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We've all said it - "I'll get back on track when life slows down", or "I'm way too busy to focus on my health right now". I'm sure for many of us that sounds very familiar, but does it really serve us in a positive way or does it just keep us stuck? In this episode, I dive into 5 tangible tips that keep your goals a priority even in the midst of crazy seasons.
To try a free week of my signature Fit for Hiking program to get you fit from the trails (gym AND at-home options) start HERE.
To try a free week of my signature Fit for Hiking program to get you fit from the trails (gym AND at-home options) start HERE.
For next level fat loss strategies, hormone/gut health help, serious performance goals and unparalleled support, apply for Mountain Metabolic coaching. Learn more HERE.
For more free wellness resources, hiking/travel guides, and other blog posts, check out my website HERE.
What is Fit for Hiking?
Where fitness and outdoors meet. In this space we chat all things hiking, exercise, wellness, adventure, motherhood, and metabolic health from a female perspective! Get ready to learn + be inspired to live your fullest, most adventurous life!
Hi, my name is Brady and I'm a long time fitness professional and Midwest girl turned mountain living hiking addict. In combining my knowledge of fitness and passion for hiking, I've helped hundreds of women get lean and strong for the trails. Think of this as your one stop shop for both education and inspiration on all things female wellness, trail talk and adventure. Hiking, female metabolism, motherhood, nutrition, travel and fitness are all topics you'll hear discussed here. If you are outdoorsy and active, looking to level up your health, unlock your potential, and become inspired to live your most vibrant life, you're in the right place. You're listening to the fit for hiking podcast. 1s Hello everybody, and welcome back to another episode of the fit for hiking podcast. So grateful that you are joining me today. We are going to be talking about what to do for your health when life feels insanely busy, when it just feels like it's one thing after the next, and you just cannot get a handle on your habits because first you have visitors, then you have a trip. Then someone in the family gets sick, everybody in the family gets sick, or you're in a season of a big life change. Maybe you're moving, you're going through a divorce. Maybe you're a new parent, and it just feels like it's never going to be the right time. How do we still work on our health? How do we still prioritize our fitness and health goals when we're in a really insane life season? Um, I feel like this is important to talk about because one of the top things that I hear on calls when I'm talking to people who are interested in Mountain metabolic coaching, or even clients who are in the program, is, well, once things settle down, then I'll work on this or then I can really get in a good routine. Um, and there's a lot to be said for just no longer subscribing to the mindset of once this, then I can prioritize my health. And I want to talk about that today. Um, because I think that this is probably one of the top roadblocks for people when it comes to getting started prioritizing their health. We always think that there's going to be this arbitrary future time when we no longer will have obstacles, when our schedule will be magically clear, and we won't have all of these things that seem to be standing in our way. And while that sounds amazing and idealistic, it's often case not true. Um, there's never going to be a perfect time. Things are always going to be busy. There's always going to be things that come up. Um, so let's talk about five ways that we can work on our health right smack dab in the midst of a chaotic or busy life season. Okay, let's dive in. Number one is to ditch the all start once I'm less busy mindset. So we really need to kind of quit looking for that future time that's going to be more ideal because like I just said, there really is no ideal time to focus on this stuff. It's always going to be a sacrifice. It's always going to be hard. We're always going to have things that come up that feel like they're going to take precedence over our health. But the truth is, if we're not going to prioritize our own health, no one else is going to do that for us. And I think the the deeper we get into adulthood, the harder it gets, right? Like you're you have a lot more responsibility. You're established in your career. Um, you know, maybe you have kids or you just have a lot going on and it feels like everybody else is a priority over yourself. And I've definitely experienced this as a mom, where it becomes harder to justify taking care of myself. But the reality is, if I don't do it, nobody else is going to do that for me. And I'm always a better version of myself mentally when I show up for my own health. Um, the same is going to be true for you. Um, so just understanding that even though your efforts right now may not be ideal, they might not be perfect. It's better to do something than nothing. I think too often we we swing from one pendulum to the other. It's like, okay, either I will do absolutely everything. Like I'm hitting it so hard right now or I can't because I'm so busy, so I'm not going to do anything at all. And I think there's something to be said for living in that middle space. I feel like I've been living in the middle space for years. You guys like, I don't feel like my efforts for my health are like everything I want them to be. I don't feel like I'm doing things perfectly. Things are always crazy in my life with having a two year old and running a business and just life in this stage. Um, and yet I try to show up in that middle space, the messy