• 27 Comments
  • September 12th 2007

Squeezing fitness into your busy schedule

Staying healthy

Let me first start by saying the title is not squeezing “exercise” into your busy schedule. Exercise is over stated, overall fitness is not. Being fit and healthy is more about your diet than it is about your workout routine. Getting in shape and losing a little weight (if that’s what you’re trying to do) is actually very, very easy.

You’re already going to eat, so if you can teach yourself to eat right that’s half the battle. Here are some basic eating tips that if stuck to will clean out your body in no time

Small meals

And a lot of them. Try to eat smaller portions 5-6 times a day. It eliminates peaks and valleys in your blood sugar and boosts your metabolism. Skipping meals to shave calories will have a negative effect and will actually make you gain weight. As long as you’re eating the right stuff, you can graze all day! This is by far the most important eating tip that you can follow.

Balanced meals

The second most important tip is to eat a carb and a protein with each meal. For your protein, stick with white meat as much as you can and if you like fish you should go nuts with it. For breakfast, pick up some faux sausage patties by Morning Star. That combined with a bowl of oatmeal is a great carb & protein breakfast. Cold cut turkey or chicken sandwich’s are the perfect lunch because you get your carb and protein in a single bite.

100% whole wheat

The less processed the food the better. Over processed foods lose many of their natural nutrients and do your body no good. They’re harder for you to digest and typically have more sugar in them. Buy 100% whole wheat pasta, bread, and crackers. The selection isn’t that great but it’s a smart move. Don’t be fooled by boxes that say “WHOLE GRAIN” in bold letters - read the fine print. Make sure it says 100% whole wheat or 100% whole grain, the others are just imitators.

Less sugar

This aids in eliminating blood sugar spikes as well. This is usually the hardest for people because many have an addiction to candy or soda but there are alternatives to use as a crutch while you transition away from it. If you must have soda, drink diet or give Crystal Light a shot. Stay away from aspartame and try to choose things sweetened with Splenda (not always possible). If you’ve got a sweet tooth, pick up some sugar free Popsicles.

Listen to your stomach

Not your taste buds. Your body will let you know when it needs food. Your stomach will rumble and feel empty - that’s your sign to graze a little bit more. If you aren’t feeling that empty pit in your stomach but you have the urge to eat, it’s just habit or boredom. Beat it back into submission and wait until you’re actually hungry.

Water

This should go without saying, but drink as much water as you possibly can. Not only will it make you more energized by keeping you properly hydrated, it gives you something to put in your mouth when you feel like eating out of boredom.

No fast food

Ever. No exceptions. Well, Subway 6″ turkey loaded with veggies is OK. Hold the mayo.

Alright, now that you’re eating healthy, here are a few tips for finishing the fight…

Instead of worrying about how much you work out, simply try to increase physical activity which you can do easily by tweaking normal everyday activities

Park far

Why frustrate yourself with the pursuit of a front row parking spot? Go ahead and park further away when you stop at Office Depot for supplies. No it doesn’t burn a ton of calories, but it burns a few. If you do it every-time you go to a store over the course of a month it ads up and does make a difference. If you have trouble motivating yourself to do this on your own, go to Wal*Mart. You’re bound to be forced into the back 40 there.

Clean with conviction

Do everyday chores at a quick pace. Instead of slowly moping around the house cleaning, throw on the iPod and go all out. Dust. Mop. Vacuum. You might not break a huge sweat (some of you will) but you’ll get close. Keep your heart rate up and in just 30-45 minutes you’ve got a spotless house and a healthy heart.

Twitch a bit

Or bob your head. Tap your feet or fingers. Doing the twitch is proven to increase weight loss and stimulate your mind. That’s right, tweaking out at your desk throughout the day will keep your mind sharp and you won’t bomb in that meeting later.

Take the stairs

Modern technology like the self propelled lawn mower and elevators has made us fat and lazy. While I don’t condone using an old school push mower, taking the stairs is a viable option that most likely won’t result in ridicule.

Pace

We all spend an enormous amount of time on the phone. Instead of being a seat warmer, get up and walk around the office, lobby, backyard, or wherever you may be. If it’s more comfortable for you, throw on a handsfree kit and avoid cellbow (cell phone elbow - it kills doesn’t it?!). I’m a pro at this one, which my wife will attest to - it drives her crazy!

