Site navigation and social media links
Time Is No Excuse
Health | February 05, 2018
We may think that our schedules prevent us from making healthier decisions, but it turns out, we actually have more than enough time to dedicate to ourselves. Whether it’s working out, eating right, or spending time alone to mediate, we can get all of these things done if we set our minds to it.
Today, we can no longer say it’s easy for people to workout as long as they want (and whenever they want) and eat the freshest, healthiest food on the planet if it’s their job. From actors to models to athletes, we seem to think these people have the privilege to be healthy while we are resigned to struggling and being “somewhat” healthy. Which couldn’t be anything but further from the truth!
While they may have different circumstances, motivations and resources, they don’t have more time than we do. There are 24 hours in a day, which is a total of 1, 1440 minutes. Olympic athletes, runway models, and A-list actors do not have 32, 50, or 100 hours in a day. Everyone has the same 24 hours. But not everyone knows how to use them.
What matters most when it comes to your time is what you make of it. So if you think that time is working against you, then think again. Let’s run down a quick exercise that you can do right now to see just how much time you really have to exercise, eat, and take care of yourself.
Get out a piece of paper. Write down each and every single thing you do in a day, from the moment you wake up to when you take breaks to use the rest room or get coffee. Be sure to list the exact time it was done and finished. Your day ends the moment you go to bed.
After you’ve done this, take a look at your typical day. Initially, it might be shocking to see what goes on during those 24 hours. But I want you to pay attention to little gaps or times when you really accomplished nothing.
This could be spending time on your phone or computer. Are you really spending 15 minutes on Facebook? Did you just scroll through Instagram for 30 minutes before falling asleep?
Tally up the total minutes or hours you spend doing these things, from being on social media to watching TV. Once you’re done, prepare yourself for a shock: you’ve got plenty of time to do other things, including self-care. Don’t say you’re ‘busy’ if in fact you’ve got enough time to squeeze in a workout and whip up a homemade meal in minutes. Get off the phone before bed and read a good book instead. You could have even done a 5-minute workout challenge in your bedroom if time really was tight.
When you look at how you choose to spend your time, the little gaps start to show up, proving that we actually aren’t as busy as we thought we were.
The Internet today has proven that we don’t even need to spend ours getting our sweat on in order to lose weight or build muscle. My ZGYM routines are as short as 5-minutes and as long as 20. They may be short, but they’re effective; no minute goes to waste, so you’re truly maximizing your time.
Set your priorities- can this Tweet really wait? Do I have to binge-watch that new show? Get the important things out of the way. Consider your workouts a personal appointment that must be made. If you have to go to work in the morning, wake up earlier, or discipline yourself to workout when you get home. Plan ahead, and prepare for the unexpected.
Again, it’s not that you don’t have enough time; you just don’t know how to manage it. Really consider how important a goal is to you, and figure out as many ways as you can to get it done.
If it’s really worthwhile, there will always be enough time to work for it!
Private Member |
salt lake city, utah, united states
I have done this exact exercise so that I could truly maximize every hour. There are so many things I want to accomplish, health and fitness are only one of them. I honestly do not spend a lot of time on my phone or computer (other than for work). I have my phone on airplane mode after dinner and I don’t turn it on until my morning routine is over with. I do pretty good at the beginning of the week, but damn by the end of the week I am dragging my feet. The only thing I can accomplish is working out, preparing food, and working. I wake up at 5:30 am everyday. No athletes, etc. do not have more time than we do, but it sure would be nice to not have to devote 10-12 hours of your day at work/on the computer! Also, I am finding that planning every single minute of my day does nothing for my emotional health. 😳 .
Private Member |
I have a challenge relating to time and preparing food for on the go. I work a very unpredictable schedule. I can be called last minute to be to work in 30 minutes and then my shift can be long 12 hours or so. Does anyone have advice for meal prep in this situation? I would like to improve how I eat while faced with this challenge.
Private Member |
kingston, ontario, canada
Hi Dawn, I bought a Food Saver, which seals your food for the freezer. When I have time I whip up a meal and freeze the rest so I can grab and go. Also, it’s easy to grab some fruit or throw together a salad or a smoothie. Good luck!
Private Member |
Thanks Erin!
Private Member |
toronto, canada
Thanks Z! Always need some food for thought when I catch myself deep in the interwebs haha.
I also find this book of recipes really inspiring. While it’s not based on any diet for any specific health goals it involves whole foods and it’s based on low income needs. So if you are trying to save money and are struggling to find healthy recipes that don’t break the bank, then this is a great resource! I personally love the broth bag trick. Also if you buy a hard copy instead of the free online book, then a hard copy gets donated to a homeless shelter.
https://cookbooks.leannebrown.com/good-and-cheap.pdf
Private Member |
nancy, france
Thank you Claire! This is fabulous! 🙂
Private Member |
switzerland/, france
my priorities are in my mind, no need to calculate or take a pen. I am not a house-hold fairy for sure, because I don’t have this as a priority and it’s been 11 years I don’t watch TV anymore, I don’t read newspaper nor look for “news”…I listen to radio while driving to work though. Important news will come to my ears anyways.
