How to Stay Consistent With Fitness When You're Too Busy

Nikkiey: Real quick, the only ask I could ever have of you guys is to help spread the word so we can help more women lose body fat, build muscle, reach their goals, and feel insanely confident. And the only way we can do that is if you rate, review, and share this podcast. So the single thing I ask you to do is leave a review. It will take you 10 seconds, and it will mean the absolute world to me and may change the world of someone else.

What is going on, you guys? Hey, welcome to The WarriorBabe Show with Nikkiey Stott, co-founder of WarriorBabe. On this podcast, we're talking about mindset, methodologies, and tactics that will help you lose body fat, build muscle, be strong, and feel insanely confident. I am your host, Nikkiey Stott, and welcome to episode 181.

Well, as I shared with you guys in the intro of episode 180, I've taken some time to heal, recover, do all the things I needed to do, and give myself space after the egg retrieval. And by the way, I didn't share this with you guys in the intro of the last one: we got 16 eggs, and of those 16, 9 were mature enough to be frozen. So I am onward to the goal of getting to 20 frozen. There are 15 now total.

But as I shared in the intro of 180, I have not recorded any new episodes this week because I needed to give myself the time and the space to heal. So that being said, today's podcast is one from back in the hundreds of this podcast. And I think it's a really important one to bring back. It's about making sure you guys are staying on track even during the busy months, because I've always heard the excuse of "I'm too busy, I don't have enough time." And dude, we're always too busy. You still have to make the time for yourself to help you get to the goals that you want.

So I felt like it was an important time to bring this one back, because school is about to start back up again. You moms are about to get the schedules going and try to get everybody in gear. So it's also an important time for you to make the time for yourself as well, and make sure you're sticking to the goals you want to accomplish for yourself. With that being said, let's dive into this episode.

My ultimate goal for this podcast today is to stop the "I am too busy" excuse. If you guys are running on that story, and it's the middle of June right now, we're moving into July and you're saying "I'm too busy," I'm going to squash that right now today in this podcast.

Remember, I did a couple podcasts on summer shreds and all these challenges and stuff like that. If you are choosing to start your fitness journey right now, it is probably one of the hardest times of the year to start it, and also one of the busiest times to start it. Because if you have kids, or just in general in the summer months, there's a lot going on. Traveling, kids are home, you're not in your normal routine. So there are all these things flying up in your space right now, and the easiest thing for a lot of people to do is say "I am too busy." But if you're choosing to start at this time, that's on you. You're choosing to start at this time, and there is no better time to start.

So to dive right into it today: the busier you are, the better the time it is to start. Because life is always going to have busy seasons. And if you can't figure out how to do it during the busy seasons, then this isn't going to last. The goals you have in mind aren't going to last. This is honestly, in my opinion, the best time to start. It is 150% the best time to start if you are starting your fitness journey. Because if you can't figure out how to do it during the busy seasons, then being able to do it during the slow seasons isn't going to last.

You can learn so much about your time, your energy, and you as a person by conquering the things you want when you're busy. Because you're going to really pay attention to prioritizing what is so important to you. And this is the best time to do it, in my opinion. What better time to start than when you're busy?

I'm going to share a couple of things that can help you navigate your fitness journey during the summer and during the busy months, but I'm going to save those for later. Before we dive into those specific points: there is no better time to do it than right now. On top of that, if you are busy now, there are all the things you can focus on and prioritize that are important for you to get to your goal.

So whether you're looking at it as a summer or as a busy month, I challenge you to figure it out during this time. Because if you can figure it out during this time, when the slow months come and the kids go back to school, or you're getting back into your routine come fall and winter, what you've just learned how to do for yourself in the summer months with your fitness journey, staying focused and prioritizing, is going to be 10 times easier in those slower months.

