THE CALM BEFORE THE STORM......AND HOW TO WEATHER the ROUGH WATERS

She looked me directly in the eyes and I could tell she was going to cry. My heart ached for her. I asked her, "Why are you here." She replied, now tears running down her cheek, "I'm either all or nothing with everything in my life. I need to learn how to be consistent with my workouts and nutrition when life is either chill or manic. I need to learn how to maintain a healthy lifestyle even when life is out of control."

Articulated brilliantly! "I need to learn how to maintain a healthy lifestyle even when life is out of control." Does this sound familiar?

Though I coach clients daily on how to make fitness a lifestyle, when a 24 year old young woman sits across the table in tears when revealing her personal struggle to take care of herself, even the most seasoned fitness veteran will be affected. Honestly it broke my heart; however I do remember quite clearly that I too struggled to maintain a consistent exercise and nutrition routine when life would spin out of control.

Life Coaches use the term Skill Set to describe a step by step approach to managing the daily stresses, obligations, and deadlines of an overwhelming schedule. My therapist coached me on how to implement an applicable skill set when I could not keep my head above water when I first arrived here in Austin and worked from 5:30am - 8pm, while still trying to maintain a social life, a relationship and a healthy lifestyle. With practice and an obvious shift of priorities, I was able to develop a set of practical skills to make even the busiest of days manageable. When life is spinning out of control it is prudent to develop a set of skills to help you maneuver through the expected and unexpected obstacles of your daily life in order to maintain your health.

1. DETERMINE YOUR DAILY AND WEEKLY PRIORITIES. Separate them into the following categories: Personal, Fitness, Work, Home, Social, and Financial

2. MAKE A TO DO LIST FOR EACH CATEGORY. Put this "to do" list on your phone since these days our phones go every where we go. First, make this list the same time and place every day. Next, check the list every 2-3 hours to make sure you are accomplishing what you need to do for the day to meet your set priorities.

3. SET REALISTIC TIME LINES. Determine how much time daily you will need to complete your to do list. Be realistic. Decide what needs to be done today and what - if need be- can be done tomorrow.

4. COMMUNICATE. It is imperative that you communicate your needs, your priorities, and your daily to dos to those who are close to you in your every day life. If your significant other is not aware of your daily and weekly priorities and personal needs, it is likely that there will be a miscommunication along the way and neither of your needs will be met.

5. PLAN AND PREPARE. Especially in the category of health and fitness it is absolutely necessary to plan and prepare your workouts and meals daily and weekly. For example: On Sunday look at your calendar and your schedule and plan your workouts. Since my area of expertise is fitness, let's take a moment to discuss this. FIRST, MAKE YOUR WORKOUTS NON-NEGOTIABLE. I SUGGEST EARLY MORNING WORKOUTS IN ORDER TO GUARANTEE THEIR COMPLETION. IF MORNING IS NOT BEST, DETERMINE YOUR BEST WORKOUT TIME AND JUST LIKE YOUR TO DO LIST EXERCISE THE SAME TIME EVERY DAY. CONSISTENCY WILL PRODUCE RESULTS. SECOND, PREP AND PREPARE YOUR MEALS. ONE CAN CONSUME ON AVERAGE 1000+ MORE CALORIES A DAY WHEN MEAL PREPARATION IS IGNORED. REMEMBER, IF YOU DO NOT FEEL FIT, HEALTHY AND SECURE YOUR LIFE WILL SPIN OUT OF CONTROL.

6. REMAIN FLEXIBLE. One must be able to change and adapt quickly when life is as crazy as it is. Obligations, deadlines, and time lines will be adjusted without consideration of your schedule. When you master the ability to change and adapt - within appropriate boundaries of course - most likely you will still feel in control of your daily and weekly priorities. You may have to change the time you workout if an unexpected meeting is called. First, refer back to your schedule, reschedule the workout for asap, and then attend the meeting.



Trainer's note: As I sat across the table from my client I could not help but to think about how it's unfortunate that the 20 something generation is not learning how to put themselves first. Remember, if you are not in control of what you need in order to remain healthy, fit, organized, and prepared for what ever may jump out in front of you, you will spend a life time trying to catch up....or in tears when you realize your life has spun out of control. We all will find ourselves spinning in circles a few times in our lives. Establish a set of skills to implement in order to "maintain a healthy lifestyle even when life is out of control."