When done infrequently and alone, these won’t do much, but make a habit of them and do as many as you can throughout the day and they will make a big impact.

For those that need to do a bit more than maintain, you have to take it a step further. Right now I’m focused on building my upper body and it’s a cake walk! I like to sprinkle mini workouts throughout the day. This enables me to do it when I have time and most importantly it makes the task less daunting so I actually do it!

I’ve really transformed my upper body in the last 3 months by doing a set of pushups and situps (about 15 minutes worth) before a shower each morning. It pumps me up for the day because I’ve already accomplished one thing and it sets my mind up for the next task to tackle and the entire day follows suit. I’ll do another set when I get home before I sit on the couch and pick up the laptop. If I wait, I get lethargic and am at higher risk of blowing it off. Now while this small bit of strength training won’t make you Mr. Universe, it’ll tone you up and fast!

Little disclaimer thingy

Before closing, let me be clear about this. I’m not a physical trainer or dietitian. I am, however, a post-obese person who’s enlisted the help of the techniques above to shave 120lbs over the course of 4 years. Best of all, I’ve successfully kept it all off in a natural, healthy way.

Picture I took this morning standing behind an old pair of my shorts

Stop looking at fitness not as a way to stay physically attractive but a way to actually extend your life. Sometimes looking good in the mirror isn’t enough motivation, but boil it down to life or death and you’ll start paying closer attention. Its our duty as the next generation of young go getters to keep our minds & bodies fine tuned so we can sculpt the best possible future for those yet to come.

  • http://www.connorwilson.com Connor Wilson

    Congratulations on your weight loss. I was raised with healthy food so I guess I’m lucky in that way, but being in shape just feels good. Now that school has started again I’ve been really challenging my body, but in a week or so I’ll be in that ‘peak’ shape everybody wants. Walking is a great way to improve your fitness, but you have to be moving. My walk to school is half an hour with a couple hills- the faster you go the more benefits you get.

    I guess I’ll always have a little ignorance, having always been athletic, but like you said- it’s not that hard. Self control, and skip the fast food. The #1 way to ditch the FF is to learn to cook. It can be fun (I love it) and after a while your pallet will totally reject the processed taste of fast food.

  • http://www.connorwilson.com Connor Wilson

    Congratulations on your weight loss. I was raised with healthy food so I guess I’m lucky in that way, but being in shape just feels good. Now that school has started again I’ve been really challenging my body, but in a week or so I’ll be in that ‘peak’ shape everybody wants. Walking is a great way to improve your fitness, but you have to be moving. My walk to school is half an hour with a couple hills- the faster you go the more benefits you get.

    I guess I’ll always have a little ignorance, having always been athletic, but like you said- it’s not that hard. Self control, and skip the fast food. The #1 way to ditch the FF is to learn to cook. It can be fun (I love it) and after a while your pallet will totally reject the processed taste of fast food.

  • http://www.connorwilson.com Connor Wilson

    Oh- and the twitching thing is awesome. It’s a habit of mine that gets on people’s nerves, but it’s not really something I can stop. It’s pretty much subconscious.

  • http://www.connorwilson.com Connor Wilson

    Oh- and the twitching thing is awesome. It’s a habit of mine that gets on people’s nerves, but it’s not really something I can stop. It’s pretty much subconscious.

  • http://www.aaronkuroiwa.com Aaron

    Rex Kwando BIOTCH!

  • http://www.aaronkuroiwa.com Aaron

    Rex Kwando BIOTCH!

  • Araceli

    You mention carbs and protein, but you don’t say anything about fruits and vegetables.

  • Araceli

    You mention carbs and protein, but you don’t say anything about fruits and vegetables.

  • http://www.skanwar.com Satish

    Mmm, vegetables :). Despite being a vegetarian, I haven’t had any added bonus of always ending up eating healthy and staying clear of fast food. In fact, it makes things much much worse and harder to get the right nutrients/protein. There’s certainly some great tips here… slow and steady progress.

  • http://www.skanwar.com Satish

    Mmm, vegetables :). Despite being a vegetarian, I haven’t had any added bonus of always ending up eating healthy and staying clear of fast food. In fact, it makes things much much worse and harder to get the right nutrients/protein. There’s certainly some great tips here… slow and steady progress.