Now, if you are somebody who constantly says you're too busy on the reg, like every single one of the 365 days of the year is just busy in general, look. There's probably a plethora of things I could pull out and say, "Dude, let's pay attention to this and let's see how you do have time." But there's one thing, because I see this a lot in my immediate family. I challenge you to look at your screen time on your phone. I challenge you to look at how much time you're spending scrolling on social media. And right then and there, I can tell you, I just found you time. I just found you your time. You have the time to meal prep in that.

This is screen time in general. For people on average, I don't know the exact average, but it's very high. It's probably six, seven hours a day of screen time. And then you narrow it down to what it could be for social media. There's probably an hour or two or three hours spent on social media, scrolling through TikTok and looking at Facebook and seeing what this person said in this comment on this picture. And then you start getting into this whole communication thread about what is going on in this picture from this post, and then you start talking to your family about it and your husband about it.

There's your time. There's your time to meal prep. There's your time to plan your workouts. There's your time to get your shit together and go work out instead of mindlessly scrolling or staring at your phone. So of all the things I could pull apart, that's the one. If you constantly say you're too busy on the reg, too busy daily, I challenge you to look at that number. And I challenge you to get real with yourself.

The other thing I want to challenge you to look at: don't you think there's somebody else on this earth with less time than you making it happen? I know for a fact there is, because there are 15,000 women we've helped so far to date, and I see the women inside our communities who make shit happen, and they have the busiest schedules.

One person comes to mind specifically for me who lost a hundred pounds in nine months during COVID. She's a doctor and has two sets of twins under the age of four. Guys, she never gave me the excuse of "I am too busy." She just tried to figure out what worked for her, her time, her schedule, and her family's schedule, to make sure she did it. You can go to the WarriorBabe YouTube page and actually watch her interview. I interviewed her. It's Marie. In the middle of winter, she put her TRX ropes on her kids' play set and was doing her workout outside. And there are also photos of her kids jumping on her while she's doing push-ups, and her trying to get it done. It's very inspiring.

That woman is a perfect testament. With her schedule and her life, she still got it done. And she probably has less time than you do. And then you're over here saying, "I don't have enough time." But compared to her, you have time. Everybody has the same 24 hours in a day to make it happen. It's all about how you allocate those 24 hours and what you prioritize, the things that are important to you to get where you want to be.

So I challenge you to look at those few things before I dive into a couple of tactics you can take away if you're planning on starting your fitness journey in the summer or in the busy months in general. But I will remind you, there's no better time to start than right now. Because if you can do it in the busiest of busy seasons, then you're going to be able to do it in the slow seasons as well.

So let's dive into the four things that can help you navigate starting your fitness journey during the summer. And look, it's not going to be, "Here are your macro numbers and here's your workout schedule to follow." These are mental things you have to work through to create longevity, and to create how you will keep taking action when the slow months come. Because the rest are things you know you need to do. You know you need to eat better. You know you need to move your body. You know you need to work out X amount of times a week. You know those things. So it's on you to take those actions.

If you're starting out in your journey, you know you have to figure out how to eat better and get rid of the things in your environment at home that are not supporting you. You know you have to choose better options in order to reach a goal. You know that if you want to build more muscle and you're just starting your fitness journey, you need to hit up the weight rack and walk into the weight room. And I'm going to talk in another podcast about how I can help you guys through the anxiety of walking into a weight room. But you know you need to do those things. If you are starting your fitness journey, eating better, working out, and moving your body are things you know you need to do.

What I want to talk about right now, in giving you these four things to help you navigate starting your fitness journey, is more mental than anything. Because if you can get the mental on track, if you can understand why you're doing all these things, why you want to do them, and what you're trying to achieve, then doing the other things you know you need to do is going to be a hell of a lot easier.

So number one, and I did an entire podcast on this, I think it was episode 40: you have to get clear on your why. What are the reasons you want to accomplish these goals for yourself right now in the summertime? If it's June or July right now, why are you starting your journey right now?