middle where you're, like, not doing things perfectly, but you're also not just saying, well, screw it, I can't do anything at all. So even if you can't do things perfectly, start with what you can start with what's realistic. This is what I like to do with my clients. And oftentimes I think when people start in a program, they expect a total overhaul. I do not do the overhaul because it's not realistic. If we're setting a precedent for like a total lifestyle overhaul week one, that's going to maybe sound great on paper, but the reality is it's overwhelming and it's not realistic. And so most people just feel like they're failing. So if you're taking on efforts that constantly make you feel like you're failing, maybe look at how aggressive you're going with your pursuits and your goals. Can you find somewhere in the middle to start? And it's not going to be forever. Like you can always make adjustments. You can always. Um, you know, level things up once you get to a place where you have the space to do that. But just remember that something is better than nothing, so ditch that. I'll start once I'm busy. Mindset number two is to establish some non-negotiables. So really look realistically at what you can do even in the busiest of seasons. So think about like the craziest time of your life. Maybe it's right now, or maybe you can think of a time where you're like, oh my gosh, it was so hard to do anything healthy for myself during this time because of XYZ. I want you to think about what you could do realistically every single day, even in the craziest season of your life, and establish those as your non-negotiables and make those a non-negotiable part of your life. Um, so for me, I'll give some examples of what this looks like. And this could be totally different for you based on where you're starting. Maybe it's more, maybe it's a little bit less. Maybe you're like, okay, I think I could like adopt some of those. Um, for me, it's protein being the foundation of every single meal. I always do this now. Like, I don't even have to think about it because it's just such an ingrained part of my life. So this is really become a non-negotiable thing for me. Every single meal that I have has at least 20 to 30g of protein. It's kind of like what I build my meals around. I'm never just having like an all carb or just carbon fat based meal because I know it's not going to satiate me the way I need. I'm not going to be hitting my protein goals. I'm not going to be supporting my workouts properly. So many benefits of having enough protein. So that's something I really prioritize and it's become a non-negotiable. Another is veggies at least once per day. This may seem like, uh, that's not enough. And yes, I always try to do more, but on a non-negotiable level, just like bare minimum, I'm trying to get one serving of veggies a day. Um, the next one is a walk or a workout. Okay, so I'm always trying to do at least an activity every single day. Um, so even if it means for a week straight, I'm just doing walks, at least I'm still getting in my movement. Um, on the days when I'm not working out, I'm still walking. Whether that's a walk outside, doing a walk on my walking pad, or going for a hike, something where I'm moving my body intentionally for at least 20 to 30 minutes minimum. Okay, so kind of look at what what that could look like for you, whether you're setting like a 20 minute time limit, you know, maybe right now you're hardly getting out for walks at all. Um, so maybe you just set your first non-negotiable to be, uh, 15 minute walk five days a week. Okay? So really look at what you can do, and then you can always build upon that. Um, and then following the 8020 rule, as far as, like, food quality and what I'm putting in my body, um, you know, this isn't a perfect science, right? The 8020 rule, it's like, sometimes it's not going to be perfectly that 80 over 20. But really what this means is like about 80% of the time I'm cooking at home, having healthy choices, not eating highly processed fast food type of stuff. Um, you know, I'm being mindful of what I'm putting in my body. Most of the time. Okay, so those are my non-negotiables right now in this season of life. And I found that that works really well for just helping me maintain a baseline of healthy habits, even when I have so much going on. And I don't feel like I have that much to give to my own health. So establish some non-negotiables for you. Maybe it's two things that you feel like you can do. Maybe it's a nutrition goal and a movement goal, and you just nail those two things consistently day in and day out. And so you can add on to that. But I really, really recommend writing this out for yourself. Um, and just brainstorming and make it realistic. Right. Because if you fail right out of the right out of the gate, you're going to feel like, oh my gosh, you know, I guess I just can't do this. And easy to slip back into that all or nothing mindset okay. Number three is to remove barriers. This is such a big thing I talk about with my clients who have a lot going on or in seasons of overwhelm is what barriers can we remove? What things are coming up? That's just making it hard, either mentally or physically, for you to show up in the way that you want for yourself with your workouts or nutrition or movements. Um, so looking at things like home versus gym workouts, if you're just like never getting in the gym and if there's a mental block there for you, can we start doing some at home workouts instead? What equipment can you invest in even if it's just one pair of dumbbells, you know? Um. Is Jim workout actually better? Because it removes some of the distractions that keep you stuck at home, and sometimes you just have a hard time motivating yourself at home. So looking at what