Become a Creator today!Start creating today - Share your story with the world!
Start for free
00:00:00
00:00:01
#114: How organisation can transform your health, fitness, and daily life
786 Plays1 month ago
Ever feel like life keeps getting busier, making it harder to prioritise your health?
In this solo episode, I talk about the power of organisation and how it can completely transform your approach to fitness, nutrition, and overall well-being. As we take on more responsibilities, managing our time gets trickier - but with the right strategies, staying on top of your health goals becomes so much easier.
I’m sharing practical, time-saving tips on meal planning, grocery shopping, and tracking calories to help you stay consistent without feeling overwhelmed. Plus, I’ll walk you through how to schedule workouts like appointments, break down tasks to free up time, and create a structured routine that actually works. If you’re ready to take control of your health through better organisation, this episode is for you!
Episode Breakdown:
[00:00] – Welcome to the Kate Hamilton Health Podcast
[00:34] – Why organisation is the secret to a healthier lifestyle
[01:18] – The challenge of balancing responsibilities and health goals
[02:15] – Simple, effective tips for staying organised
[05:35] – Meal planning and prepping made easy
[13:49] – The key to tracking calories and staying consistent
[21:34] – Wrapping up + exciting updates on upcoming group coaching
Links & Resources:
If you enjoyed this episode, please subscribe, leave a review, and share it with friends who might benefit. For more health and fitness tips, follow me on Instagram and TikTok @katehamiltonhealth.
Music b LiQWYD Free download: hypeddit.com/link/xxtopb [http://hypeddit.com/link/xxtopb] Promoted by FreeMusicPromo [https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCbycji-eySnM3WD8mbxPUSQ] / @freemusicpromo
Recommended
Transcript
Introduction & Podcast Plans
00:00:09
Speaker
Hello everyone and welcome back to another episode of the Kate Hamilton Health Podcast. So today's episode is going to be a solo pod. Like I promised in the last one, I'm going to be doing a lot more of these. So we'll be sprinkling in some solo podcasts among the interview podcasts just so I can cover a different topics around a healthy lifestyle in relation to kind of what I'm doing with my clients, the kind of coaching that I do offer.
The Role of Organization in Health Goals
00:00:34
Speaker
So we're going to dive into a topic today around organisation. organization is often a really overlooked area of building a healthy lifestyle, of losing weight, of getting fitter, of getting stronger, no matter what your goal is.
00:00:50
Speaker
Organization, I would put up there as being one of the most important things to have in place to be able to reach your goals, no matter what your goals are. So whether you are looking to run a marathon,
00:01:03
Speaker
lose some weight, whether you're looking to get stronger in the gym, whether you're looking to build muscle, it doesn't matter. You need to be organized, especially if you're like me and you've got a busy lifestyle, you've got a job, you've got a career, you've got a family, it makes it harder. So a lot of people ask me, why is it more difficult to lose weight as we get older?
00:01:23
Speaker
And yeah there's some biological factors, obviously, but am a firm believer that things get more difficult as we get older because life gets more complicated as we get older. We have more responsibility within our jobs.
00:01:36
Speaker
We're climbing the ladder. We're raising small kids or we're raising teenagers. I don't know which one's worse. haven't decided yet. We are looking after aging parents, caring for other relatives that it may be sick or getting elderly.
00:01:51
Speaker
There are tons of other responsibilities apart from just ourselves. So when we're 25, it's much easier to just zone in on us and getting fit and getting healthy and having the time to do that. So like I was asked this question on a podcast I was on recently, what's the biggest barrier for people over 40 in losing weight?
00:02:10
Speaker
And I am a firm believer it's time. And the answer to time is organization. So I'm not going to spend too much time on this because I think I talked about this in the last episode, but I hate that saying, make more time for yourself. It's you can't make more time.
00:02:23
Speaker
Time is finite. We only have a certain amount of time in our week.
Improving Organizational Skills
00:02:28
Speaker
We've talked about that eliminate, delegate, automate model to put in place for creating more space in your week for you.
00:02:36
Speaker
But then when you have more space, you have got to be organized. OK, this is everything. And I just want to say that organization as well is not something you are or something you aren't. Organization is a skill that you can get better at. it All of us can develop this skill. It just takes practice.
