With school starting back and people going back to work, schedules are starting to get busy again! I know I sometimes struggle trying to maintain my healthy habits when my time is limited, so I thought it would be a good time to share some tips on living a healthy life when your schedule gets busy.

1. Plan your week out in advance

Every Sunday, I sit down and write out a meal plan and schedule my workouts for the week. This makes grocery shopping easier and eliminates the decision making process before each meal (I don’t know about you, but I can take literally an hour to decide on what I want to eat). By scheduling my workout IN MY CALENDAR, I am more likely to commit to it. I stick to a 6 day split routine, so I already know what my workout each day will look like, but if that is not the case for you, I recommend writing out your workout as well.

2. Stick to the same foods everyday

My busiest time of day is the mornings. I usually sleep too late, spend longer than planned in my devotional, or get stuck doing my hair or makeup, so I almost always rush out the door. To help with this, I stick to 2 or 3 healthy breakfast options and rotate them. For example, my favorite breakfast right now is a Dave’s Killer Bread Cinnamon Raisin Remix Bagel with Greek cream cheese on top. If I’m extra hungry, I will heat up some turkey sausage links. This breakfast is filling and balanced. Two other options I like are peanut butter and chia seeds on an English muffin or protein oatmeal. You can do this for breakfast, lunch or dinner!

3. Frozen Meals

Frozen meals are SO helpful. Now I don’t mean the frozen dinner plates–I mean frozen chicken or fish or other balanced frozen options. Some of my favorites are frozen breakfast sandwiches from Special K or Jimmy Dean, frozen chicken breasts, frozen turkey burgers, and frozen veggies. Basically any frozen meat, as long as its lean, is a good option. These are good for nights where you are just too tired to cook or when you are running low on food. Just be sure to watch the sodium levels and the fat content.

4. Meal prep or batch cook

For me, meal prepping does not work. If it works for you, that’s amazing and you stick to that. Instead, I batch cook. The way this works is I fix 1 or 2 meals a week. When I prepare this meal, I make more than one serving so I can have it again later in the week for lunch or dinner. Sometimes I even batch cook meats, such as ground turkey, and use it it multiple recipes by adding spices or seasonings later in the week.

5. Give yourself grace

This one is hard for me, but sometimes it just isn’t possible to make it to the gym or eat a perfectly healthy meal. Maybe you worked late or are on vacation, and it just isn’t going to happen. Sometimes you just need the ice cream. And that is okay. One “unhealthy” meal and one missed day at the gym will not kill your progress. Just get up tomorrow and get back on track.