The first alarm goes off in the morning.
I set the first alarm to radio because I tend to not hate the world so much when I hear KLove early in the AM. SNOOZE.
Nine minutes later it goes off again. SNOOZE.
One minute after that my second alarm goes off. The annoying beepbeepbeepBEEPBEEPBEEP (progressively louder) so now I know I need to be getting up. SNOOZE.
The first alarm goes off again. I finally decide to get up.
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| Bahaha |
Familiar at all? No of course not! I’m sure you are able to get 8-10 hours of sleep every night and wake up at the same time every day feeling refreshed and rejuvenated right?? (Gimme a break)
We are all busy.
So busy that some things that are healthy for us, sit on the back burner while we get through our busy days. But the thing is..those healthy things can help us get through the day!! More sleep, excercise, healthier nutritious meals…but how can we fit it all in??
Planning is the biggest thing.
I wrote a post this month on how I plan my schedule and prioritizing and I believe this is the biggest key to success in fitting your healthiness in!
Here are some key things that you need to plan for your health AND sanity.
1. Breakfast. This is a huge one! Many of us are in such a rush (hitting the snooze button umpteen times) that we run out the door without anything in our system to keep us fueled for the morning. Then by lunch we are FAMISHED and eat everything we see!
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| This is a Kashi Blueberry waffle…and it’s blue! LOL Just pop in the toaster and slather with peanutbutter and off you go! |
- Buy some quick breakfast foods. Cereal, oatmeal, peanutbutter toast, and frozen waffles (Kashi style above) are all staples for this girl.
- Make breakfast ahead of time. If you are making waffles or pancakes or french toast on the weekend..make some extra to reheat over the week!
- Plan on eating within one hour of waking up to jump start that metabolism.
2. Fitness. Your fitness is no joke. It’s not one of those things that we can be doing only “when I get the time,” it’s important to our health…physically and mentally according to WebMD. And if you workout, you know this to be true!
- Schedule a time each day when you want to workout. When is the best time for you to workout? Put it in your phone with an alarm. I schedule six times a week. Do I get to all those six times? Heck no! But even if I only workout four times..isn’t that better than not at all?
- Here’s an easy homework/studying workout I do (above). Write down a few different strength training exercises such as push-ups, squats, lunges, planks, etc on a sheet of paper. Add to that one or two cardio exercises such as jumping jacks, running stairs, or running in place. Once every 45 minutes or so during your homework/study session, do a set! Keep a tally and do each move 3 times and there’s your workout for the day!
- If you like to work out at home, keep your favorite workout DVD’s where you can see them. I love Hip Hop Abs and Zumba is also a popular one nowadays. Schedule in a DVD workout and DO IT. You can also check out workout moves in magazines..like the ones I got in the mail from Shape.
- If you go to the gym, I cannot stress enough how important it is to pack your gym bag the night before and load it in your car. Whenever I say to myself, “I’ll just go home after work for a bit and then pack my bag there and go to the gym,” I have such a hard time getting myself out of the house again! There are always things to pick up or to do and the couch always looks way more comfortable than the thought of going to the gym, right??
3. Food. I don’t plan all of my meals (I really wish I was THAT on top of things), but it is important that you have healthy food around the house AND with you if you are out and about. I am loving wraps right now!! Put this beauty together, grab an apple and some carrots and you are off!
Don’t forget the snacks either! Apple or banana make a great snack and I will also do a packaged snack but only once a day! Processed foods aren’t the greatest, but it’s better than not eating OR grabbing fast food!!
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| Turkey roll up! Turkey + spinnach + half slice of jaljack cheese |
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| Special K Fruit Crisps: 100 calories and tastes a little like a poptart |
4. And last we come back to the whole sleep thing. Wouldn’t it be great if all we needed each night was 2-4 hours of sleep? Imagine what we could get done with that extra time! But alas, the good Lord did not create us that way. Most adults need 7 to 8 and teens generally need 9 hours of sleep. So you college students…you may fall into the 8 to 9 hours a night category! I know it’s hard to get the amount of sleep we require but here is what I do for sleep.
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| Um cats are the cutest! |
- I try to get 5 days a week of GOOD sleep. One or two days of little sleep doesn’t seem to affect me too much, but that third day of no bueno sleep is the one that kicks my butt! And generally I will get sick after a week of poor sleep.
- Schedule your sleep. When I have to work early (say 6AM at the Farmer’s Market..urgh) I will set an alarm on my phone that tells me I need to be in bed in an hour.
- Bedtime routine. Get one. Your body needs to know it’s time to shut down. (I may do another post on sleep if you want more details on this. I could go on about this one.)
- Limit caffeine in the afternoon. It’s different for everyone but I can’t do any after 5pm.
- {Continuation: Sleep Environment}
Hope this helped! And that you had time to read it!!
Off to get ready for school! Then back to make some of the delish Pumpkin Spice Orange-Soaked muffins I made for my guest post at Fit Foodie Finds, for my bro’s bday. Happy Birthday Bro! Then headin to a family din din, homework and bed. Busybusybusybusy.
How do you keep it all together?
Any sleep-well habits you’d like to share with us?
~Amanda aka Semi-Health Nut~
