Feeling the Fall Frenzy?

I’m not sure about you but for me and many of my friends and clients, the fall can feel a bit frantic. Maybe it is because we are sad summer is over and trying to adjust to the new schedules and demands of our family and work commitments.  It also might be because the fall is a bit like a new year where we want to get back on track for some of the nutrition, fitness or other health goals that may have slipped over the summer.

We all have our own ways of adjusting to change but I’m going to share with you my plans to tackle the fall frenzy.  First, I’m going to cut myself some slack this week with my meal planning, fitness plans, work, and home “to-do” lists to simply try and grasp the fall schedule.

Secondly I’ve booked an appointment with myself on September 22nd, the first day of autumn,  for a check-in  to set some goals, plans and boundaries that will work with my new fall schedule.  Alone time or planning time with your significant other, even if it is for half an hour per week to sit and contemplate your health, nutrition plan (shopping, preparing, cooking) and family schedule, is a game changer for sanity for busy people.  Otherwise, often the first thing to go as soon as we get busy and stressed is nutrition and exercise – two of the most important things that are essential to cope with a demanding schedule.

Fall is a great time to start a fitness program because you’re going to create good habits for the holiday season and the upcoming winter months.

How many New Year’s Eves have you spent sipping champagne and vowing to get more fit in the coming year?  And how many times have you failed to follow through?  December 31st over a drink is too late to set goals and make promises.

Here are a few tips to kick-start your fall program:

  • Take advantage of the weather.  Fall can be a treat for the senses: the crisp air, apple picking, pumping carving, a gorgeous canopy of fall foliage, and the crunch of leaves underfoot.  These months are a great time to exercise outdoors and enjoy cooler temperatures.
  • Be an active TV watcher.  Many people get geared up for fall premieres of their favorite television shows. IF you’re going to sit down and watch hours of TV, get moving!  Make a date with exercise and TV.  While you watch, you can walk  or run in place, do standing lunges, do tricep dips off the couch, or lift weights.  During commercials, do push-ups or sit-ups.  In a one-hour show, you probably have at least 20 minutes of commercial interruption.

  • Integrate exercise into your life.  You already know the obvious suggestions: park farther away from your destination; take the stairs instead of elevators;  take a walk during your lunch break.  Here are a few that are less obvious:

    • If you’re spending the afternoon taking kids to soccer practice, instead of reading a book or visiting with another parent, why not walk around the outside of the field while they practice?  Or (if you feel comfortable) warm up and cool down with the kids.

    • Try walking meetings at the office!  You can even get moving while you get motivated – for fitness or other life goals.  Get some inspirational music or find a motivational talk and download it to your iPod;  walk while you listen for 30 minutes.

  • Rejuvenate yourself.  Fall is the time to rejuvenate body, mind and spirit.  Get a massage after your run.  Learn to mediate.  Take an art class.  Treat yourself not just with exercise but other activities that promote wellness so you can feel good physically, mentally, emotionally, and spiritually.
  • Deal with darkness.  The best way to enjoy fall is to exercise outdoors.  But it is getting darker earlier, and staying dark later in the morning, so be smart and safe.  Just because it’s 6 p.m. (or a.m.) and dark, doesn’t mean you can’t workout.  If you’re walking or running outdoors wear a reflective vest and carry a flashlight.
  • Find your motivation.  People are motivated by different things so it’s important to first discover what your individual goals are, whether it’s losing weight, strengthening and toning, or preparing for a race or event.  Goals are NOT enough to get you there; you have to be motivated by the day-to-day workouts.  So choose something you’ll enjoy doing and will be likely to keep up, whether it’s walking or hiking with a friend, working with a trainer, or taking part in a “boot camp” class.

 

Creating a challenge for yourself will motivate you, as will encouragement and accountability.  You want to know when you’re doing a good job, and when you’re not.

Remember, too, that anything worth having takes work!

Don’t forget the 30-day rule.  It takes about four weeks for the body to adapt to lifestyle changes.  That’s why people who give up on their fitness programs tend to do so within the first 30 days.

So, when the alarm goes off in the morning and it’s darker and colder, don’t roll over and hit the snooze button.

Try to stick with a program for a month.  After a month, behavior patterns will have adapted and it will be much easier to stick with it after that.

What goals have you set this fall?