Most of the time I spend in kitchen supervising my cooking, I spend it to stretch and tone…or at worst I check out IG for feeds from various therapists I follow.
I schedule time to watch a DVD with my kids while crafting. I spend good time with my kids outdoors , moving and having fun. I hate cooking, but like good (nutritional food), so most of time I eat “pic-nic” style (no cooking). On the other side, I enjoy when I have availability to eat warm meals at our cafeteria…mostly veggies.
Private Member |
I think people think fitness and health take a lot of time because they have bought scam products and diets so many times before they have negative associations. Also, a lot of the Hollywood and fad diet/fitness products are lies and the celebrities promoting them don’t use them, but say they do. EVERY olympic athlete/pro athlete and actor is doping. Most models and actresses/actors take the ADHD medication adderall to stay thin, along with other pharmaceuticals and classes of drugs (if not cocaine) and get plastic surgery to stay attractive, but claim it is their raw food diet. People are much smarter than you’re giving them credit for here Zuzka, come on you live in Los Angeles! The Kardashians say they follow these super strict diets and maybe they do, but they leave out the drugs that take away their appetite, then go to Simon Ourian for their cosmetic work and say “It’s this butt workout device I’m selling!”
Private Member |
seattle, washington
Not that Zuzka and I are close, but in the past we chatted. You are wrong here. Zuzka does what she say she does. She is a pretty straight shooter. What makes her different from other celebs is she is very consistent in working out, eating and sleeping. These are the keys to success not drugs. You may have short term success using steroids but unless you are very careful the drugs will screw you up.
Private Member |
hailey, id
With the greatest respect and friendship in my heart and on my lips, Chris, I hope to share a new perspective on my read of Britt’s comment. 🙂
I feel Britt’s disdain for the fakery that’s evident in the ‘busy CA folks.’ I can relate to her thoughts about giving people more credit than they deserve, but Z was not ‘crediting’ people in her post. To the contrary, Z is sharing valid points on how EVERYONE has choices about how they use their time – including the famous and wannabe’s.
I don’t read Z’s thoughts as being judgmental of any particular group, rather, I read her post as bringing awareness to our minds so that we can see we’re all LESS busy than we claim to be.
how do you find time to workout, Chris, and Britt – since this is your post 😀
wishing you the best and just sharing my take on Z’s awesome post!
Private Member |
Hey guys, I was not accusing Zuzka of using drugs and cheating! I was addressing that she used a motivational sentiment that we choose how to use our 24 hours, when it has much more to do with applying effective systems. I’m sure she’s just being positive and supportive, but I’m saying that when it comes to people wanting to look like a model or actor or athlete, there is something much different at play, and so many people’s dreams of looking like a beautiful model have been stomped on over and over from buying scam products and workout programs and diets that do not deliver the result that only plastic surgery and complex drug stacks can.
Zuzka is not at all like that, her advice has helped me immensely! Especially with the postural therapy and stretching, I’ve actually injured myself before from lack of knowledge, because those are not ‘sexy’ and exciting and tend to be left out of fitness products. Also, steroids are not the only thing that can make someone lose weight and look good, and the nebulous allusion to ‘steroids’ and ‘plastic surgery’ don’t really help either, due to the vague nature of it. I think that people really have unlimited potential and can achieve the look they desire, but it requires precise information, or you’ll just fail again and again because you’re chasing what is not really there, and beating yourself up when you fell for dishonest marketing, like the Kardashian’s and their fake butts, for instance. They used to have fitness programs and all manner of cosmetics, promising the look that they got from a very expensive plastic surgeon. Like Khloe Kardashian’s “Revenge Body” show, none of the contestants came out looking even above-average or like Khloe, because that result does not come from diet and exercise alone.
I wasn’t calling Z judgemental, I was pointing out a more nuanced point to perhaps why many people don’t start working out: because they wasted their time and effort, hurt themselves and got disappointed before, and don’t want to be disappointed again. Not necessarily because they are short on time, that’s just the surface excuse.
And to answer your question Tanya, I have been working out consistenly every day since I was diagnosed with diabetes in 2004. I am in excellent health because of it and thank heavens for Zuzka’s work. It is because of the discipline and habits I have built up over time that I can tell a disciplined person when I meet one, and most people are not very disciplined! Yet many people get a phenomenal results and chalk it up to things like ‘genetics’ and ‘natural talent.’ I also have used many pharmaceuticals and supplements for my diabetes, and have come to realize how professional athletes and performers use them to keep going, then credit something like a trainer and nutritionist for their physiques. There’s a cool netflix documentary called “Icarus” about this, and tons of information that exposes the truth is out there if you look for it. It’s hidden because if everyone knew, it wouldn’t be so impressive lol.
Private Member |
seattle, washington
That makes sense. There unfortunately are lots of fake things in the world and we all can fall for them. It is possibly why there does seem to be a lot of burn out in the fitness community.