00:02:53
Speaker
And I'm just going to talk through some of the basics right now in relation to my own life. OK, if I'm thinking about, you know, my own work, the kids, school, after school activities, meetings, appointments, dinners, lunches, bedtimes, bath times, birthday parties, catching up with family and friends.
00:03:09
Speaker
Like our weeks are chock-a-block. And I think, you know, when we were in COVID and lockdown happened and we were forced to slow down and suddenly our calendars were empty, I do believe that we were being taught we we have to slow down a little bit. And I think we all said, didn't we, we're never going to go back to that busy, fast-paced life that we had before COVID. But here we are. It's just as busy, if not busier than ever.
00:03:33
Speaker
So like, how are you supposed to find time for yourself within the crazy schedule?
Realistic Scheduling for Health
00:03:38
Speaker
So when you've done that exercise that I talked about in the previous episode, where it is eliminate the things that you don't need to be doing yourself and that you don't enjoy, delegate things that can be outsourced to other people, either by asking for help or hiring and then automating the things that have to be done in your routine And in that automated part is where we want to fit in the things for you.
00:04:05
Speaker
OK, when will you get your steps in? When will you get your workout in? How many workouts are you going to do that week? What are you having for dinners for the week? When will you get the groceries in for these dinners?
00:04:18
Speaker
Are your calories planned and tracked for the day ahead? When will you have time to reflect on your day or journal? And when will you actually, this is a really good one, when will you actually next get some alone time?
00:04:30
Speaker
These things need to be put into your schedule. Now, what I will say, don't say I need to work out five days a week if your schedule is already chock-a-block. Be realistic. Start small. Just walking a little bit more than you usually do. You know, if you currently don't go for a walk any day.
00:04:45
Speaker
Schedule in a 10-minute walk every day. You can build from there. You know, with workouts, start with one workout a week, two workouts a week. You'd never need to be working out every day. You know, working up to three to four workouts per week is more than enough. And when I say workout, I'm talking strength training.
00:05:00
Speaker
You have to put all of these things into your schedule like appointments. And think about this. If you had an appointment with someone else, like a doctor or a hairdresser or to get your nails done or ah an appointment with your child's teacher, you'd make it happen.
00:05:15
Speaker
and you wouldn't let them down. So please, please, please stop letting yourself down. You deserve better. So everything that you put into that schedule for you, I want you to see it as a being as important as making an appointment to see your doctor and keeping that appointment. okay So value your appointments with yourselves as much as that.
Meal Planning vs. Meal Prepping
00:05:35
Speaker
In relation to meal prep, first of all, because I know a lot of people will ask me, do I need to be prepping meals every single week? And the answer is no.
00:05:45
Speaker
Like I already have to cook dinner for five people every night of the week. There's not a hope in hell I'm going cooking and a second dinner to make lunches for myself for the week on top of that, or, you know, second and third dinner in a day to try and have all these things boxed up and prepared. and And like, I could think of nothing worse. Like that is not how I want to spend my Sunday. However, some people enjoy doing that and find it quite easy. Like one of our KHH coaches, Lindsay, like she's great for meal prep when it needs to be done and she enjoys doing it. And there are lots of clients that I work with that really do enjoy doing And that's fine. But I just want to say now, if you're someone that's like, oh my God, how I supposed find time to meal prep? You don't have to, especially if you're cooking dinner every day. So I'm going to talk a little bit about kind of meal.
00:06:27
Speaker
Although you don't need to meal prep, you do need to meal plan. Okay. This is the recipe for success. I'm going to talk you through what I do and I suggest you do something similar with what works in your schedule though, okay?
00:06:38
Speaker
I sit down once a week. So I get up on a Saturday morning. I actually got this tip from Lindsay as well. She's getting loads of shout outs today. I get up on a Saturday morning before everyone else because I wake naturally quite early now and I go down to the kitchen and I get my little calendar out and my laptop out and I...
00:06:57
Speaker
make myself a lovely little coffee. It's quiet. There's no one there. So I'm getting a bit of a alone time as well. And I plan all the dinners for the week ahead. Like, what are we having for dinner? Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday, next week.
