I recently started nursing school, and my fitness goals went out the window the first 2 weeks of classes.  I went from eating completely clean to straight processed junk and I was not exercising at all.   I did this because it was convenient. I thought that by quickly grabbing something on the way home or missing my gym session, would save me time to get X,Y,Z finished.

I completely lost focus of my fitness goals and the reason I started this blog.   I quickly had to re-evaluate my previous plan and adjust it to my new lifestyle.  I needed to let go of the excuses I was making for myself and FIND the time to eat right and exercise.

I work 30+ hrs a week, and I am in class 4 days out of the week.  Two of those days consist of working in a hospital from 7-3, but I manage to eat clean 95% of the time and work out 4-5x per week.  But in order to this, I had to change my mindset and get back to basics. That meant prepping my meals and fitting in exercise in any pocket of time I could.

If you find you are in this same situation, this is was I suggest:

–Focus on your nutrition.  I have said it before and I will say it again, losing weight, being lean and getting ripped is 90% diet and 10% exercise.  If you can’t find the time to exercise pay special attention to your diet. If you consistently eat clean, and in the right macronutrients, you will not gain weight.  If you’re not sure how to calculate your macros, click here.

–Prep your meals.  Don’t give yourself the ammunition to shoot yourself in the foot. Always have clean, whole foods available. I take 1-2 hrs each week to prep 1-2weeks worth of food.  It won’t go bad if you freeze it.  I personally suck it up and eat nearly the same thing everyday. I know what my goals are, so to me its worth it.  Plus, I love the food I make at at the moment its what I can afford. Once you start eating clean all that process junk just doesn’t compare.  Don’t know how to meal prep, I made a video showing my method here.

–Take 1hr to write down all of your commitments (work, school, study time) and somewhere in between all of that, find a solid 12-60 minute pocket of time you can dedicate 3-5x/week for working out.  I work at a restaurant and some nights I am trucking my behind to the gym at 10pm, on clinical days I am in the gym as early as 5am. MAKE NO EXCUSES.  Your workout doesn’t need to be long, just intense.  There are several YouTube Channels like, bodyrock.tv and Zuzkalight that have 12-20 minute HIIT full body workouts.  The plus side of these channels is that you can do the workouts at home at any time, with minimal to no equipment.  There are so many resources out there, take the time to look for them and use them to your advantage.  I am sure you have 12 minutes you can spare in your day.

Lastly, if you are really serious about taking control of your weight, stop making excuses, get out of your own way and just get SH*T DONE.  I promise you there is a way to get what you want, you just have to be willing to put in the work.  If it means getting up at 4am to hit the gym, do it.  If you have to prep your meals for a full month, do it. Wallowing and wishing you had more hours in the day isn’t going to get you the body you want, Period!

I want to hear from all of you. Have any of you had to make some sacrifices in order to meet any of your fitness goals?