Carving Out Time for YouLiving a healthy lifestyle takes time. No one is going to pretend that it is quicker to go home and cook a healthy meal than it is to stop at the drive thru. This is why eating on the go has become such a problem in the United States. We are busy people, and fattening fast foods are easier in a time crunch.

When you first signed up for medical weight loss* at your weight loss* center in Charlotte, you were probably pretty optimistic about all the time you would dedicate to taking care of yourself in the coming months. As days go by more obligations pile up, and that can sap your ambition to stay on top of your weight loss* goals. Going to the gym, cooking dinner and getting everything ready to do it all over again the next day can drain an entire evening if you aren’t careful. That is where time management tactics can come in handy.

Managing Time to Manage your Health

Too many people get caught up in the long list of things to do and forget to carve out a bit of “me” time in the process. When you first visited your weight loss* doctor, you committed to a healthier way of life. Unfortunately, many people put their health and wellness goals on the backburner as soon as a few obstacles jump in the way.

Here are 5 tips to help you start managing your time, stress and wellness goals:

  • Make a plan: Don’t just make a list of everything you have to do. Plan it all out with time allotments. Dedicate so much time to each task, and arrange tasks by priority. Somewhere in this schedule should be a period for your workout.
  • Learn to say no: Every so often, a situation comes up where you want to help, but you know you don’t have time. You need to learn to say no to obligations that might impede your weight loss* goals. In most cases, the person asking the favor will understand if you really can’t help out.
  • Break it up: If there is one large task that will take a long time to work through, tackle it in chunks. Decide that you will work on it for 30 minutes now, and another 30 minutes later. You might be more productive without the pressure of getting the entire task done at once.

It doesn’t matter how much you have on your list. If you aren’t putting your health first, then you aren’t going to reach your weight loss* goals. When you take care of yourself, you are more likely to get everything else taken care of too.

When you have a clear understanding of what you have to do, how long it will take you to do it and when it needs to be done by, you can move out of the “what now” mindset and start tackling your to-do list.

*Disclaimer: Medical weight loss programs are individualized to meet the specific needs of each patient. Individual results vary.