00:07:08
Speaker
I look at the week ahead at the schedule, take all of the week's activities into account. You know, what night have we got football training? Have I any meetings this week? Is there any days where Dave's not there? And I look at all the week as best I can. now We can't foresee everything. And I then plan the dinners based on the week ahead. Okay. So simplicity on the busy days, creativity on the quiet days. And that's really, really important. And you don't ever have to be creative, but some people enjoy being creative and want to try fake ways and different recipes.
00:07:36
Speaker
And that's great, but don't try and do that in a day where you're rushing and out to get your child to football for 7pm. That's just madness. So like on Monday nights, for example, I don't get back from swimming lessons till 6pm and I have yoga at 8pm and i don't want to miss yoga, but I also have a two hour window to get homework done and dinner cooked.
00:07:53
Speaker
So every Monday we have fish and baby potatoes so because I can put the baby potatoes in the pot while we're doing homework. The fish, ah usually salmon is what we'll do. And that just goes into the oven for 20 minutes. And I just usually do like a pot of like frozen vegetables on the side.
00:08:08
Speaker
Or if I have salad-y bits, I'll just throw that on the side and it's done and there's no thought involved in it. However, like I have like a chicken satay recipe that I love. Doesn't take a huge amount of time, but it needs more time. So I'd never do that on a Monday.
00:08:20
Speaker
that's kind of nicer to have maybe on a Thursday or a Friday when have a bit more time. So like, don't be afraid to make things a little bit more convenient for yourself. Always make sure that you've got a dinner that's going to work with it. And that's why it's important to look at the week's activities as well.
00:08:34
Speaker
Also, when you're meal planning, plan what days you're going to the gym or what days you're going to do your workout. Plan when in these days you're going out for your walks, like literally schedule your week, including the meals. Okay. Then make a shopping list and go grocery shopping right away if you want. Now what I do is I open up my laptop with my lovely little coffee and I do an online shop and it saves my favourites so it's the same things every time I've got my meal plan done so I know what I need for the dinners with lunches.
00:09:02
Speaker
you can always have, like, do an extra portion of the dinner you're cooking for leftover lunch. Like, that's a great way. Like, you know, there's five of us in this house, so I'll usually cook a recipe for six people and keep an extra portion of dinner to have for leftover lunch.
00:09:14
Speaker
Otherwise, for lunches, there's nothing wrong with having a sandwich. Just fill it up with loads of chicken or turkey or, you know, Whatever protein source you want to put into your sandwich, put loads of salad-y bits in it have a wrap or something like that where you can put loads of salad-y bits, loads of protein in there.
00:09:29
Speaker
Have some low-fat mayo or some hummus or something, whatever sauce you want to put in it as well. like It's okay to have a sandwich or a wrap for dinner or for lunch. Just chop up some vegetables. to have on the side. You know, some like I'd always do like sliced cucumber or sliced carrot or a bit of both, sliced peppers on the side or get loads of tomatoes and spinach and lettuce and all into the wrap.
00:09:48
Speaker
And then just having a mandarin and an apple or something on the side for your little lunch dessert is perfect or yogurt or, you know, protein yogurt, whatever you enjoy. Or you can even have like a little chocolate bar after it and that's okay. So like your lunches don't need to be complicated.
00:10:02
Speaker
Just have what works for you. Just make sure there's a decent amount of protein in it and, you know, a decent amount of vegetables with your lunch as well. whether Now that could be a salad as well. it doesn't have to be a wrap or a sandwich. You can make a big lunchbox salad, whatever works for you. And with the salads, actually, I love, so the chicken that I always put in my salads or my sandwiches, I just, again, i can't, like my mother gives out to me, she's like, would you not just cook a chicken for the week and then you'd have chicken bits of chicken to have every day. It's like I should.
00:10:28
Speaker
So anyone wants to do that, you could cook a chicken and to take it all off the bone and put it into a lunchbox have chicken there in your fridge for the week. I just couldn't be arsed, if I'm quite honest. And I love the Carol's Honey and Chili Chicken Pieces. Now, I get them in Tesco, but I'd say you get them in Dunn's or Super Value. Anyone who's in Ireland listening, you'll get them anyway. They're so good.
