Not long ago, I had a conversation with a woman who was interested in getting in shape. She told me that she wanted to lose weight and was ready to start, but she said she didn’t have enough time. I replied with a smile that actually she is not ready to get in shape. The conversation turned to the subject of motivation, which reminded her of the TV show “The Biggest Loser.” She loves that show, and as we talked, we related the plot lines and themes of several other programs she sees regularly.

All this talk of TV shows convinced me that, indeed, she was not ready to change her ways and lose weight. She doesn’t seem ready to sacrifice some of her unproductive habits, such as watching lots of television. I considered advising her to try a week without TV and discover how much extra time she would have, but I decided against butting in. Let her figure it out on her own, if she has the motivation.

A study made by The Nielsen Co., which specializes in how many people watch television and how much time they spend watching it, found out that people watch television around 6.5 hours a day. Some people watch for even longer. These people can spend 11 years of their life watching television. If we do the math, 6.5 hours times 365 days equals 2,372.5 hours, or three months, each year. Can you imagine adding three months to your year?

Many people put time and energy into unproductive habits. I know it’s difficult to get rid of bad habits, but the reality is that if we want to change our life in any way and lose weight and get in shape, we must change our daily behaviors. There is no other way. Think about it, and I also encourage you to talk to people who are in shape. You will notice they have one thing in common: They spend time developing habits that have helped them get in shape.

When people are ready to change their life — in this case lose weight and get in shape — there are no excuses. It happens or it doesn’t happen. People make the time to do what needs to be done to get where they want to go.

On the other hand, this reminds me of a new client. She has two young boys, a full-time job as family attorney and a housemate. She manages to get up early in the morning to exercise. She is full of energy. Honestly, she is my hero. Think she has extra time? No one has extra time. Anyone who wants to change their body needs to make time.

Now, there is nothing wrong with spending three months a year watching TV. However, some people lie to themselves making themselves believe they don’t have enough time, and they live their life always wanting to change yet never “having the time.”

Some nurses have the privilege of hearing the last words of people before they die. According to these nurses, a devastating amount of people’s last words are, “I wish I had had the courage to do what I really wanted to do.”

Change your life. Make time.

Sandro Torres is a fitness professional and owner of Custom Body Fitness in Carbondale. His column appears on the second Tuesday of the month in Body & More.