I don't have time to workout (and other lies I've been telling myself)

Here is a list of lies that I have been telling myself for the better part of 6 years since Nora was born:

1. I don't have time to workout.
2. I don't have time to plan and prepare and cook healthy meals every day.
3. Losing weight is so much harder now than it was before.
4. I'm too old to be as fit as I was before or wear "that size" again.
5. Other things are more important than any of the things listed above.

But here's the truth:

1. I DO have time to workout. No person who has children and/or who works full time just magically has time that carves itself out for things like exercising.  I know I didn't, but it's not as though the time wasn't available. I'd be embarrassed if I added up all of the time I spend playing and socializing on social media. Trust me, I have time. I've had time all along. I convinced myself, though, that the time to workout didn't exist. I've often said either to myself, my husband, or friends, "I will never be able to workout 6 days a week like I did before I had kids. It's just NOT POSSIBLE."  I believed this with all my heart and soul. Except for the past 6 weeks, I've been working out 6 days a week, and guess what? Nothing else of importance has suffered as a result. My family and pets are still fed and bathed and exercised and socialized and loved. My house still gets cleaned, as much as it ever did, and that's in large part because of my husband, but that's nothing new. He's a keeper.  My school work still gets done, and if it doesn't, it's still because of my wasted social media time, and not because of my 30 minute workouts.  And EVEN IF I wasn't doing BOD workouts in my own home, it is literally a 5 minute drive from my house to the gym-- if there's traffic and I have to stop at a red light.

I have always had time to workout. I guess I just didn't want to.

2. I DO have time to plan and prepare and cook healthy meals every day. Much of what I said in #1 applies to this one as well. "Having time" is really about making time or prioritizing, isn't it? My whole family is eating much healthier than they were because I am making time to plan, prepare, and cook meals that align with my nutrition plan. Because I'm doing this for me, my kids are eating fewer hotdogs and chicken nuggets than they were, and I think each of them might have choked down a bite or two of squash or zucchini a few days ago. It's not that I didn't already feed them healthy foods-- fruits and vegetables every day-- but now they're seeing and trying new things, and that's pretty awesome. Also, we're eating less takeout, and that's definitely saving us a few dollars.

Being honest with myself and making a change has positively affected my whole family.

3. Losing weight is NOT so much harder now than it was before. It just isn't. There, I said it. Look, I'm not saying that our bodies don't change as we get older. They absolutely do, and I know that there are people who have metabolic or medical issues that do make losing weight more of a challenge. However, I have been groaning about this for years now, and do you know what I've discovered over the past 6 weeks? That before now, I was half-assing it.  I was giving a partial effort and complaining that I wasn't getting the results that I previously got when I was giving 100%.  However, in the past 6 weeks, I've lost roughly 16 lbs, and it really hasn't been that hard. I mean, it's taken planning and follow-through with my meals and workouts, but with those things in place, it's not been difficult to lose weight and inches and feel tremendously better about myself in a million indescribable ways.

The only person I was fooling (and hurting) was myself.

4. I'm NOT too old to be as fit as I was before or wear "that size" again.  Truth be told, I have no idea how to quantify how fit I was before versus how fit I could be or will be in the future. Also, there is no way for me to know what size my pants will be 6 months, a year, or 5 years from now. The more important thing I need to be telling myself here is this: NONE OF THIS MATTERS. 14 years ago, I was squarely focused on simply making healthy choices and getting myself into a healthy weight range. 10-12 years ago, I was in a healthy weight range, and I became very preoccupied with wearing a certain size and having a certain body fat percentage and being able to wear a 2-piece swim suit. If I'm really reflective about this, I think part of my spiral back into old habits is because I lost focus on what was important. Sure, there were other things along the way that didn't help my cause (babies, moving, new jobs, the death of my mother, and so on...) but when it comes down to it, I believe if my primary focus had remained on my own personal health and well-being instead of my dress size or the definition of my abs, there's a chance I may not have found myself back at square one. For me, this has been one of those "live and learn" situations. When you know better, do better, and I'm going to do better.

Being healthy for myself and my family will remain my focus from now on.

5. Other things are NOT more important than any of the things listed above. I don't think I actually thought this "out loud".  It wasn't a conscious and strong-held belief that other frivolous things were more important that health and wellness, BUT this is the only reasonable explanation for why I let myself buy into lies #1-4. I'm having a hard time now even imagining how I could have bought into this narrative. What things have I been doing that were more important? The only possible thing I can think of is spending time with my girls. Do you have any idea how many push ups I've done nose-to-nose with my 2 year old in the past 6 weeks? Or how many times my 6 year old has hovered around me pretending to be Autumn Calabrese in the 21 Day Fix video? My time with my children has not been compromised as a result of the time I spend working out or in the kitchen. If anything, it's been enhanced. Also? Having me here for more years is more important than having me at their disposal for those 30-60 minutes each day (on those days when mommy just needs to exercise in peace haha!)

When I look at the big picture, it becomes clear that making choices that positively impact my health is more important than almost anything else I can think of.

So, if someone out there happens to be reading this, I know that my situation isn't your situation, and yours isn't mine, but if you've been telling yourself any of these lies or any other lies that are holding you back from not only what you want but from what would make you a better, stronger, healthier, happier version of yourself, stop it.

Consider what's important. Look at the big picture. Tell yourself the truth.