What is the number one reason women executives don’t exercise and eat well? It’s time.

In fact, executives spend 62% of their waking life working.

This leaves little time for other things in life. And if fitness and nutrition isn’t a priority, it gets pushed down the list.  The problem with this is that the number one killer of women in America is heart disease, which can be reduced by 80% with a healthy diet and active lifestyle.  So, we truly need to stop talking about how important exercise and good nutrition is, and do something about it.

Interestingly, in a Harvard Business Review study on women and the economy, two-thirds of survey respondents described themselves as overweight.  And, while women say that their fitness is a priority, in reality it tends to take a backseat. When asked to prioritize the needs of spouses, children, parents, and themselves, nearly all women ranked their own needs second or third—which means, while we realize its important to exercise, and we say we want to take care of ourselves, women professionals have trouble finding time to do so.

Which begs the question: If we did have time, what would the benefits be of exercising and eating well? In addition to avoiding weight gain, good nutrition provides mental clarity, which allows us to make better decisions and perform better at work. And exercise provides a wealth of benefits that truly enhance our quality of life, including controlling weight gain, preventing and managing health problems, boosting confidence, increasing self esteem, boosting energy, promoting better sleep, improving your sex life, and overall makes people feel happier.  So, exercise and nutrition provide some outstanding benefits.  The challenge, however, is just how to fit them into our lives.

How do we carve out time in our lives, given the amount of time we spend at our jobs, and the many competing priorities for what little time is left?  We researched the topic and collected what we thought were some of the best ways to tackle the time crunch women struggle with, and how to stick with it once we get started   We are hopeful one or several of these tips will help you find time in your busy schedule so you can make better health and happiness a reality.

1. Find “Hidden Time Slots:” Accept that you have time constraints as a professional, but look for “hidden time slots” that you can allocate to working out.  Saturday and Sunday morning, Friday after work, Monday morning, and Monday through Thursday evenings tend to be times when busy professionals can carve out a few minutes.  Pick one time slot and commit to it for four weeks.
2. Find wasted time and use it for exercise.  Maybe you tend to waste time, but don’t realize it.  For the next two days, track where you spend your time.  Identify time that is wasted and reallocate it to exercise.  Schedule this out so that the time is blocked just for exercise.
3. Start small and be consistent.  Can you find five minutes, maybe ten?  Allocate this time every day for exercise and build from there.
4. Be accountable.  Having some one or something hold you accountable can keep you on track with your fitness and nutrition regime. Work out with a partner, a personal trainer, or keep score of your exercise with tools like Fitbit.
5. Do something you like. Be creative, try different things. The American Heart Association recommends 40 minutes of exercise for women three or four times a week, and strength training twice a week.  You can find great apps that guide you along exercise programs, like FitStar and Kayla.
6. Follow the 80/20 rule for nutrition.  Rather than all or nothing, stick to the plan you decide on 80% of the time to maintain your good nutrition habits.

In addition to some of links to resources above, we have found two additional resources we are excited to share.  Miles Levine, Performance Coach and Personal Trainer, and Brenda Sillas, Certified Holistic Health Coach, will both be sharing their tips on how women executives can live a healthy life as guests of ours at WealthChoice.  Information on those WealthChoice Community events can be found on our Events page.

And if you’d like to learn more about how we help women professionals live life better, please contact us.