168 hours is the amount of hours in one week. While I was just beginning in the health and wellness industry, my instructors used to nail that phrase in my head, which in turn made me focus more on time management and making the most out of all my time-consuming tasks.

  In many new mothers lives, time is divided between many new and (very important ) tasks that they must complete.

 Naturally, time management is crucial in making plans into realities. By understanding the undeniable power of the “168-hour” rule, we can better understand our time and how we break down those 168 hours.

 Individuals spend generally 56 hours sleeping at night (more or less for some) 56 hours working (or being a mom), and the remaining time we divide between wanted and needed tasks.

- By providing visualization for the hours we have, we can begin to divide out time for things we want to accomplish. For mothers wanting to lose baby weight fast, especially those just beginning to think about an exercise program,  I recommend beginning by setting aside 1-3 hours per week out of the 168. More if you can commit.

Not only will that small amount of time make progress toward whatever fitness or weight loss goal that mother has, but it will also begin to get the “168-hour rule” ingrained into the mental space. 

How many times have you made plans, only to see them completely go by the wayside, and never re-appear? If you're anything like me, that number is higher than we'd like to admit. 

“You don't know what you don't know” Is something my grandfather used to tell me. That phrase resonated with me the more years I spent in the industry. While we are talking about the time we spend out of the 168 hours that we all have, we also want to guarantee the time we are spending is actually making a difference.

 Many of the clients I've worked with in the past have tried numerous exercise “programs” only to not see the results they were expecting or lose motivation halfway through. By making the programs more effective and tailored to specific goals, we are maximizing the time spent to see actual results. 

  2. Fear of Failure

Make no mistake, we all have it. By nature, we are fearful creatures. Through past experiences, or results we have heard from other people, humans do not like to fail, and I believe that is one of the most common reasons that mothers don't reach their goal of seeing the weight loss goal they want. By building off the effectiveness of programs, we can expect a better outcome knowing that we are progressing through exercises and programs that have been proven to succeed

 3. Nutrition

Nutrition is a base building block for every weight loss goal. As much as we hear  “ You can't outwork a bad diet” it remains true through all these years. Being mindful of your habits and pitfalls that are personal to you is essential to reaching the goals you have for yourself. Making small changes to your everyday eating habits, replacing an easy snack with an easy fruit (they don't make you fat) is paramount into a culminating change that overall reduces calories and makes your time spent making good changes, worth it.

In addition to supplementing small snacks into your diet, being mindful of liquid calories is also a major progress point. Most individuals consume close to their daily calories in drinks, and over the course of the week (168-Hour Rule) can end up losing much of the progress made from other small positive changes.  

Similarly in being mindful of things we are ingesting, working with someone that builds effective habits, holds you accountable, and takes the guesswork out of eating is by far the most effective method to reaching our goals.

 4. Making time for yourself and having effective habits

It's something that a lot of us overlook, we tend to focus more on others, or things we have to do than on ourselves. This tip also builds into the 168-Hour rule.

By taking a minimum of 1-3 hours out every week to focus on the exercise goals we have, we have set ourselves up with not only a strong base but also a schedule moving forward.

I always tell my clients to write down a definite hour amount that they can commit to spending on furthering their own personal goals, for some it has been as small as an hour, and for others, it has been as large as 14. Decided your time, and stick to the plan.

Many times, it's far too easy to jump on Youtube or a quick google search for “fastest diet”. While the inclination has been there for crowds of us, the effect those “diets” have on our bodies and the end result is far more detrimental than anything. Helpful practices that I have spoken to my clients about is learning the difference between losing “weight” and losing “body fat” As unfortunate as it is, our bodies do not want to eat FAT, which is why losing body fat is such a more complicated process than simply seeing the weight on the scale decrease.

We (myself included) want to make lasting changes to our bodies, keep our metabolism elevated and continue seeing changes in our bodies and NOT see that weight come back with friends months or years later.

Sticking to proven nutrition and exercise plans not only ensures that we build safe and healthy habits but fast-tracks our progress in making those lasting changes. 

Kara Goucher said: “Don't try to rush progress. Remember - - a step forward, no matter how small, is a step in the right direction. Keep believing.”

While we would all love to have a magic wand and change things we don't like in an instant, life does not always work that way and very rarely with health and wellness changes. Consistency pays off. “Showing up” pays off. Results come from consistency over time, and the best results come from “showing up” while being effective.

Asking for help is something that everyone struggles with. One way to overcome this reluctance is to understand two common beliefs about asking.

1. We underestimate other people's willingness and ability to help.

Most people dread the mere thought of approaching someone they don't know, let alone asking a stranger for a favor (such as borrowing a phone) ”Too Awkward” you might think, or “what are the chances of them actually saying yes?

 Many of us assume that others aren't willing to help. We fear we'll be rejected. Or we figure that even if others are willing to help, no one will have the time or ability.

2. We perceive there to be social costs of seeking help

According to this belief, if you can't figure everything out for yourself, you're telling others that you're weak, lazy, ignorant, dependent, or incapable of doing your job. The good news is that this fear is largely unfounded.

Under the right circumstances, asking for help can actually increase your perceptions of your competence - According to research by a Harvard-Wharton team. For one, asking for advice or help means you are confident and willing to take risks.