If you are a mover and a shaker, you know life doesn’t slow down for you – you’re on the go every minute of every day. This can lead to difficulties when it comes to staying fit, healthy, and feeling good. Where do you find the time to fit in self-care? These tips can help you achieve your goals for the New Year without slowing you down.
Nutrition
Eating right can be hard when you’re always on the go, but it’s doable if you plan ahead.
- Start out the New Year by resolving not to skip breakfast. Your body and your brain need fuel. It doesn’t have to be a big meal, just make sure it’s not all carbs and no protein or your blood sugar will crash before lunch. A shake or a bar that balances carbs, proteins, and fats can give you that boost you need to make it through morning meetings.
- Speaking of lunch, it’s just as important as breakfast. Pack a healthy lunch for yourself or invest in a local healthy option that can deliver to your office or which is just a few minutes’ walk away. Resist the temptation to eat at your desk – get outside if you can or consider taking the stairs to an adjacent floor for a change of venue.
- Snack when you need to but keep your snacks healthy. Try salty or savory instead of sweet, and opt for nuts, seeds, granola bars and juice when possible to keep your energy up and your inner cravings satisfied. Having healthy snacks ready to hand can help you resist the temptation of the morning box of doughnuts on the table in the break room.
- Limit caffeine and alcohol. Set limits on how much coffee you consume daily, and save alcohol for the weekends. Substitute fruit flavored water or decaffeinated tea instead.
Fitness
Looking for ways to cram exercise into an already packed workday? Make your workouts bite size:
- Get up just ten to fifteen minutes early and dive straight into a blitz workout routine. Stretch first, using the edge of your bed as a prop to gently release tension from hamstrings and shoulders, then jog in place, do jumping jacks, or perform as many half sit-ups, push-ups, and leg-lifts as you can in increments of two minutes each.
- Take that lunch break and get some speed walking in and do some flights of stairs. Choose a lunch you can eat on the go, like a burrito or a wrap, and don’t forget to hydrate. If your office has a gym, think about a quick workout before you head home.
- Once you’re done with work for the day, swap your work shoes for sneakers and get some extra exercise in before you head home for the night. Alternately, fix dinner and go out for a brisk walk afterwards – this will kickstart your pancreas, keeping your blood sugar down and burning off calories from your meal.
- On weekends, commit to at least one activity that keeps you moving. Reward yourself with a crashed out afternoon on the couch watching a movie, or dinner out at one of your favorite hangouts. Keeping your exercise commitment six days out of seven will help you hit your fitness goals.
Each one of these tips is small enough to commit to individually, and only requires a small shift in habits. You can fit these food and workout tips in around your normal work-week and the benefits will be huge. As always, if you start a new routine, check with your doctor first, and ask for an appointment with Dr. Strasburger if you find you are experiencing lingering or persistent pain after working out.