A busy lifestyle, hectic work, and family commitments, and the insane pace of modern life often mean that our lowest priority are diet and lifestyle choices. Getting to work on time, after feeding the kids, running errands, and sitting in traffic often means that there is very little if any time to chop up some crudités and whip up a low-fat salad dressing to munch on at lunchtime, no matter how organized you are. And the result is that many working professionals complain that over a period of time, weight gain starts to become a big problem in their lives.
And the biggest complaint from everybody seems to be not having enough time, and it’s a reality we can all relate to, however, it’s not a good enough excuse. We can take the extra 10 minutes in the evening to pack a healthy lunch and we can become more disciplined and manage our time more effectively and soon it will just become part of our normal day to day routine. We need some ways to take the power back and put the boundaries back in our lives to include healthy diet and lifestyle choices. Here are ways to avoid weight gain at work.
It is much harder to ignore your schedule if it is written up in front of you. Take the time to plan for at least 30 minutes of brisk exercise 3 times a week. Plan it into your morning or afternoon schedule and write it down in black and white. It will make is much harder to grab a glass of wine and lie horizontally on the couch in front of the TV.
Rope in your family, your friends, your colleagues, and your spouse. Help them to understand what changes you need to make in your life and get them to help you with encouragement and support. When they see that you are happier, feeling healthier and have more energy, it will have a domino effect on everyone around you.
Sit down and write down a menu for the week and when you do your daily or weekly shop, make sure you buy everything you need. And when you cook, make double the portions, so that there is enough for your family to take to lunch the next day, or even for you just to heat up again for dinner the following night. Get the kids involved, let them help to cook and prepare foods and make the salads. Then it will free up your time and all you will have to do is dish yourself up an extra helping of salad to take to work the next day and your lunch dilemmas will be solved.
It is not only about what you are eating, but it is also about getting moving as well. And before you can utter the ‘’But I don’t have time to get to the gym’’ story, there are other ways you can get moving without having to take your lunch hour downtown to the local health club. Park further away from your building, and walk the rest of the way to your office, and when you get there, take the stairs, you will be amazed at how fit you can get and how quickly by climbing a few flights of stairs every day. Don’t stay in your office during lunch, get some fresh air, take a colleague and walk downtown and grab a coffee, even a 15-minute walk will do you good. And when you get home, grab those grumpy teenagers off the couch, drag the dog with you and even if you just walk for 20 minutes, you will feel great and that muffin top will start to become a thing of the past.