00:10:46
Speaker
They're so tasty. I put the whole packet in. So it's kind of, I suppose, expensive in a way. I think they're like £2.50 a packet. So, you know, if I'm having a few every week, then it's kind of expensive. But anyway, it's really nice in a salad or a sandwich.
00:10:58
Speaker
What I do then is I get like the carrot salads and the beetroot salads and the couscous, you know, the little packets of salads. And that gives lovely flavour to the salad. So this is really easy stuff that you can just buy every week in your shopping and you have it there.
00:11:10
Speaker
It can be for your side salad with your dinner or to make like a protein dense salad for your lunch and it's just easy. So like all of this stuff going into the grocery shopping and yeah I sit there in the morning and I have the grocery shopping done before anyone else gets up. It's delivered.
00:11:24
Speaker
Actually lately it's been, I've done it on a Saturday morning and it's delivered by Saturday evening, but you know, could be delivered Sunday or Monday, whenever suits you. When you find breakfast and lunches that work for you, just be as repetitive as you can bear.
00:11:36
Speaker
OK, because it takes away that decision fatigue. You're not exhausted, constantly thinking about food. What am to have? What am I going to have? And with dinners, like if your family is anything like mine, your kids like the same few dinners, you're going up having the same few on rotate anyway. And that's OK as well.
00:11:50
Speaker
So it just eventually you'll get into a routine with your grocery shopping. And the great thing about this as well is when you have meal planned and you do you have all your ingredients for the week,
00:12:01
Speaker
there is literally no waste. You have no idea how satisfying it is for me. On a Saturday morning when I'm doing that shopping list and I'm doing my grocery shopping online, and I'm looking in the fridge, being like, what do we need? And there's no waste in relation to the vegetables or meat or sandwich fillings or anything like that all look because I've planned for it so it's all been used and it's just so satisfying and you know to know that you're not wasting food as well is fantastic and also just in relation to lunches eggs like you cannot go wrong with eggs scrambled eggs omelets egg mayo sandwiches or wraps like eggs are a great source of protein and healthy fats so that's also a really good one to throw in there for lunch like and then you can always just have them in your house all the time
00:12:40
Speaker
Do try and keep things as repetitive as you can bear.
Snack Planning & Calorie Tracking
00:12:43
Speaker
And with the meal planning, what it's going to do, it's going to stop you like when you're wrote you've collected the kids, you're rushing home from work. What are we going to do for dinner? And then you just grab like frozen pizzas or whatever.
00:12:52
Speaker
Everyone in your house is going to be fed better. Everyone's going to be nourished better. So, you know, as well as doing it for you, do it for your family. I like to do it in on a weekly basis because I hate nothing more than having to pop into Tesco midweek.
00:13:07
Speaker
It like really pisses me off. I like to just have it all in one go. And then we just have to pop up to Sentra to get, you know, bread and milk throughout the week and but any bit tiny bits that we need. It's just a great way to kind of budget food as well. Money-wise, so you can do this a few days at a time, whatever works in your schedule. So if you want to do like, you know, meal planning, shopping list, and and you want you enjoy going to the shops, that's fine you have the time and do it every couple of days. But also,
00:13:32
Speaker
Keep in mind when you're meal planning and you know what you're going to have for breakfast, lunches and dinners, you know, give or take, it'll stop you buying loads of other crap that you don't need in your house. And then there's less stuff to be snacking on and being like, oh, why did I eat all that packet of biscuits?
00:13:45
Speaker
You can't eat the packet of biscuits if they're not there. So that's another point as well. my ultimate organization tip ah of all time, and this one should be non-negotiable. okay Whether you are looking to build muscle, whether you're looking to lose weight, whether you've got a performance goal like a race or a competition, plan yourself.
00:14:05
Speaker
and track your calories every night for the next day. Okay. So whether you're tracking calories for, you know, to make sure you're getting enough protein, carbs and fats for your sports performance, whether you're tracking calories to build some muscle, whether you're tracking calories to lose body fat, how can you expect to reach your calorie target or stay within your calorie target or eat enough protein or get it enough carbohydrates in or, you know, eat enough healthy fats if you don't plan for it?
