Breaking through the ‘I’m too busy myth’

This is one of the most consistent excuses for not getting fitter or not losing weight.  Nowadays we all seem to be busier.  But do we really not have any time for ourselves? Time to make ourselves better.

This is a great example from one of our Hit My Goal clients. In week one we worked out just how busy they are.

Here is a breakdown of a typical ‘too busy to fit in exercise’ week:

A week in hours = 168 hours

Sleep = 50 hours (average of almost 7.25 hours per night)

Cleansing = 7 hours (daily shower etc)

Food = 14 hours (preparing and eating)

Work = 40 hours (including lunch hour)

Travel = 14 hours (2 hours every day)

TV = 14 hours (2 hours every day)

Social life = 10 hours (1 night out, visiting people at weekends)

Relaxing = 7 hours (just sitting around)

Shopping = 2 hours (weekly shop)

TOTAL = 158 hours

That leaves 10 hours to potentially fit some exercise in every week.  Even if you half that and do one hour of specific training 5 days per week you will get fit and lose weight very quickly.

After 4 weeks we revisited the weekly breakdown. With slight adjustments and better time management they were able to find up to 20 hours spare to dedicate to themselves every week.  They now do simple HIIT dvd 3 times a week at home (40 mins per session), go to the gym twice a week (1 hour), Park run every Saturday (35 mins) and a brisk walk for 30 minutes every lunch hour.  That is 7 hours of exercise every week easily fitted in by someone who swore blind they were ‘too busy’.

Some of the additional time they freed up has also been put to good use.  By doing a bit of research and planning meals ahead they have been able to make better food choices and reduce their calorie intake from an average of 2750 calories per day to 2100 calories per day without dieting.

Needless to say, they have lost a lot of weight and enjoying much enhanced fitness levels.

It turns out they were not too busy after all.