And look, let me say this. If it's so superficial that you just want to lose weight, it's not going to hold you through August, September, October. It's not going to hold you through the slow months. It's not going to hold you through the holidays. While it is a great goal, it's very superficial. So I challenge you to go a little bit deeper. Why do you want to accomplish these things? Why do you want to lose weight? Why do you want to build muscle? Always go deeper. Go deeper until you hit a root level of, "This is a serious thing I can hold on to, that I can wake up every single day and be so excited about because I have this why." And it's going to carry you through the slow months, the holidays, all of it, because this is how you create a sustainable, realistic path for yourself.

So ladies, are you feeling frustrated with body changes you're experiencing during menopause? It's time to take control. If you're between 45 and 65 years old and tired of struggling with body fat and muscle loss, WarriorBabe is here for you. At WarriorBabe, we've helped over 18,000 women just like you lose body fat, build toned muscle, and understand their bodies better with personalized plans based on hormone and thyroid testing and more. Imagine knowing exactly what your body needs to see real results, and results that last. Look, don't wait anymore. Take charge of your health and join our community of strong, empowered women. Visit warriorbabe.com/apply today to start your transformation. That's warriorbabe.com/apply. All right, let's get back to the show.

Your why is very unique to you. I'm going to give you some examples of what I mean by getting deep. It's your kids. It's having your kids look at you as a role model when they grow up. It's having your kids see all the healthy habits mom is creating for herself right now. It's speaking in a way that is supportive of your body and of who you are. By you taking action on what you want to do, you're following through on what you say you want, and your kids are going to be able to see that. It's your grandkids. It's having them running around the backyard and you being able to participate in those activities with them. It's having a healthy body when you're 70 years old, because all of this starts right now. The things you do right now matter when you're 70 and 80 years old, and I've elaborated on that in past podcasts.

So you see how there's a feeling there? There's an emotion there. You dug deep to figure out why you want to be healthy. Because it always starts at the surface. It always starts with, "I want to lose weight," or "I am so not happy with the way my body looks right now. I'm about to be in a bikini in two weeks, and I need to start losing weight." Cool, great goal to have, but you're going to start doing it in ways that are not sustainable or realistic, or that may be detrimental to your why of health. So it helps to get a little bit deeper.

When you've established these reasons why, and you understand them, you get so excited to wake up every single day. Then when you have these reasons why, you will give energy to that burning desire and the vision of what you want to become. And all of a sudden, your mind becomes loaded with strong reasons to take action toward what you want. This is how strength develops, you guys.

When you have your deep-seated reason why, and it's not superficial like I just mentioned, it's actually, "Dude, I want to do this for my kids. I want to do this for myself to prove that I can actually do it. I want to do it for my grandkids. I want to do it for my relationship with my husband, because he hears me talk about the way I look and the way I feel, and I want to embark on this journey to feel better in my skin for our relationship." Once you've developed that, your mind will become loaded with strong reasons. Stronger reasons than the superficial "I want to lose weight. Okay, cool, I need to go work out today."

No, it's going to be so much stronger, and those strong reasons are going to help you take action on a daily basis. It's going to be so much easier for you to follow through on that action, because you've created a feeling and an emotion around your why. And then you repeat these things daily, and you have this vision of yourself that you're working toward.

I've talked about this vision, I think in episode four: the person you want to become. Episode four and episode 40 are your best friends right now, especially if you're starting your fitness journey and learning how to navigate it in the summer or the busy months. No matter where you're at, those two episodes are the most important things you could possibly listen to. And if you're a WarriorBabe, or you're thinking about becoming one, these are the first things we send our clients through: the mindset things.

Because like I said at the beginning of the podcast, if you don't get your mindset right, all the things you know you need to do are not going to happen. Because you live in a state of mind where you're thinking all the negative things, and you hate the way you look, and so on. So taking action on eating healthy is a lot harder until you get these things set in stone for yourself. Why do you want to do it? And who are you trying to become? Because she's a hell of a lot different than the person you are right now.