00:14:31
Speaker
Like, you know, if you're guessing, you're messing. You need to have a plan in place for this. So make this a habit. So habit stack this 9pm. Let's say what at 9pm if you sit down and watch TV at that time and you're probably scrolling anyway, get it done.
00:14:45
Speaker
Set a reminder or an alarm on your phone. And as soon as it goes off, drop what you're doing and track your calories until this becomes a habit. Eventually it'll become a habit. You'll just do it every evening when you sit down to watch TV and it's done. And it's just so crucial to head into the following day with a plan and being organized.
00:15:04
Speaker
It isn't a case that you're being so rigid that you can't make changes. But you know that you have a rough plan in place whatever but for breakfast, lunch and dinner if everything in the day goes according to plan. Now, you know we all know that that doesn't always happen.
00:15:16
Speaker
And that's fine. But you will know you'll have it in place. You'll have your plan. And if something out of the ordinary happens, you will be making an informed decision rather than doing something impulsively or feeling guilty for having something. You know, it drops the emotion out of it.
00:15:32
Speaker
So let's say, you know, you have your breakfast as normal. You go to work. and you have your lunch with you. And then someone, I've said this example before, but I like to use this example because it works well.
00:15:43
Speaker
Someone comes in to work with a box of donuts. like I'd really, really love a donut. You've got your calories tracked for the day. Now, maybe you can make it work. Have a look at your your calories and be like, oh, actually, you know, I've left 400 spare there. Great. Okay, I'll have the donut. And then you're having a donut guilt-free and still working towards your goals.
00:16:01
Speaker
Now, you might look at your calories and' like, oh, if I have this donut... I won't be able to have the homemade oven chips that I was planning on having with my dinner today. I'll end up just having salad or, you know, I won't be able to have my chocolate bar with my cup of tea later or whatever it is, you know, or I'll have to have a slightly smaller whatever.
00:16:18
Speaker
But you can make that decision and you can stand by that decision. It might not be worth it. It might be. But at least if you've planned and if you work in an environment where there's always cakes and things brought in, like when I worked as a teacher in the staff room, there was always stuff there.
00:16:32
Speaker
So what I used to do is just bring my own little purple snack bar or whatever it was, or my little Freddo bar with me to school. Because although, you know, some people would say, oh, you shouldn't be having a chocolate bar with your lunch every day.
00:16:44
Speaker
If it's within your calories and you're eating three healthy meals a day with enough protein, carbohydrates, fats, and plenty of vegetables, a little chocolate bar with your lunch is not going to kill you. And also I found that much easier to be like, oh, stay away from that that tin of biscuits that I'm not really that bothered about. so But if I didn't have my Freddo bar,
00:17:01
Speaker
I'd start dipping into it. Whereas I could have my Freddo bar for 95 calories and know that I've had something sweet and I don't feel deprived. But that only happens if you're organized. And but like I know i might this might sound like the most boring episode ever, but organization does not make things rigid. Like it really doesn't.
00:17:21
Speaker
If anything, organization really does set you free. it It gives you a sense of freedom. It gives a freedom of mind. It means you can stop focusing and obsessing on food all the time. You take that little time the night before and you and you you plan ahead. A lot of it's going to end up being repetitive. You get in a routine with food.
00:17:38
Speaker
You know where you like to have things. You learn a lot about your habits and your emotional attachments to food at different places as well. And it's going to give you that little bit of control, but in a positive way. And it's going to give you that flexibility. So just give it a try and just see the freedom
Diet Breaks & Goal Setting
00:17:53
Speaker
it brings. It also stops the anxiety of being like, oh, what's the point of me sticking to my calories now that today on Tuesday when I know I'm going out?
00:18:00
Speaker
with the girls on Saturday night. And then we've got brunch in my mother-in-law's on the Sunday. And and I'll show you, look, i'll start again next Monday. It's like, okay, no, you can actually plan ahead, keep your days structured and then plan for the weekend.
