6 Ways to Live a Fit Lifestyle
You won’t miss a beat with your workouts and clean eating if you plan correctly.
1. Bring Exercise to Your Job
If your job requirements extend past a normal working day, consider bringing those workouts to the office. If getting a full session in during your lunch break is difficult, break your workout into segments to stay energized during that afternoon lull. Here are some hacks to improve posture, increase caloric expenditure, and elevate your mood and energy levels…
-Sit on a Stability ball for an hour or two a day at your desk.
-Get a standing desk and stand a few hours a day while working.
-Getting outside and away from the office at lunchtime can be just the reset that you need…go for a brisk walk…stretch.
-Taking short breaks throughout the workday and doing some squats, sit ups, push ups, lunges and dips can boost your creativity, focus, and brainpower!
2. Don’t Eat Mindlessly
The work environment can be filled with nutritional landmines; National Doughnut Day seems to fall every Friday. You need to be especially careful when snacking on foods while your mind is engaged in different activities. You can easily stuff a meal’s worth of calories in before you know it. Bringing along protein bars that fit your macros is a better choice than eating two glazed doughnuts. What’s more, drinking water (including flavored water) before a meal can increase feelings of fullness so you’re less inclined to choose the super-sized meal. I have a bad habit of eating my meals while working so when I am finished with my meal, I make some hot tea or coffee and have a couple pieces of gum. Brushing your teeth can help too sign that it is the end of your meal and time to focus.
3. Make Smart Choices When Dining Out
Eating out can quickly throw off your diet, but it doesn’t have to. Try looking at the menu online ahead of time to get a better idea of what you’d like; you may even see macro and calorie totals online that you can’t find on the paper menu. Share dishes with a friend to help lessen the calorie load. Choose meat items that are steamed, broiled, baked, grilled, poached, or roasted. Start with a healthy salad, and skip the rolls or chips, which can be an especially damaging start at Mexican or Italian restaurants. I rarely have an issue ordering a clean and delicious meal at a restaurant. If you are with a large group sharing appetizers, choose an appetizer like shrimp cocktail, ceviche, veggies and hummus, chicken skewers, or beet salad.
4. Keep Yourself Hydrated
Being busy doesn’t mean you cannot prioritize hydration. Keep water with you …at your desk, in your car, during workouts, or outside when gardening. Pure water is best but herbal teas are great, selzer water is fine, pop an airborne or electrolyte tab in your water for additional vitamins, minerals, and taste!! Caffeine can be dehydrating so when drinking caffeinated beverages, have an extra cup of water.
5. Increase Your Workout Density
Let’s assume your schedule is so tight that there’s no longer room for your 90-minute cardio-and-weight workout, and being cooped up indoors is a bad idea to start with. A better idea is to limit your training session to about an hour. This means getting in and moving fast. One way to do that is to do additional work between your weight-training sets.
For example, do bodyweight squats between sets of bench presses, increasing the amount of work you do in the same amount of time, or increasing your density. Or do push-ups between your sets of squats. This technique works especially well for fat loss, and could include other activities like jumping rope, mountain climbers, or other calisthenics-type exercises.
6. Prepare Ahead of Time
Sticking with your diet is half motivation and half planning. By being prepared for your day ahead, you’ll be less likely to let your busy schedule force you into long periods without eating, and you’ll be less tempted to grab fast, unhealthy food choices.
Meal prep is an easy way to ensure that you have clean, healthy meals that meet your needs at all times so that when an extra project pops up, or you have to pick up the kids because your spouse can’t do it, you are not stressed about your next meal. You will be less likely to stop and pick up something that may derail your best intentions. I like to keep 100 calorie packs of nuts and bottles of water in the car for these type of situations. I work predominantly from home so I make sure that I do not keep easy access foods in the house that make it easy for me to go grab when I get bored or hungry…this includes things like large bags of nuts, anything in a bag or box, and sweets like chocolate. Most people just don’t have one serving of these snack foods and will consume their daily calories and more on foods that don’t best meet their goals.
One of my clients used to call those little mindless snacks throughout the day BLTs (Bites, Licks, and Tastes). Those calories most certainly add up quickly which may make it tough to live in a body we love. If you prioritize limiting or eliminating your BLTs for ONE week…you may be shocked at how well you can manage your weight!!
Food should be used primarily as fuel. Sure, you want your meals to taste great and they most certainly can! On the other hand, if you look at food as the means to fuel your physical vehicle, it takes on a logical role in your life and you will be less likely to succumb to emotional eating.
Move more…
Eat clean, well portioned, balanced meals…
Don’t let travel, work, or family obligations derail your fit habits.
You got this!!