Ladies, are you feeling frustrated with body changes you're experiencing during menopause? It's time to take control. If you're between 45 and 65 years old and tired of struggling with body fat and muscle loss, WarriorBabe is here for you. At WarriorBabe, we've helped over 18,000 women just like you lose body fat, build toned muscle, and understand their bodies better with personalized plans based on hormone and thyroid testing and more. Imagine knowing exactly what your body needs to see real results, and results that last. Look, don't wait anymore. Take charge of your health and join our community of strong, empowered women. Visit warriorbabe.com/apply today to start your transformation. That's warriorbabe.com/apply. All right, let's get back to the show.

So when you have these whys, you pull energy from that vision. You pull energy and ideas about how to navigate your day from how that person would navigate hers. You're looking out into the future at the person you want to become, and she's already accomplished all the things you want. So how is she accomplishing it? What is she doing on a regular basis? How is she planning her days? How is she combating resistance? How is she overcoming excuses? You look out at her, you see how she's doing it, and you pull ideas into your reality right now that you can act on today. These things are so important.

If anybody were to ask me how to start their fitness journey right now, or in the busy months, summer, even if it's fucking January, I would ask, "Why do you want to do this?" And a lot of people always say, "I want to lose weight and I want to feel better." Awesome. Great. Superficial. But why do you want to do this? Why do you want to lose that weight? Why do you want to feel better? Let's dig a little bit deeper.

I'm trying to think of what people used to tell me. I just blanked. I just allowed myself to blank there. We can go really deep here. "Well, my husband and I aren't as intimate as I would like us to be, because I'm very self-conscious in my body." Bam. We just got a little bit deeper there. Or, "My mom, when I was growing up, had a really bad relationship with food, and I think I've pulled those things into my life now, and I don't want my kids to grow up that way." Bam. We've gotten deeper. You see how, when you just get real with yourself, it's so deep?

So I know I just elaborated big time on that first one. But again, you can go listen to episode 40 and episode 4. Those are your best friends right now, especially if you're starting your fitness journey and trying to navigate it.

Number two. When you have your why, you've got to set specific goals. And like I said a second ago, I am not going to encourage you to focus on a weight data point during the summer. Because you're going to be traveling, you're going to be going to barbecues, you're going to be hanging out with your friends, and you may not be 100% on point while trying to start eating right. And hell, that's okay. It's going to be hard to eat a healthy diet in the summertime. And even if you have your why, there are still old patterns, environments, all of these things creeping back up, and they're going to creep up a lot louder than they will in the slower months.

Now, I still encourage you to hold on to your why. But I'm not going to encourage you to focus on a data point. Like I said, people want to lose weight. Okay, well, let's be realistic here. In the summertime, you're doing all of these things. You really want to focus on a weight data point in the summertime? You're setting yourself up for doomsday there. Because you're going to be at it for four weeks, and maybe in those four weeks you were on point 50% of the time. And then you step on the scale and wonder why you're not seeing results, because you've attached yourself to this specific data point. And then you're just defeated.

So I encourage you to focus on a performance goal instead. What we're doing with our VIP community right now in the month of June is a push-up and plank challenge. They start at the beginning of June with X amount of push-ups and planks, and it gradually gets harder through the rest of the month. By the end of the month, they're going to see how much stronger they got with planks and push-ups, because they consistently did what we told them to do on a daily basis throughout the month. Bam.

Think about the difference between those two things. With the weight thing, you're defeated. Because let's be realistic, people will say, "Oh, I'm following it," but you're really not. And that's what a coach is great for, because we're going to call you out on that. Then you're defeated because you step on the scale, but you haven't been consistent, and you're wondering why you're not seeing results. I just rolled my eyes, for those of you who can't see me on video right now. But with the other one, where we're focusing on performance goals and on getting stronger, you're going to feel elated, because you're going to see an actual physical difference in how much stronger you're getting.