  • http://www.workinonmyfitness.com Sue

    Great post Eric! I’m definitely going to link this on my site soon :)

  • http://www.workinonmyfitness.com Sue

    Great post Eric! I’m definitely going to link this on my site soon :)

  • http://www.weareonlyhuman.com Jason Sadler

    There are some many things when it comes to loosing weight and getting fit. This is a pretty solid start and obviously you have a personal testimonial to back it up.

    Just a rule of thumb, portion sizes should be limited to the size of your fist, or something near it. Obviously if you are eating a gigantic plate of steamed vegetables, go nuts on the portion size! One thing you don’t need to do is eat until you are full - this is a common misconception when it comes to dieting. People think, “okay, I’ll eat healthier food, but why not add a second slice of whole wheat bread, or maybe an extra diet coke, I still don’t feel full.” Feeling full is not the key, the key is to give your body enough food to keep your metabolism going and going hard!

    Another good thing to do is to snack on almonds all day long. Not honey roasted, or heavily salted, but plain old almonds. Any time I am hungry between meals I grab a handful of almonds and drink a bottle of water, usually followed by a piece of gum to get my mind of my stomach wanting more.

    As I said at the beginning of this comment, there are sooo many factors involved to all of these things.

    ps - Healthy Choice oatmeal is the best “instant” oatmeal you can buy aside from McCann’s Irish instant oats (rolled oats preferred).

    pps - It doesn’t hurt to throw in some protein shakes to replace meals, 100% whey protein only :)

  • http://www.weareonlyhuman.com Jason Sadler

    There are some many things when it comes to loosing weight and getting fit. This is a pretty solid start and obviously you have a personal testimonial to back it up.

    Just a rule of thumb, portion sizes should be limited to the size of your fist, or something near it. Obviously if you are eating a gigantic plate of steamed vegetables, go nuts on the portion size! One thing you don’t need to do is eat until you are full - this is a common misconception when it comes to dieting. People think, “okay, I’ll eat healthier food, but why not add a second slice of whole wheat bread, or maybe an extra diet coke, I still don’t feel full.” Feeling full is not the key, the key is to give your body enough food to keep your metabolism going and going hard!

    Another good thing to do is to snack on almonds all day long. Not honey roasted, or heavily salted, but plain old almonds. Any time I am hungry between meals I grab a handful of almonds and drink a bottle of water, usually followed by a piece of gum to get my mind of my stomach wanting more.

    As I said at the beginning of this comment, there are sooo many factors involved to all of these things.

    ps - Healthy Choice oatmeal is the best “instant” oatmeal you can buy aside from McCann’s Irish instant oats (rolled oats preferred).

    pps - It doesn’t hurt to throw in some protein shakes to replace meals, 100% whey protein only :)

  • Araceli

    Jason - I’ve always heard to only eat a handful of nuts a day as they contain a lot of fat, despite being very healthy for you.

  • Araceli

    Jason - I’ve always heard to only eat a handful of nuts a day as they contain a lot of fat, despite being very healthy for you.

  • http://www.weareonlyhuman.com Jason Sadler

    Araceli,

    It depends on the nuts you eat. Almonds, you can eat half a pound a day and you will be healthy as an ox (assuming an ox is healthy and eating almonds)!

    Almonds are great because they have a ton of extra benefits that 90% of food out there don’t have. Along with helping the process of lipolysis (fat burning), helping to lower cholesterol and giving you a very dense source of EFAs, it is an incredibly easy snack to carry around or store.

    Another miracle worker is green tea. I try to throw a green tea bag in a large jug of water to carry around at least once a week, almost always while at the gym working out. There is something about those anti-oxidants that helps keep your system clean and gives an extra boost to your metabolism.

  • http://www.weareonlyhuman.com Jason Sadler

    Araceli,

    It depends on the nuts you eat. Almonds, you can eat half a pound a day and you will be healthy as an ox (assuming an ox is healthy and eating almonds)!

    Almonds are great because they have a ton of extra benefits that 90% of food out there don’t have. Along with helping the process of lipolysis (fat burning), helping to lower cholesterol and giving you a very dense source of EFAs, it is an incredibly easy snack to carry around or store.

