Monday, March 22, 2010

Tips for the Busy Professional to Stay Fit

Working 60+ hours a week does not leave much time for fitness. You might feel tired, moody, and sluggish from long hours or sedentary work. If you cannot reduce your workload, try these easy techniques to boost your energy, lose weight and increase your fitness level.

Add Spontaneous Exercise into your day. Spontaneous exercise is the physical activity you experience daily like walking from your car to the office. Walk as much as you can everyday to stay fit. A mile is roughly 2000 steps. Track your steps with a pedometer and be creative to squeeze a few extra steps into each day. Park farther away from the door, take the stairs, and use your breaks as an opportunity to walk around your office. You will be walking more than a few miles each day in no time.

Cut calories without noticing by eating slowly. Eating slowly gives your brain time to realize you are full. Put your utensils down while chewing to slow your pace. Eating fast allows an average of 200+ extra calories at a meal. Slow down, cut calories, and feel full. It is that easy!

Focus on what you want to eat, not what you don’t want to eat. You will naturally eliminate or greatly reduce the junk food from your diet by focusing on what foods you want to be sure to include daily. Your attention to healthy food options will distract your attention from bad foods. When you feel full on your healthy food options, you won’t have room for the bad food.

Keep a healthy work space. Eliminate candy, snack foods and sodas from your work area. We typically eat what is easily accessible. Keep only a very small selection of healthy snack options like fresh fruit, nuts and water easily accessible from your office. If you really want a soda, make yourself work to get it. This gives you time to rethink how badly you want it and possibly make a different decision after boosting your energy with a few steps from your desk down to the soda machine.

Keep a healthy snack in your car. Busy people are typical work long hours. Keep a healthy snack in your car for those times when you are running late for lunch or dinner. The healthy snack will give you a small amount of calories and energy so that you do not overeat when you are able to enjoy your real meal.

Add these practices into your daily routine immediately to enjoy the benefits of weight loss, increased energy and improved fitness!

To your health,

Kelly

Kelly Stallings, MS, LPC

www.LifeisMental.com

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