As a dietitian in private practice I hear excuses all the time.  There’s always a reason someone drank more than they normally do, or had the fries with the burger, or they couldn’t cook, you know what I’m talking about.  The problem is that these excuses will not get you to your goal so they’re only harming you.  The past few weeks I had two things that could have led to lots of excuses…

• I was diagnosed with tendinitis in my ankle and the orthopedist told me to stay off of it as much as possible and to limit exercise for 2-3 weeks.  If I really wanted to do something I could do the stationary bike and some weights.
• I got hit with a terrible cold that left me exhausted and sleeping poorly for over two weeks.

I can’t tell you how much these two things put a damper on things.  I love my sleep and exercise.  I strive to get 7-8 hours a night, crazy I know with a toddler but I really manage it most nights.  Hannah wakes up between 5-6am (mostly 5-5:30), I know lucky right?  :)  Well that means that I have to go to bed between 9-10pm which I do most nights.  Sleep makes me feel energized and it allows me to make healthy lifestyle choices throughout the day.  Did you know that people who are sleep deprived tend to weigh more?  When you’re tired you’re probably going to make poor eating choices and want to snack more often.  Many nights of mine were disturbed by incessant coughing and congestion, it was awful!  Even though I was tired I still managed to cook dinners and stay healthy, which wasn’t always easy.

Now let’s talk about exercise.  I have a routine and I love routines.  Every week is a little different but 3-4 mornings each week I take Hannah to the gym where she goes to the kids club and I exercise.  It’s a great situation, she loves it (finally) and I get in a great workout.  The first week I was diagnosed with tendinitis, my ankle was so painful I could barely walk so I took the full week off from the gym.  Last week it was feeling so much better since I really listened to the doctor but I was itching to move a bit, so I went three times and did the stationary bike along with some floor exercises (including my diastasis exercises).  Once it started feeling totally fine I eased back into things which felt great!