Creating Time You Can Count On

CREATING TIME YOU CAN COUNT ON

Over the past few weeks it seems like everyone I know is becoming super busy. For those with kids, the school year is in full swing, homecoming dances, fall sports competitions, exams looming.  As the weather begins to cool off, visions of Thanksgiving and winter break begin to tease everyone’s mind and put them in planning mode. College students are settling in to the start of mid-term exams, and some of my health coaching college kiddos are emailing me for “help!” because they are starting to notice their clothing getting snug around the middle. Friends are telling me how work is suddenly so busy and they are the heaviest weight they have ever been. What is going on? This is stress people!

When you feel under pressure, and you have stress, your body starts releasing “fight-or-flight” stress hormones like cortisol, that are produced in the adrenal glands. When your stress and cortisol levels are high, the body actually resists weight loss. Your body is smart, it wants to provide you with extra energy and strength to compensate for this stress, so it hoards the fat you eat or have present on your body.  In addition, with increased levels of cortisol, our body also does not respond as well to leptin, the hormone that makes us feel full, so we eat more. That is what is causing that “belly bulge”.

Diet, exercise, relaxation, yoga, proper sleep….all of these things can help you reduce your stress levels, calm your body down, reset your hormones and help your body end this cycle of hormone imbalance so you can regain control of your life, your weight, and ultimately your health. However, in order to incorporate any of these positive strategies step one is: CREATE TIME YOU CAN COUNT ON.

We cannot be available to our clients 24/7. We cannot be the only person on call for our children day and night. We cannot internalize our responsibilities and believe that we need to do everything ourselves. We need to rely on others. I will say it again, in order to create balance and take back control of your health, you need to CREATE TIME YOU CAN COUNT ON.

What does that mean? Well, it looks different for everyone. For a stay-at-home Mom or Dad, maybe it means dedicating one weekday while the kids are in school where you create “ME” time. No volunteering in the classroom, no room-parent meetings, no bake-sales. Instead find time to address your physical and emotional needs. A nice long walk in nature, take an exercise class, go to a museum, read a book. Reconnect with who you are as a person, not as a Mommy or Daddy.

For the busy executive, maybe it means choosing 2 days a week in 2 hour time intervals, where your clients know you cannot attend meetings, respond to text messages, emails, or calls. This is time where you address your own needs, in whatever form that looks like. For some, a mid-day massage. For others, 2 hours to write the proposal you need to get out, with no interruptions. When you learn to set boundaries on your time with your clients, they will not be angry. On the contrary, when you take control of your schedule you earn respect of others.  Developing personal boundaries sends a message to others that you know how to examine your priorities and do what is important. Clients see you respecting your own priorities, and incorporating structure in your personal life and they develop a trust in you that you will do the same when it comes to their business needs.

You will never find an exercise routine that will work if you cannot count on a set time frame each day when you can do it. You will never get your eating under control if you do not have a set time weekly to do your meal planning. You will never feel fulfilled, and you will continue to use food to compensate, if you do not create time you can count on to ponder your hopes and dreams and plan for them. You will never get a good night’s sleep if you are struggling to put away that laptop, stop replying to emails, and create good bedtime hygiene. In order to accomplish any of these health building activities, you need to CREATE TIME YOU CAN COUNT ON. (Have I said that enough yet?)

One of the best ways I have found to help my clients to do this, is to start by working with them in my 6 month Health Coaching Program. I schedule appointments with them twice a month at the same day and time each session. Eventually this time slot becomes a TIME THEY CAN COUNT ON, to address their health concerns, and create a plan to take back control of their health. My hope is that they will continue this habit when they have completed my program. My goal is to help my clients to “crave” that positive feeling of well-being so they will feel a need to carve out time each day to focus on their health and well-being.

If you would like to learn more about my Coaching Program, and learn ways to understand that CREATING TIME YOU CAN COUNT ON is not selfish or wasteful, but a necessary step to achieving weight loss, lower stress and overall well-being please email me at harmonioushealth@sbcglobal.net or to schedule a complimentary initial consultation SIGN UP HERE 

Harmoniously yours,

Suzy