is is actually going to be impactful for you right now, and the least amount of barriers for you to just show up and get it done. Um, or how can you get more steps in more easily? You know, if you're sitting at your desk all day, it's probably worthwhile to invest in a walking pad. Um, can you schedule in some walking breaks, look at some ways to incorporate some more non exercise movement into your day. Um, and and try to remove the barriers that are feeling like making. It's just making it hard for you. One thing like mentally that really helps me to do my walking and kind of removes the barrier of just like not feeling motivated is I love to listen to audiobooks while I walk, so I will have specific books that I only have on audiobook, and I only listen to them when I'm walking. So much more likely to be motivated to walk. So it kind of removes that barrier of like, oh, I just don't feel like walking right now. Um, so finding something like that that motivates you, um, another one is like, how do you set yourself up for nutrition? How do you remove some barriers there? One would be ordering your groceries for pickup or for delivery, um, delivery. Typically they charge depending on the store, but pickup is free. I did this this past weekend, and I've only done it maybe a handful of times, and I was like, Holy crap, why do I not do this more often? This just made my grocery experience a thousand times faster and easier. They literally just brought my stuff out to the car and I was like, well, wham bam, thank you ma'am. That was so easy. Um, so looking for little hacks like that, um, ordering meal like meals that are already prepared meal services. There are so many options now for meals that you can order where either you have all the ingredients and then they're like, okay, here's the recipe, make it yourself or ones that are already fully pre-made. I've used factor meals in the past. Um, those are great because they're already pre-made. So like postpartum, that was so great because all you have to do is microwave it and you're good to go. And they have a really great, healthy, high protein options. Um, that's a great way to remove some barriers. Picking a day to meal prep so that you have less barriers during your work week. If you can't afford to, like order, you know, meal services or things like that, just designate two hours of your Sunday to meal prepping. It's really not that much time in the grand scheme of things. It's going to make your week so much smoother and set yourself up for success trying to outsource things. Can you, you know, hire people to help out with certain things if you really just don't have the space to do it? Um, like hiring a coach to write a workout plan for you so that you have less mental energy going towards what the heck you should be doing in your workouts. Take the guesswork out altogether. Um, you know, just removing those barriers is going to make things mentally and physically so much easier. I think oftentimes we feel like if we work harder for stuff, then, you know, we're like winning a trophy. In reality, you want to make this stuff as easy as possible because we're all busy. We all have stuff going on, and you want this to feel as seamless as you can. So don't make it hard on yourself by picking all of these recipes that you have to make that are like 90 steps and it takes two hours to make a single meal, and then you have like a massive amount of dishes if that's going to be a mental barrier for you because you're like, that's so much work. I'm stressed about that. That feels overwhelming. Then stop looking at your nutrition like you have to be making these massively complex gourmet meals all the time. Look for ways that you can remove barriers to just make things easier on yourself. Number four is to look at other lifestyle components that will affect your overall well-being. There's so much more to our health than just working out and what we're eating. Yes, those are two things that are definitely going to move the needle as far as like body composition, strength, how we're feeling, our mood, um, all of these different things. But there are also a lot of other components that will affect, um, just our overall health and how we're feeling day to day. So those are things like laughter. Are you laughing? Are you doing things that feel joyful activities that you're like. Feeling happy doing, um, having good community. Who are you spending time around? Are they filling your cup or are they draining you? Do you feel constantly on edge and stressed out with the people that you're around? Um, spending time outside, getting your face in the sunshine, being places that bring you joy, being in nature, um, hearing birds, hearing water. Things that naturally are going to regulate your nervous system and bring you down out of a stressed out state. Having good work life balance, not feeling like you're working 12 plus hours a day. Um, and that you have no time for yourself. That is just going to drain you over time. And that does affect our health. Um, sleep quality, like getting good sleep and not just focusing on how long you're sleeping, but also the quality of your sleep. Um, getting more water than other beverages. You know, I'm not going to give you, like, an amount of ounces that you need to be drinking every day because that's going to be different for everyone. But, um, you know, just trying to have more water than you have coffee and wine in a day, like, look at your, uh, beverage consumption and see if you can ramp it up with the water and, like, back it down with the other beverages. Um, being mindful of alcohol, you know, not relying on alcohol, um, as something that you're needing to have every single night and your non exercise activity, are you moving your body during the times