Obstacle: My career didn't slow down after I had my girls. Suddenly it seemed like I had an impossible number of things to accomplish in the day, even without workouts and preparing healthy meals. More women are breadwinners now than ever, and I often hear them say, "After work and my family's needs, I don't have any time left over for exercise."

Overcome it: When it comes to planning anything else in life -- work schedules, weekend plans or vacations -- we take the time to plan. I want you to look at your workouts the same way, from a planning perspective. You will discover pockets of free time throughout the week or day that you can easily use for exercise. Keep in mind that every little bit adds up -- three blocks of 20 minutes is just as good as a solid 60 minutes of exercising.

So take a moment this weekend to sit down and look at the days of your week. Some people find success in drafting a weekly schedule on paper, others by just mentally plotting out the next day. Scheduling does take a little more discipline and initial time investment. But it pays off tenfold in the time you'll find.

More Tips:

• Put a higher sense of importance on exercise by writing out a list of all the reasons you need to exercise. Make the list expansive, to include more than just weight loss alone. For example, "I need to lower my blood pressure; I want more energy; I want to improve my moods; I want to sleep better, etc." The more reasons, the more importance you'll give it. Post the list up where you can be reminded every day.
  
  
• I have some videos and DVDs that offer 20-minute workouts specially designed to jump-start your metabolism. You could do one of these first thing in the morning before your shower.
  
  
• Think of ways to incorporate more movement into your day and don't be afraid to get creative! It's very simple. The more you move your body, the better. So, go the extra distance and park farther away than usual at work or at the mall, stand instead of sitting while you're on a conference call at work, walk instead of driving whenever you can and, instead of assigning the task to your hubby or the kids, bring in your own groceries from the car to the house. Think of it as killing two birds (your errands and exercise) with one stone.
  
  
• "Convenient eating" usually means high-fat, highly processed dinners from a box or can. But if you have the right ingredients, creating healthy dinners takes only a fraction more time. Each week's Meal Makeover should give you some great ideas.