When you have a hectic career with barely time for anything else, it can become difficult to stay fit. A busy and stressful career or job can be really harmful to your health, so it is important that you take the time to eat well and exercise regularly. Exercising can take a lot of time out of your schedule to give you the results you need, but with the right techniques and tricks, you can have the best of both.
If you are at the beginning of the peak of your career and have a lot of responsibilities, it is possible for some people to maintain an 80-hour workweek. This can help your career, but at the same time, such a hectic work life can be bad for your health.
However, if you know some of the most important tips and tricks, and follow them diligently, you can maintain good health even when you are constantly working. Here are some of the important health advice from doctors, nutritionists, and scientists that you need to understand and follow if you want to stay fit and healthy at all times.
- Avoid Sugary Drinks and Beverages
When you don’t have the time to eat, you might want to compensate for your hunger and thirst with energy drinks, processed fruit juices, sodas, and sugar-added drinks. These drinks have nothing nutritious in them even though they are delicious and can give you temporary energy; rather, they are filled with calories, sugar, and preservatives.
The best drink, always, is plain water. Water has all the necessary minerals that we need to stay hydrated, especially when we are stressed. If needed, you can add some variation to your water with organic, sugar-free flavors, or make juice from fruits yourself.
- Drink Plenty of Water
As stated above, you should drink plenty of water throughout the day. Water should be your primary drink every day, at all times from morning to night. Like many other workaholics, you might feel the need for caffeine several times a day, but too many cups of coffee or tea will dehydrate your body.
While caffeine might give you temporary energy and focus, but you need plenty of water to stay hydrated. This is especially more important if you are working late at night or traveling abroad; this is when you need to drink double the amount of water you usually do.
If you are a frequent traveler, you might also have problems with constipation. Drinking plenty of water is a good way to battle constipation and other digestive problems.
- Snack Wisely
When we are busy at work, we often tend to snack on unhealthy items: chocolate bars, energy bars, chips and crackers, cookies or baked confectionaries. These are all unhealthy snacks that might be delicious and easily available but are also filled with preservatives, sodium, sugar and saturated and trans fat. Instead, choose some healthy food to snack on when you are hungry, like nuts and seeds, fruits, trail mixes, salads, unsweetened green/black tea, etc. These are the kind of snacks that are both nutritious and delicious, and full of healthy fats, minerals, and vitamins.
The more packaged, processed and unhealthy food you eat, the more you can gain weight, especially when you have a desk job and spend time sitting down. Instead, if you choose natural and healthy snacks, you can gain all the vitamins and minerals your body needs, without the added weight gain.
- Try to Exercise Every Day
It is difficult to incorporate time to exercise every day when you are on a hectic work schedule, but still important. No matter how busy you are, you should try to exercise at least 30 minutes – if not every day, but at least 4 days a week. It helps if you have a gym at your office that you can visit for half an hour before or after work, or you can find one on your way to work that you can go to. If your gym in near, adjacent or in your office, you can make a quick detour at least a few times every week to exercise.
You don’t have to spend hours at the gym to stay fit; neither would you have to put too much strain on yourself or go every day. Half an hour every day or 45 minutes for four days a week is all the time you need to spend at the gym to stay healthy and fit.
- Stay Active
When The most important point is that you are active whenever you have the time, instead of staying at your desk when you have a break. If you don’t have access to a gym or the time to go to one, you can still try and exercise using the resources available to you. Take the stairs instead of the elevator to your work or apartment, and do this several times a day. When you climb stairs, your body gets the workout you need without any exercise equipment; you can also try yoga positions or skipping during your breaks, which is only possible if you have your own office.
If that’s not possible, simply try to move around inside your office. Try to spend every minute that you are not working on your computer walking around. You can do a lot while standing or walking, i.e. scan a file, talk on the phone, reply to emails on your phone, or spend your breaks eating lunch or browsing Social Media. Whatever that you are doing that doesn’t require you to sit down, you can actually do while walking around.
- Get Adequate Sleep
You may have a lot to do at work, but you still need enough sleep when you go home. If possible, don’t work late into the night, or spend hours watching television when you should be sleeping. When you finally get home from work, your time should be divided between your family and sleep. If you are going through a tough time at work, the remaining time you have at home should be spent in relaxation.
If possible, try to eliminate using any kind of electronic devices and screens unnecessarily. This way, you can get your rest and sound sleep at night, which will make you ready for work the next morning. On the other hand, if you stay up late watching TV after a hard day of work at the office, you’ll not get adequate sleep. This can make you distracted and unfocused the next day, and affect your health.
- Talk to Others
Communicating with your work-colleagues and office-mates can be the boost you need to stay happy, healthy and focused. Whenever you have a few minutes, talk to other people instead of spending time on your phone with your virtual friends. This may not seem like such a big deal, but face-to-face communication with other people is a healthier way to spend some quality time instead of staying glued to your phone screen.
Everyone goes through such a time in their life when their work-life becomes hectic. You might have to spend more time at work than you do at home, give your career your best, without much time to take care of yourself. Even then, it is possible to stay fit and healthy, only if you know how to. You won’t need to do much to make sure you are living a healthy and disciplined lifestyle.