when you're not actually, you know, completing a workout? Or are you just kind of sitting on the couch being pretty sedentary? All of these different things are going to really affect your overall mental health and physical health. Um, okay. Number five, last one, you want to look at things in seasons, look at things seasonally and basically, and here's why. There's going to be seasons of life when you do have more energy to like push hard towards certain goals. Right. There's going to be times when you're like, I think I can do this right now. Um, and then there's going to be times when you're just like, barely hanging on by a thread and you're just trying to maintain. So just a personal example for what this has looked like for me. When I was in my last trimester, I was on bedrest and then postpartum couldn't work out, was super overwhelmed, had a lot of, uh, postpartum anxiety also just healing up physically? Um, during that chunk of like, you know, 3 or 4 months total, I was just maintaining. Right? I was just, like, trying to. Get by day to day. Like I was just trying to survive and my health was not the most optimal that it has ever been. But what I was focusing on during that time was my non-negotiables. Okay. And now I'm more so in a season of life where I do have the capacity to be like, okay, I think I want to focus on a little bit of fat loss or a little bit of hiking performance or pushing some PR's. There's going to be a time in a season where you're still going to be busy, right? But you might have a little more space in your life to pursue some goals a little bit harder. Just know that you're not going to be able to give 100% every single day, every single week, every single month or season. But you can do it certain times. So while you want to, you know, maybe focus on more rest or in some seasons you also want to focus on pushing it harder. In other seasons, when you have the space, when you expect perfection from yourself all the time, that's when you're going to start to feel like a failure. And this can even apply to like productivity and energy and things like that. You know, we're not meant to operate at our very, very best. 365 you know, there's a reason that there are different seasons in the calendar, um, seasons of your cycle, even, that reflect the seasons of the calendar, which I think is really cool, um, kind of energetically what that looks like. So why do we expect ourselves to be perfectly on top of things productive, have all the energy, have all of like the creativity year round. That's just not going to be the case. There's going to be times of your life where you're like, just feeling like you're jiving with work, like you. You're showing up for yourself with your fitness. You have so much energy, you're just feeling like so good. And then there's going to be other times when you're not feeling very creative, you're not feeling that same energy. And and you're kind of in more of like a winter season. Um, and so giving yourself the grace to ebb and flow with those seasons and not feel like a total failure and also not default to all or nothing when the slower seasons do come about. Okay, go back to your non-negotiables and just focus on what you can still do to maintain your health. Even in the times when you're not thriving. I think that that is something that's not talked about enough in the health space. Instead, we like see examples on Instagram and TikTok and whatnot of just everybody's best, everybody's highlights. And that can be really discouraging. If you are just a normal person like myself, where you don't feel like you're killing it all the time and you don't have a thousand perfect, you know, matching sets, and you're not going to the gym five days a week and you don't have, like, Instagram worthy meals all the time. That's not realistic. And that's not probably even what those people's lives actually look like. 365 okay, so, um, I just wanted to share this episode to give you guys some encouragement that you can still focus on your health, even in small ways. Um, even if it's not an Instagram worthy version, and even if it's not the ideal, still doing something over nothing and showing up for yourself in in the small ways does make a difference over time. Those are still very important deposits for your health that do add up. Okay, so I know this is kind of a quick and dirty episode, but this is something that's been on my mind the last few years, honestly, with like the big transitions of life that I've gone through and I know I can't be alone in that. So I hope that this encourages you today. If you found this episode helpful, send it to someone who's going through a crazy season of life, maybe new mom, or just feeling like, oh my gosh, when am I ever going to catch a break and just have some time to prioritize myself? Um, and hopefully this can encourage those people to just do what you can now make that list of non-negotiables and and get it going. All right, you guys, thank you so much for tuning in today. If you liked this episode, please leave us a rating and review that is so helpful. You can also share, um, the podcast on social media. Get some word of mouth going. Really appreciate your support and I appreciate you tuning in and I will see you in the next episode. Thanks for tuning in to this episode of the fit for hiking podcast. As always, I hope it leaves you feeling inspired and informed on how to take your health and adventure into your own hands. For more content like this, be sure to follow along with my daily posts at Ponytail Underscore. On a trail that's ponytail underscore on a trail. You can also stay up to date on my new episodes being released at Fit Underscore for hiking, and find more free resources at Pony Tail on a trail.com. Happy and healthy trails.