Health & Fitness for Busy People

    Health & Fitness Tips For Busy People

“Health is wealth”, a phrase that is a treasure for every human being. With good health and mental peace of mind, a person can accomplish all their dreams.

1.   Exercise doesn’t have to mean going for a run or to the gym.

2.  Exercise can fit into the busiest workday.

3.  Keep track of what you do. 

4.  Make it fun!

Life races past at 100mph and staying healthy and keeping fit can be an uphill struggle when you’re busy. Here are 10 tips that will help you to find time so that you can keep in tip-top shape.

Be prepared for busy

It’s always good to keep healthy snacks on you—especially if your schedule is crazy. I make apple cinnamon energy bars and freeze them so they are easy to grab on the go. 

Move your body everyday of the week

Remember to prioritize movement, not just the concept of “exercise.” Even on days you don’t get a workout in, be sure you take a walk, stretch, stand, or dance! Your body was meant to move: enjoy it.

Add some muscle building activities to your weekly workouts

Free weights, resistance bands, muscle sculpt classes or using your body weight with push-ups, planks and squats all work.

Workout in the morning

When you get your workout in first thing, you are less likely to skip exercise. When you leave it to later in the day, you may get tired or your day may get away from you and lose your motivation to do it.

Never go more than two days in a row without exercise

This applies to your vacations too!

Don’t expect the weight to come off fast

Be realistic! You aren’t going to become a gym rat overnight if you hated going to the before. You also shouldn’t set a goal to drop 20 pounds in one month. Setting unrealistic goals sets people up for failure and then they give up. Start smaller. Resolve to go to the gym two times a week if you never used to go before. Remember: It takes time to gain weight; it takes time to lose it.

It takes a deficit of 3,500 calories to lose one pound

Calories in, calories out. Just work on burning more than you take in.

Empower yourself with exercise 

You have probably heard it a zillion times, but exercise is one of the best ways to elevate your mood and alleviate stress. Plus, you often will feel so good after you finish a workout that you won’t want to ruin your calories burned with overindulging.

Try yoga

Yoga is one my favorite classes to teach. Yoga can help you feel centered. It stretches and strengthens your body, improves your breathing and awareness, and empowers your mind.

Give up soda and juices with lots of sugar

or high fructose corn syrup and Don’t drink all your calories. Save calories and drink water, various teas (especially Green Tea!) or black coffee. Skip the whip and chocolate in your coffee…save the calories for food.

Eat smaller portions

Portion control is one of the best things you can do for your health—especially when you are eating an indulgence food.

Eat slowly

Put your fork down in between bites. It sounds simple, but so often we’re all on auto-pilot and shoveling food in our mouths before our stomachs can figure out that we’re full.

Drink lemon water first thing in the morning

Lemon water flushes out toxins, balances your pH, assists in weight loss, and boosts your immune system.

Go healthy first

When you are stressed out, you are producing higher levels of the stress hormone, cortisol that can make you crave sweets and salty foods. Instead of trying to fight it, select a sweet or salty food that’s healthy for you. Before you reach for the donuts, make yourself a smoothie with your favorite fruit, nonfat milk and yogurt. If it’s salt you crave, eat some pickles, almonds or walnuts. Keep some of your healthy snacks on hand so you can easily turn to healthy options first.

Drink more water

Get a stainless steel portable water bottle to take with you everywhere. And using less plastic is good for the environment. Most adults need about two quarts of fluid per day to replace normal water loss or approximately six to eight ounce glasses of water each day.

Eat more greens

Kale, Spinach, Broccoli, Swiss Chard or Collard Greens. Greens are full of fiber, vitamins and minerals to protect you against disease. Not a fan? Throw greens into smoothies with tropical fruit like pineapple and you won’t even taste them.

Keep in mind that striving for perfection usually leads to disaster

Set small, goals and stair step your way to success by developing healthy habits.

Create a fail safe environment

in your home by not stocking it with foods that tend to be your downfall.

Make sure you have goals

Give yourself a fresh start with new goals. If it helps you, start with the end in mind and think about how you want to feel this time next year? Now work your way backwards with a plan!

If you have a desk job, consider a standing workstation

Or at the very least, stand up when you use the phone. If you are somewhere you can pace while using the phone, even better. People in constant motion burn more calories.

Find music that motivates

Music can help you take your workout up a notch if it’s music that appeals to you. Need some inspiration? Check out my playlist from Power Music.

Don’t compare yourself to others, it only puts you in a negative mindset

Compete against yourself instead. Comparison is the thief of joy!

Use Fitness Apps to never feel alone again

Use apps as motivators and accountability tools. Here are my favorite eight apps!

 Be prepared for the morning frenzy

Freeze a few fruit smoothies to grab on my way out the door in the early mornings

Monitor your fitness

I am always talking about my Fitbit Flex because it allows you to do so much. During the day it tracks my steps, distance, and calories burned, and at night it tracks my sleep quality. I love knowing exactly what my activity levels have been for the day, and it motivates me to move more!

Meditate

Dr. Mehmet Oz is right when he says we need more meditation and less medication. Meditating is easy to do and its benefits are numerous. Reduce stress, improve your health, get centered, breathe better and get focused.

Reduce the amount of processed and packaged foods you consume

Generally speaking, the fewer ingredients, the better the food.