How to Exercise and Lose Weight on a Busy Schedule

In my fitness consulting Business, I get the opportunityto talk with people from all walks of life about their health,fitness, and weight loss goals. Whether their goal is tolose weight, gain muscle, stick to a diet plan or program, improve theircardiovascular health, or simply to maintain their current fitnesslevel they all have one common enemy---TIME.

For most of us, the #1 challenge in the quest to stay in shapeand/or lose weight is not exercising itself but being able to actuallyfit an exercise program into our busy schedules.

So how do you do it? How do you balance the demands of family,career, important errands, relationships, organizational responsibilities,and working out? I have found that there are five keys that willhelp you to be able to fit a consistent workout plan into your alreadyhectic life.

Commit to a specific schedule
When you fail to plan you plan to fail. Don't try to haphazardly fit yourworkouts into your schedule without any rhyme or reason. Don't think you'reguilty? If you've ever told yourself "I'll workout as soon as I get some time",you were in direct violation of this key principle.

In order to set yourself up for success, you will need to take the timeto literally write your workouts into your weekly schedule. In order to be effective,you will want to be following your exercise program at least 3 days per week.Anything less would be kidding yourself.

Therefore, right in the midst of all of your appointments, "to-do" lists,etc., should be a written plan for your weekly workout routine, so thatyou will never be in the dark as to when you committed to yourself to go.

Utilize the weekend

Take advantage of the fact that it only takes 3-5 days per week to puttogether an effective, results-producing workout. One trick to help youpull it all off is to workout on the weekends. One of the benefits to thiscourse of action is that your schedule is more flexible and under yourcontrol during this time.

What is also means is that when the hectic weekdays roll back around,you will only be responsible for working out 1-3 days during the work week.

Keep your workouts as a high priority

One of the biggest mistakes that even many people who have scheduleda workout program into their schedule make is allowing it to be bumpedoff of their schedule to easily.

Although things will occassionally come up that will cause you tohave to reschedule the workout you had planned, you must be vigilantin making sure that only the most important emergencies are allowedto temporarily take you off of your plan.

In the event that one of those important emergencies does happenand you can't make it to your workout, reschedule with yourself to makeit up on the next possible day that you are available to do so. If yourown health, fitness, and efforts to lose weight are not a priority toyou, they certainly won't be so to anyone else.

Enroll others in your goals

Don't go at this alone. Let the important people in your lifeknow what you are up to. Your spouse or love interest, parents, children,co-workers, and close friends will often pitch in and help you to meetyour fitness or weight loss commitment to yourself if you make them awareand ask for their support.

Leverage these relationships to delegate some of your normal responsibilitiesor even allow you to shift appointments that you have with them as you restructureyour schedule for your workout. If any of them are into exercise or tryingto lose weight themselves, don't hesitate to form a buddy system with themas you move forward with your program.

Don't beat yourself up