Basilia,
I know what you mean; the holidays are one of the busiest times of the year.

We are all busy, busy, busy!!  Running around from place to place constantly, exhausted, low on energy, fatigued, eating on the run and devouring sugar and carbs like long distance marathon runners.  The only problem is that we are not burning thousands of calories per day like they do.

Why We Do The Things We Do

First of all, what you are experiencing in your appetite is instinctual, physical and spiritual.

As we move into wintertime, you will start to find yourself longing for rich hearty feel good foods, more carbohydrates and more downtime. These cravings are your body's natural way of adapting to the changes in the season. Our bodies were designed to adapt to the weather, seasons and environmental conditions. As the weather cools down, you have a natural desire to eat warm foods as opposed to cold salads and fresh fruit, you want more bread, stuffing, carbohydrate rich foods and sweet desserts.

The colder weather, darker evenings and end of the summer season are indicators that it is the time to turn inward. Our bodies have a tendency to want to slow down and hibernate in the winter. But typical Americans do the exact opposite. Instead of slowing down and replenishing our energy, we usually end up burning the candle at both ends.

SO you see, our appetite and desire for comfort is programmed in us. That is part of the reason why it is so hard sometimes to lose weight in the winter and especially around the holidays as food is connected to our social life.

More Love, More Meaning

In the Winter you not only want to eat more, you have a desire for more love, deeper more meaningful relationships and you want to be involved in family gatherings more often.  That satisfies your soul, which dies from loneliness.  Holidays are based around God and if you don’t recognize Him as your source for love, strength, power and prosperity, you will feel less joy and significance in your life.

When you understand all these elements that make up who you are, you can see why you have to get your life organized and prioritized. 

Movin and Groovin

During these busy times, it is even more important that you make time to move, dance, play, sing and train your body in fun ways. You know that the right exercise can make you feel better, but you feel as if you don’t have the time or money?

Are you finding it difficult to work on your goals, your dreams, your health and fitness? I know...I use to think the same thing. 

According to John Robinson, a time expert and professor of Sociology at the University of Maryland we have more free time than we think. The best way to find out where your time is going is to keep a journal of all of your activities for a week then analyze it. Be honest, we all have places where we can take out unnecessary errands, conversations, TV watching, searching for misplaced items, etc.  When I first did this exercise I found that I was spending a lot of time talking to people to help them solve their problems or talk through things that did not involve me. I found myself mentally exhausted at the end of the day. I definitely needed to redirect my emotional and physical energy so that I could take better care of myself.

Ink it -Analyze it and then... Change It

Take one day of your life and write down every single activity from the time you wake up until the time you go to sleep.  Don’t cheat. Be honest with yourself so that you can get a true measurement of where your life is going. 

Your time analysis journal will reveal your true activity quotient. If you are not spending at least 60 minutes doing something that brings you closer to your goal every single day, you need to change your activities and then redirect your energy so that you can achieve your goals. 

You can only manage what you measure

As an example, when I was overweight, I would spend at least 30 minutes a day reading magazines that were food related including collecting high fat dessert recipes. I was so consumed with eating and fatty foods that it took up most of the time that I could have been using to reduce fat, yet I was spending over 7 hours per week energizing my downfall. 

What You Think About Expands

When I spent my time thinking about food, food and more food.  That’s exactly what I did… EXPAND!!! I kept getting bigger and bigger. I told myself I didn’t have the time to work on myself; I was too busy working on everyone else.  I thought it took too much time to shop healthy, eat right and prepare healthy food.

I know what you really mean when you said  “I just don’t have the time!”  How much TV did you watch last week, how long did it take you to order that hamburger, it takes the same amount of time to order a chicken sandwich without mayonnaise or cheese.  No Fries Please!

Can you get up 30 minutes earlier to work out? How about go to bed thirty minutes earlier so that you can get more sleep?  How about power walking on your lunch hour? Take my Ab Lab video to work with you and do it in the conference room during your lunch hour or on your break.  Dress comfortably so that you can toss a big beach towel or a mat on the floor and spend 10 minutes doing something that energizes you and helps you have less back pain.

Make a decision to invest time into your future by working out. Put more life into your holidays by investing in your personal energy creation with exercise and a healthy low carb diet. It will also decrease your potential of developing cancer, Diabetes and Alzheimer’s. 

Dance is Healing and Inspiring

I love dance and once you learn how, you will love it too. If you want to really have fun, get a hip-hop video and spend thirty minutes improve your coordination, agility, and overall physical movement capabilities.

Dr. Kenneth Cooper, the father or aerobic science, describes physical fitness as having the ability to do your everyday activities with ease.  That includes gliding down a flight of stairs, running to your car in the rain, carrying bags of hot new fashions without straining your muscles. Chasing your kids around the block, hiking with your family through the mall on the weekend without gasping for air and bending over to put on your sexy new shoes and straining your low back.  The list goes on and on when it comes to everyday movement. 

Sexiness Is About Attitude

If you will change your attitude and put your health first, it will change your life.  Sexiness is about how you feel about yourself.  Women feel sexier when they are rested, have energy and are comfortable with their body. You don’t have to spend all day in the gym to get in shape.  You just have to do something every day for half an hour to get you started.

You won’t be ready for a fitness competition but you will look better, be healthier, have more energy and feel better about your body.

Basilia, I want you to enjoy each day as a gift. Take thirty minutes and run, walk, lift weights, stretch, dance, hike and whatever else gives you a good swear for thirty minutes every single day until January.  You can do it.

I want you to make a few changes in your activity and get on a fat burning diet so that you can spend nurturing time on your body. You must have physical energy and emotional energy to be healthy.  Exercise will enhance your life if you will commit to put in the time.  

Remember your attitude when you were a kid.  You were unstoppable and invincible.  You were always happy and physically active. When you were a kid, junking, skipping, hopping, playing, giggling, laughing, running around with vitality and positive energy. 

Go out there and live; go for your dreams with enthusiasm and vigor.  Write it down, track it, energize it and you will realize it.

Time is on our side. Let’s use it create a dynamic life and build a sexy body that your husband will be bragging about to all of his buddies after he sees you in that sexy new dress.