Getting The Balance Right

We spend a third of our time asleep, a third of our time at work and the remaining third to enjoy leisure pursuits as well as looking after our homes, families and ourselves. The trouble is that the only bit that is flexible is our own time as if we don’t keep the hours at work we get fired, and if we don’t sleep we get exhausted and can’t function. The consequence of this is that, if we’re not careful, we can end up with a really poor work/life balance.

Recently I met someone who takes one-and-a-half hours to travel each way to work. Three hours a day! She has a demanding job and by the time she gets home, she really doesn’t feel like exercising or even cooking a healthy meal. All her physical and mental energy has been exhausted and she has little time or energy left to actually enjoy her life, let alone look after her health, get fit and lose a bit of weight. Not surprisingly she relaxes with half a bottle of wine most evenings with the inevitable consequence of her weight just increasing.

Years ago I used to work 80 hours a week. Yes, I was younger, and my priorities were different but life has taught me that we really should have time to enjoy the flowers in the garden, spending quality time with our husband and family, walking the dog, chatting to friends. Having some space to ourselves too is also important, but we must have enough energy left to look after our health and that means doing some physical activity and eating properly.

It isn’t the cooking of the meals that’s the problem, it’s the deciding what we are going to eat. Having made decisions all day I don’t have enough emotional energy to decide on tonight’s meal so I always sit down at the beginning of the week and decide what the week’s menu is to be. Once the decisions have been made, shopping is organised accordingly and as I drive home I know exactly what is on the menu each evening.

Dieters who plan their weekly menus are much more successful than those who are haphazard in their eating. In my Gi Hip and Thigh Diet the menus are all planned, they are interchangeable if there’s anything you don’t fancy, and there’s even a shopping list for a week. See my website for details here. The diet works and you can lose 7lbs in 14 days on this diet – we have proved it with a trial or 35 volunteers who lost an average of 7.25 lbs in the first two weeks.

How is your work/life balance? What could YOU do to improve your life and make it healthier and happier? Would losing a few lbs and getting a bit fitter help. Think about it today.