Don't feel like exercising? How to find the time and inspiration to work out, even during those "I don't feel like it" moments - Editor's Letter

"It's not 'Can you take the time?' It's 'You can make the time' to work out,' says Mary Matalin, counselor to the vice president in Washington, D.C. Matalin is one of the six very busy White House staffers featured in "The First Ladies of Fitness" on page 102. Though all have very demanding, high stress jobs, they each manage to make the time to work out. In our article, the women offer tips and strategies on how you can squeeze in fitness and keep your motivation fires burning. Here are two quick fitness pointers that really work:

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1. Make exercise a non-negotiable part of your day and schedule it in. If the president and women of the White House can do this, so can you. Many time-pressed women are committed to fitness. Psychologist Ann Kearney-Cooke, Ph.D., is the body-image expert for Shape's Body Confident program (a program designed to help women feel better about their bodies). She has four children and a demanding career, yet finds time for a daily four-mile walk. In her practice as a psychologist and during the Body Confident programs, Kearney-Cooke teaches women to think about and care for their bodies in healthy new ways.

2. When you tell yourself you don't feel like exercising, reply, "Thank you for sharing," then put on your workout clothes, says Kearney-Cooke. If you're seeking "inspiration" to exercise, take a cue from what my father used to say to me when I was a child: "Inspiration is 99 percent perspiration." Anything at which you'd like to be proficient--whether it's playing the piano or sticking with your workouts--requires practice, even when you feel like doing something else. And don't use not having your exercise clothes on hand as an excuse: And Ball, deputy assistant to the president and chief of staff to first lady Laura Bush, keeps extra workout gear at the office, including a pair of walking shoes.

Fitness truly is non-negotiable: Not only is it critical for fitting into your jeans, but your health and well-being depend on your ability to fit it in regularly. As Matalin says, "You can make the time."

My best to you,

Barbara Harris, Editor in Chief