5 Strategies to Fit Exercise Into Your Life

If you caught our recent posts on exercise, you must be delighted to now know that regular fitness actually makes you happier, smarter and younger - science says so! I love it when studies prove things that we already intuitively know is good for us. And these facts can really motivate us to lace up our running shoes and hit the gym because it's not just about looking good, it's about creating a healthier mind and emotional state too.

If you are feeling a little overwhelmed with the craziness of life -- career, kids, spouse, family and errands, you are not alone. Studies prove that when women are stressed, the first two things they sacrifice are sleep and exercise. And it's no wonder we are stressed because these are the very things we NEED to help us better manage stress.

Finding time to exercise doesn't have to be a chore. Try these five strategies for making it a priority in your life...

1. Get organized: Choose one day week where you take 10 minutes to look at your calendar and literally schedule exercise into your day for the remaining week. If you spend 30 minutes watching TV, surfing the internet or reading celebrity gossip mags, then you definitely have time to fit exercise into your life. Make it a priority over less important things.

2. Fit it in where you can: If the thought of hitting the gym bores you to tears, then instead get more active all throughout the day so you can avoid the dreaded treadmill. Here are some simple ideas: Take the stairs up to your office, get up from your desk and walk to the washroom and stretch once an hour, park your car a few blocks away from your office and walk to work, go for a power walk at lunch, buy an exercise DVD and do 20 minutes in your living room either first thing in the morning or as soon as you get home from work, take swimming lessons once a week, carry ALL your groceries to the car instead of using the cart -- the ideas are endless.

3. Start simple: You don't have to follow a specific exercise regime and commit to a program -- this can be overwhelming if you are starting out from scratch. Begin each day by making a commitment to yourself that you are simply going to be more active and fit it in where you can with the ideas in strategy number two.

4. Get a buddy: The buddy system never fails. If you have a friend with similar goals, this is a great motivator because when one of you wants to bail on exercise, likely the other one will be the motivator! Keep it simple, just like point three. Rent a bunch of exercise DVDs and do them with a friend two times a week in your basement.

5. Eat well: When you eat well, you feel well and when you feel well, you tend to participate in activities that create a healthy body and mind, such as exercise. The two go hand-in-hand, exercise and good nutrition go together like almond butter and jelly. To get the most of your workouts and provide the basis for feeling energized during activity, what you put in your body, you will get out. A burger and fries is not a post-workout meal and won't make you feel very joyous, but eating all three macro-nutrients -- complex carbs, protein and fat such as brown rice, asparagus and grilled salmon is a step in the right direction.

Now that you have five strategies for getting up off the couch and finding time to make exercise a priority, you have no reason not to do it. And you don't have to wait until the new year to start. You could start tomorrow -- remember start simple and stick with it!