcome and is beginning to leave. I can’t wait until I can work out again tomorrow. I have been stretching, though, and working out a little with light weights. I can’t stand doing nothing. And that’s a good point…no matter what your reason is right now for not working out, you can always do something. A friend of mine with multiple sclerosis uses a hula hoop (which is going to be great for strengthening her core and helping with her balance difficulties).

Back to the cool thing you’ll find at ExerciseTV.tv:  free workout videos (and some very inexpensive ones). Some are just a few minutes long, but some are longer, like 10-15 minutes (those typically are not free, but are very affordable). I love that — string several 10 minute workouts together and you’ve taken care of working your whole body in just 30-40 minutes. (We all have an extra 30-40 minutes a day. Get off of Facebook, etc., and you’ll see how many half hours you find. ).

Here are the links to some of those free (or cheap) videos for you to download:

Start Walking With Leslie Sansone FREE Mini Workouts–Video Download. 15 mini-workouts. I love walking with Leslie. I’ve had weak hips and knees since birth, but now they’re really strong for the first time in my life.

Amy Dixon 10-minute Workouts. Just $1.99 to $2.99 each. I credit Amy with helping me to get my abs in shape. Fun workouts!

Pink Ribbon Workouts Free Mini Workouts with Holly Perkins. “Pink Ribbon,” of course, represents the Susan G. Komen Foundation and the Race for the Cure. Working out with Holly’s Pink Ribbon workouts on Comcast is what inspired me to start training for next year’s Race for the Cure in Seattle (no date yet, but I’m assuming there will be one).

Jillian Michaels’ Free Mini Workouts – 14 videos. Yep, that Jillian Michaels, from TV’s The Biggest Loser. Get ready to bust your fanny. Really.

Have fun with these! Feel free to tool around the ExerciseTV site for more free mini-workouts. These are great to download and take with you on vacation. (Yes, fall’s coming, but we still have a month of summer before school starts!)

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In 1980, Nancy Goodman Brinker watched her sister, Susan Goodman Komen, suffer and lose her battle with breast cancer. In those days, there wasn’t much research being done regarding that particular type of cancer, and it was barely talked about above a whisper simply because it began with the word “breast.”

Much has happened since then to give breast cancer the national, and now world-wide, attention necessary to find a cure, and it all began as the Komen Foundation, which Nancy began in her living room in 1982 (it is now known as Komen for the Cure). Nancy had promised her sister, as Susan lay dying, that she would do whatever she could to make sure other women didn’t have to suffer from such a hideous disease. She kept that promise.

This week, Nancy was notified that she was nominated to receive the Presidential Medal of Freedom — the highest award that can be given to a civilian. An untold number of lives have been saved thanks to Nancy’s promise to Susan, and I’m sure we all agree that this medal is long overdue. Congratulations, Nancy!

Read the full story here: White House to Award Nation’s Highest Civilian Honor to Susan G. Komen for the Cure® Founder Nancy G. Brinker

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