Are you participating in the Whole Life Challenge? If so, then congratulations on being AWESOME and working on changing your life for the better! If your answer is no, all I can ask is “Why the heck not?!?!”

The most common answer is: “I don’t have time.” Why? Does everyone actually have schedules so jam packed that they can’t spare about 12 hours a week to cooking healthy food and exercising? All 168 hours of the week have already been claimed for something more important than your health and fitness?

I’m sure we have all uttered the phrase at some point or another regarding things we need to do, but why? This excuse allows us to not feel guilty about not following through on something that needs to be done.

Don’t have time to cook something you know you should be eating? It’s then acceptable to eat something more convenient, and probably something your coach wouldn’t approve of.

Don’t have time to hit up CrossFit or do your active recovery before or after work? It makes it easier to accept the fact you aren’t hitting your goals.

Now here is the cold hard fact… “I don’t have time” is a LAME EXCUSE! (I can hear the “buts” from here…)

“But I have kids that take up a lot of time!” Tell that to the parents that bring their kids to CrossFit with them, and sometimes even workout together.

Now is time for a little perspective: I don’t have time is code word for it’s not a priority. Try saying it that way and see the difference. I don’t have time to exercise–exercising isn’t a priority. I don’t have time to cook–eating healthy isn’t a priority. My health isn’t a priority. Sounds much different, huh?

Don’t have time to change your health for the better? MAKE TIME. Do a personal inventory of how you spend your time. Chart it out hour by hour. You will probably find gaps of time that you don’t know where it went or it could have been spent doing something with a higher priority (like your health for example….just sayin’).

How many TV shows or movies do you watch a week (when you could be exercising)? How much time do you spend on the internet/computer (when you could be improving your mobility)? How much time do you spend cooking unhealthy food or waiting for it to be prepared for you (when you could be making a meal your coach would be proud of)?

“But that’s how I wind down! Sometimes I just need to chill after a stressful day at work. I had a hard day, I deserve this {insert guilty pleasure food here}.” Here’s another cold hard fact: There are always going to be bad days…it is up to you how you cope with them. Spoiler alert!! Exercise and a healthy diet help lower stress hormones. Take the dog for a walk or go for a jog instead of watching that rerun you have already seen.

It’s great to do things that relax you, but don’t use this to rationalize bad behaviors.

At the beginning, I mentioned 12 hours being how much time you need to eat healthy and exercise. I know most of you are calling BS on me right now, but it’s true!

For exercise, to follow the guidelines of the Whole Life Challenge you need to spend at least 10 minutes of activity a day to earn a point. Say you already go to CrossFit 3 times a week; that means you will spend 4 hours and 10 minutes a week on activity (70 minutes on your 10 a day and 3 hours for CrossFit).

For cooking, most people imagine that to eat Paleo you need to cook every single meal every single day. So not true! The trick is to find fast easy recipes and cook in bulk. Instead of cooking one meal, cook 3-5 and freeze the rest. Make your own healthy frozen meals for when you are at work or when you just don’t feel like cooking. If you stick to this and make time for cooking, you will probably only be cooking 3-4 times a week (say about 2 hours a meal for prep and cook times, 6-8 hours cooking). Hey, even try multitasking and go for a 10 minute jog while your food is cooking in the oven!

I know I don’t need to tell you how important your health is; you are already a CrossFitter! You know it should be a priority and you are the only one who can make it one!

So let me ask you again, are you participating in the Whole Life Challenge?

– Registration Opened: August 1st at https://www.wholelifechallenge.com/wlcfall2013/partners/crossfitwesthouston

(Friends & Family may play along with you, but you must be registered first to invite them to join!)

– Entry Fee: $44 through Aug 7th for everyone–all members, friends, and family (minus $5 with your affiliate’s discount code—ask your coach for it! $49 August 8th until the games Start Sept 7 (minus $5 with your affiliate’s discount code—ask your coach for it!)

– Challenge Starts: Saturday, September 7th

– Your first step: go to https://www.wholelifechallenge.com/ now and use your affilate’s discount code to get $5 off when you register.

For more details, talk to a staff member or your coach!