Exercising At Work…It’s Totally Do-Able!

I know that most of us don’t have the luxury of dedicating our every waking hour to exercise. Instead, we find ourselves mostly behind our desks from nine to five, five days out of the week trying to figure out how to even fit in the time for grocery shopping or running errands, let alone finding time for exercise.  But, there are ways to fit exercise into our nine to five…and here’s how.

I’ll give you some examples of how some employees in the companies I used to do corporate wellness for used to fit in exercise into their day.

One employee wanted to lose weight and so since she was only able to get to her personal trainer once or twice per week, she started to be creative in implementing strengthening exercise opportunities into her work space.

She got rid of her chair and got a balance ball as her seat and after a few weeks of using that as her chair, her core strength significantly improved according to her personal trainer at their workout sessions. She also had light hand weights and ankle weights in her work cubicle so that when she is using her phone head-set for conference calls, she could do light strength training with her legs and her arms while she was working.

Even if you didn’t have a balance ball for a chair, you can do gluteal squeezes while sitting at your desk. You can perform these every hour or two or you can stand up and stretch and do some squats or lunges. When you set your mind towards the goal of making sure you stay active even at work, you’d be surprised at how many things you come up with for exercises while at work.

Besides strength training, many employees make it a priority to find time to incorporate cardio exercises into their work day. Some of them would take the stairs instead of the elevators and park farther in the parking lot just so that they can get some extra cardio into their day.

These activities not only help you to tone up and become lean, but they are great as stress relievers as well.  Consider asking some work colleagues to form a noon time walking group so that you guys can get in a few laps around the office building or block to help with stress management as well as getting in some daily exercise. Finally, one of the easiest ways to add more steps into your work day is to walk to your colleagues office for discussions rather than calling them on the phone.

When you set your mind to it, you can always find some method for incorporating activity into your work day. This way, if you end up working late on any given day, you don’t have to feel as defeated about missing that gym class you had wanted to go to because you had already been working out in various other ways during the day at work. And all those exercises at the office helps to relieve stress as well, so you might just find yourself going home that day feeling a little lighter on your feet without all that stress weighing you down.

 

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Why The Breakfast of Champions Is Important!

I know that most mornings we are all rushing out the door in a frenzy to try to get to work on time…but, what we sometimes forget is that the few extra minutes it takes to have a healthy wholesome breakfast might make all the difference as to whether you are able to have a productive day or if you will be dragging most of the day to get your work done.

I frequently remind my patients on the importance of a protein-rich healthy breakfast to help you get going for a full day of activities. It is crucial to remember that your body is a machine and just like you wouldn’t ask your car to drive cross country and then fill it with gas…similarly, you should not be asking your body to work hard and then feed it food after the fact.

A lot of people think that they end up saving calories if they avoid breakfast, but what they don’t realize is that you usually over eat later in the day because your body is starved and trying to overcompensate for starvation mode because it didn’t get the morning fuel.

If you start the day with a protein-rich diet like egg white omelet with vegetables, your body is less likely to crave sweets and your sugar load in your blood stream is more likely to be able to stay balanced throughout the day. This way, you are not starving and making poor dietary choices at lunch and dinner.  

If you think that making breakfast in the morning takes too much time, one trick I like to use sometimes is to buy a hard-boiled egg maker and use that every morning for egg whites. This way, you let the machine do the cooking while you get ready for work. Another option would be to make an extra lean turkey hash with a medley of vegetables sautéed together without potatoes over the weekend and you can heat that up for breakfast during the work days.

Many of my patients end up snacking on more calories than they otherwise would have consumed at breakfast because they are starving by 10AM or late in the afternoon. When you short-change your body of the nutrients it needs, it will want to crave and consume more quick energy later that won’t be so friendly to your waistline like sweet or salty snacks.

If you start the day with a more protein-rich meal, your blood sugar is more stable later in the day so that you don’t have sugar dips and you are more energetic with a better ability to pick healthier snack or meal choices. This type of breakfast also ensures that your metabolism will be humming efficiently and not shut down into starvation mode.

Most people who start with a healthy breakfast will have more energy to work out later in the day as well…and between your ability to control your cravings and the increased energy to put towards more effective work outs, your waist line will surely thank you this summer season for that healthy breakfast you took the time to eat in the morning.

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