By Colin Hebb, Health Columnist
Time—who has any these days? End of semester is approaching, every charity in existence is holding some sort of fundraising event, exams are just around the corner. And daylight savings time just made getting up that much harder.
In the constant battle with time, we tend to cut out things that may not seem necessary or vital. Physical activity and nutrition are usually high on the chopping block.
Hold up, though. Was it not just a mere couple of months ago that we were talking about life changing goals? We were making exercise and eating a priority and nobody, not anything, was going to stand in our way.
‘Tis the season for high mortality rates of New Year’s Resolution goals. If you made it this far, you deserve credit, but beware: the probability of surviving March madness is abysmal.
Good news: it doesn’t have to be this way! Here are a few tips on how to maintain (or restart) your health goals, even in the face of the unending burden.
1. The day planner
Dust it off and use it. For some, this is their best friend. When not near, life is somehow not right. For many though, the planner gets tossed aside or not used fully. When it comes to exercise, you absolutely should schedule it in, and schedule it in at the same priority level as work/school/beckoning call of a significant other/etc. Those who relegate exercise to a secondary activity, most often find a reason not to do it. After all, we’re students—the workload never actually ends.
By treating your active time as a “must-do” rather than a “could-do”, you greatly increase your chances of doing it and will feel better and more productive as a result. In the end, you could actually find yourself getting more done by taking that time to get moving.
2. Get a Buddy!
If you haven’t already found someone to be active with, now might be a good time to do it. While it may seem you are alone in your fitness battle, you’re not, and I can assure you, someone in your life is facing the same March monster that’s after you.
Think hard and ask around for someone to do some or all of your workouts with. This makes it more of an obligation and copping out now affects someone else, too. It just makes it that much harder to let activity time slip through the cracks.
Whether it’s a Zumba buddy, running partner, or a weight spotter, there’s always somewhere where a friend can make it easier to get off your butt.
Find someone reliable, though. If they are going to bail on you every time you plan to workout, you don’t want to create a new potential excuse for yourself not to go.
3. Plan your meals.
Plan your meals ahead and make them in bulk! It is a well-known fact that planning helps to keep meals healthier. Last minute decisions skew much more towards the “convenient” options more often than a pre-planned meal selection. You don’t necessarily have to make it in advance, but if you at least know what it’s going to be, you are more likely to stick with that plan than if you simply wait till you are hungry and the urgency of eating decreases your willpower.
For those on busy schedules, making meals in advance can also prevent you from falling for that hamburger and fries from the closest fast food joint. Whether you pack them for class or have them waiting for you at home, doing meals in advance helps ensure you are making choices when hunger is at a lower influence. Similar to not getting groceries while hungry, you probably should avoid setting up too many long, convoluted cooking plans while hungry as well. The chance they get shelved is probably going to be fairly high.
The other advantage to making meals in advance is that you can avoid having to go through the set- up, preparation and waiting steps numerous times. By making meals in bulk, you can make three to four meals at once using similar ingredients. Rather than cooking one chicken breast, make four and then just add whatever touch you like to make them unique (or all the same). This saves time and effort and gets you well ahead of the game if you anticipate a few busy days ahead.
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