    Another miracle worker is green tea. I try to throw a green tea bag in a large jug of water to carry around at least once a week, almost always while at the gym working out. There is something about those anti-oxidants that helps keep your system clean and gives an extra boost to your metabolism.

  • http://www.timrosenblatt.com Tim Rosenblatt

    We have a fridge at my work that gets filled with company-purchased food. I’ve gotten them picking up cans of citrus fruit, which are great when chilled.

    Also, I keep a weight in the office. After sitting in my very comfortable chair for too long, I kinda glaze over. A quick bit of stretching and exercise helps. Also good for stress relieving.

  • http://www.timrosenblatt.com Tim Rosenblatt

    We have a fridge at my work that gets filled with company-purchased food. I’ve gotten them picking up cans of citrus fruit, which are great when chilled.

    Also, I keep a weight in the office. After sitting in my very comfortable chair for too long, I kinda glaze over. A quick bit of stretching and exercise helps. Also good for stress relieving.

  • http://informationrain.com/ Chris Papadopoulos

    Recently I’ve been forcing myself to run every morning before doing anything work-related at all. So far I’ve been successful at this for a few weeks. I’ve tried to do this in the past but always failed after a few days when I decided to take a day off to rest and the one day of rest became many days every time.

    The key for me was to make it part of my routine and force myself to do it before anything else. Having the willpower to do that, for somebody who is used to sitting in front of a computer all day, is a surprisingly tough thing.

    Good tips. Learning to cook is another good thing I’ve written about recently. Grilling stuff and making sandwiches and things is pretty easy for me, but trying to make some more complex recipes is still somewhat of a challenge for me. ;)

  • http://informationrain.com/ Chris Papadopoulos

    Recently I’ve been forcing myself to run every morning before doing anything work-related at all. So far I’ve been successful at this for a few weeks. I’ve tried to do this in the past but always failed after a few days when I decided to take a day off to rest and the one day of rest became many days every time.

    The key for me was to make it part of my routine and force myself to do it before anything else. Having the willpower to do that, for somebody who is used to sitting in front of a computer all day, is a surprisingly tough thing.

    Good tips. Learning to cook is another good thing I’ve written about recently. Grilling stuff and making sandwiches and things is pretty easy for me, but trying to make some more complex recipes is still somewhat of a challenge for me. ;)

  • http://taonzen.blogspot.com Tom Accuosti

    Something that I found to be extremely helpful was to make up as many meals ahead of time as possible. When you’re really hungry it’s too easy to take a shortcut by opening up the kid’s pack of cookies or grab a donut at work. Making several lunches, or for the weekend, several sandwiches at once helps me with proper eating.

    Another thing with the food is that my wife and I will buy a package of berries (raspberries, blackberries, strawberries, whatever looks good at the store). A few berries mixed into half a cup of cottage cheese is protein & carb, and the sweetness from the fruit keeps the chocolate cravings at bay. If berries aren’t in season, some flavored no-fat yogurt or jello (sugar free) can be mixed into the cottage cheese, instead.

  • http://taonzen.blogspot.com Tom Accuosti

    Something that I found to be extremely helpful was to make up as many meals ahead of time as possible. When you’re really hungry it’s too easy to take a shortcut by opening up the kid’s pack of cookies or grab a donut at work. Making several lunches, or for the weekend, several sandwiches at once helps me with proper eating.

    Another thing with the food is that my wife and I will buy a package of berries (raspberries, blackberries, strawberries, whatever looks good at the store). A few berries mixed into half a cup of cottage cheese is protein & carb, and the sweetness from the fruit keeps the chocolate cravings at bay. If berries aren’t in season, some flavored no-fat yogurt or jello (sugar free) can be mixed into the cottage cheese, instead.

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  • http://www.amypink.com Mar Ci

    Oh yeah, thanks for this post. I’m sitting here, drink my oversugared coffee and got some chinese food at lunch. But I always know: Make some sport, eat healthier, make it quite right you little bastard. And yeah I will try, thank you. No, I won’t try - I have to do it! Okay, thanks for listening.. ;)

  • http://www.amypink.com Mar Ci

    Oh yeah, thanks for this post. I’m sitting here, drink my oversugared coffee and got some chinese food at lunch. But I always know: Make some sport, eat healthier, make it quite right you little bastard. And yeah I will try, thank you. No, I won’t try - I have to do it! Okay, thanks for listening.. ;)