Why am I overweight? Part 3: Time

  Let's face it, most of us have some idea of how to loose weight.  Eat right and exercise sounds so simple, but let's face it doing the right thing can take a lot of time.  The hour you spend at the gym is an hour you could be doing other things and the healthy meal might take another hour to prepare while the pizza chain delivers.  For me incorporating healthy habits into my busy schedule is a constant struggle.  I remember nights I came home tired and it was much faster to just make the calorie dense main dish and not take the time to make lower calorie salad.  I am still trying to figure out how to  incorporate my health into my life but I will share some lessons I've learned so far.
  The first struggle is exercise.  Finding the best time to work out, is no easy task and the solution is different for everyone.  I have tried working out before work, after work, and in the evening and decided the mornings work best for me.  This is often difficult, because I have never been a morning person and making myself get out of bed early enough to go to the gym before work takes a herculean effort.  However, working out in the evening was often derailed by invitations from friends and family, staying late at work, leaving work hungry, or just loosing track of time once I got home.  So despite my loathing for mornings, I attempt to drag myself out of bed early in the morning.  I found I have the most success, if I properly prepare the night before.  I make sure my gym bag is packed, along with my breakfast and lunch.  If I'm cooking dinner in the crock-pot, I need to make sure that I get as much prepared the night before as possible.

   This brings me to the second struggle: healthy eating.  Let's face it, it is difficult if not impossible to eat healthy without at least some time spent on food preparation.  But a little time spent up front, can save hours later.  First I did some research.  I bought several cookbooks that seemed to have a lot of recipes that followed my diet plan.  I made good use of two books in particular The McDougall Quick and Easy Cookbook and Fresh from the Vegan Slow Cooker.  Once I became familiar with the recipes and which ones suited my needs, I was able to plan meals around my schedule.  I also try to do some prep work when I have the spare time, so I have less to do when I am busy.  Today, for example, I made two large salads we can eat on for several days during the work week and peeled oranges so we would have a healthy snack.
   It is hard to incorporate a healthy lifestyle into a busy schedule, but it is not impossible.  Do you have any tips that work for you?