00:18:16
Speaker
So that's the other thing as well, which I know I was talking about with the tracking the calories the last day as well, is, you know, you can look at your calories throughout the week. And if you've planned, to if you've looked far enough ahead in your week to plan your meals for the week, you will see,
00:18:29
Speaker
the social occasions that are coming up in your calendar to be able to plan your calories around as well. And within reason, it's also okay sometimes to take structured diet, if we're talking about dieting, taking structured diet breaks where you're taking a little break from tracking, that's also okay. Or increasing calories and tracking at maintenance or in a surplus. And that's also okay too.
00:18:49
Speaker
So it's not about doing everything perfectly, but it's about putting these systems in place to make life easier for you. So if you do have a goal, and I always say with your with your goals, take them kind eight to 10 weeks at a time.
00:19:03
Speaker
So I actually just had a call with a client and as I'm recording this, this is, it's the, what is it? The 20th March and she has 10K race now that she's going to be training for at the end of May.
00:19:14
Speaker
So I'm like, great, that's two months. We focus two months and all of our calories, our habits are going towards that goal. And all the body composition perks and progress that's going to be made will be a byproduct of that main goal.
00:19:28
Speaker
And then we'll have a new phase after that race is over and we'll we'll give everything a new focus. So it's really important not to, you know, look, oh, was this my life forever? like So set yourself.
00:19:39
Speaker
something to work towards that's eight to 10 weeks away. It gives you something to work towards, then structure a diet break in there where you get to relax a little bit and then we push on to whatever your next goal is. And you know the world is your oyster. Let's get rid of the stigma.
00:19:56
Speaker
that organization is boring. I'm all for organization. I think it actually allows you to be able to relax and enjoy the good times then because you have a little bit of structure and organization in those ordinary days.
00:20:08
Speaker
So it's not like you should be structured and organized at the you know like at your sister's wedding or you know when you go on holidays. It's like, obviously, you want to relax and switch off on the special occasions.
00:20:20
Speaker
course But what we want to do is get rid of the chaos out of the day-to-day life. We want your day to day, those that ordinary time that goes on most of the time, we want that to be nice and smooth and run smoothly and not be taking too much energy away from you.
00:20:34
Speaker
And you can be tipping away at it to reach your goals because remember, it's always about consistency over intensity. You don't want things to be too intense because then you won't be able to stick. It'll be all consuming. You won't be able to stick to it.
00:20:47
Speaker
You want to just be tipping away at it in the background and making it manageable. And the most important thing to make something manageable is to automate it, to make it an into your routine, to get organized and it gets easier with time. And just remember, everything new is hard at first.
00:21:02
Speaker
So if you're sitting in your comfort zone, you're not going to change. You're not going to move towards whatever goal you want to move towards by staying in your comfort zone. You are going to have to get a little bit uncomfortable.
00:21:13
Speaker
But the yeah the important thing is you don't want to like throw yourself off the cliff and be so out of your comfort zone that you're drowning. You want to be slightly out of your comfort zone. and tipping away at it.
00:21:24
Speaker
And then that organization just makes it that little bit less uncomfortable. So anyway, I hope that
Upcoming Group Coaching Sessions
00:21:30
Speaker
helps. Probably a little bit of a boring topic, but a really, really important one. And I'm a bit of a drill sergeant when it comes to organization.
00:21:37
Speaker
But look, if you feel like you're you're going to need a little bit of extra help and support to reach your goals, the next intake of my group coaching, that our doors will be opening on the sixteenth of April.
00:21:50
Speaker
be ready. It does always sell out. We'll be taking in a new group to start. think we'll actually start the 28th, but the doors will open on the 16th. We'll be doing the intake on the 16th. So watch this space. If you want any more information on the group coaching, do go onto my website, katehamiltonhealth.com forward slash coaching, or just go katehamiltonhealth.com and click on the coaching page on it.
00:22:12
Speaker
And it'll give you all the information on the coaching options available. And as always, if you've enjoyed this episode, if you found it helpful, please do share it in your WhatsApp groups, share it on your stories, tag me if you share it on your story and, so you know, leave a review. Make sure you're actually following the podcast as well because all of these little things help. And as always, I really do appreciate you listening to me and my rambles. And I will talk to you again the next day.