So while I think weight loss goals, fat loss and all that jazz are great, during the summer months just be realistic with yourself. Be honest with yourself. To navigate starting this journey, you have to set specific goals, and I encourage you to set performance goals like push-ups, planks, and pull-ups. Focus on getting stronger with your pull-ups. Focus on increasing the weight you lift in the gym. Get stronger in your sets, your reps, your tempo, all of this. I've talked about progressive overload in previous podcasts. Focus on that instead of focusing on a data point, especially in the summertime and especially in busy months.

I've seen this with so many of my clients, especially one of my clients right now who is doing a lot of traveling. It would have been silly for me as a coach to say, "Let's go into a cut. Let's focus on cutting. Let's focus on getting you to your leanest state." I'm not doing her any service there. So what we've decided is very unique to her schedule right now. It's actually pretty similar to the way I'm treating my own maintenance, but she's in maintenance. During the week, she's in a deficit. But on the weekends and during her travel time, she kind of goes with the flow, makes sure she's eating enough, and focuses on being present with her family and friends during her travel time. And in the gym, we focus on what she can do to get stronger.

Because this is the thing: it's all seasonal. You can't be in a cut all four seasons of the year. You can be in a cut for maybe three months, during one quarter out of four, or maybe two quarters. But then there are two other quarters you have to think about that may be busier than the rest. Maybe it's summer. And you've just got to be realistic that you're not going to be losing weight, losing fat, or getting to your leanest state then. But you can focus on getting stronger.

So be realistic with yourself, set these goals, and be honest with yourself. If the next couple of months are so busy for you and you have so much travel, why the hell would you focus on going into a damn cut? Why would you focus on fat loss? Just be realistic with yourself. You should have done that in January. You should have done that in December. You should have done that in February or March. But here we are now. So just be realistic with yourself.

Number three is creating a schedule. That's going to be your best friend when you are so busy, when you have busy months, the summer, and travel. Ask yourself, "When I look at my calendar, where can I identify the best times to get my workouts in? Where can I identify the best time to meal prep for my week?" Easy as that. Create a schedule.

And number four is following through on all the things I just said. You can't establish your why and your goal and then not take any action on it. You can't establish your goal, create a schedule, not take any action on it, and then expect results. You can't do those three things I just mentioned without the fourth: following through and taking action.

And I'm going to add a bonus one right now. Get a coach. Get a freaking coach during this time. When you're in the busiest time of your year, that's the best time for you to have support, when you need it the most. And guess who's going to do that? Guess who's going to create your workouts and your macros based on where you're at, hold you accountable to them, and make sure you follow through? Who's going to help you understand that this is a busy time and we can't focus on a cut, because it's just stupid? It's not realistic. We should have done that before. Who better to have side by side with you, holding you accountable and supporting you through this busy time, than a coach? I mean, it's just so freaking obvious.

So that's the bonus one. Get a coach if you don't have one. Check out WarriorBabe. Information about our program is in the description below.

So those are the four things plus the bonus. Figure out your why. Set realistic, specific goals for yourself. Create a schedule. Follow through. And find a coach. Those are the ways I would recommend you navigate starting a fitness journey in the summer or in the busy months of the year.

And let me remind you as we close out this podcast today: the busier you are, the better the time it is to start. Because life is always going to have busy seasons. And if you can't figure out how to do it during the busy seasons, then it's not going to be realistic for you, and you won't be able to create a sustainable lifestyle for yourself. On that note, peace out, guys.

Hey, guys, real quick. If you're interested in taking your body to the next level, losing body fat, building more muscle, and feeling more confident, do it alongside one of our 30-plus professional coaches. Work one-on-one with her to eliminate all of the guesswork you may have. All you need to do is the work she tells you to do to get to those goals of yours. To learn more, click the link below this podcast and apply to our VIP program right now.