Weight loss strategy for people with little time
For many busy professionals and others with little time, it is a well-known fact that busy schedules, extended working hours, night shifts and business trips can all lead to different health problems. Some of these are stress-related, while some are directly linked to your weight and eating habits.
You may often find yourself stressed out- during work hours, you try to finish as much work as you can, often eating unhealthy foods, and sometimes even skipping meals. Even after you’ve finished your shift and left your office, you still have your house chores, your kids- with a busy schedule like this, who would even have the time to think about their diet, right?
Well, for all of those who want to know how to lose weight quickly, and for those who just want to create better, healthier diets during workdays, here are some good tips and weight loss resources.
Know what you want and how to achieve it
Having a good idea on what your schedule is like and what you would like to achieve with your weight loss plan is the first step to a successful achievement itself. For starters, planning your new schedule, new meals and new routines will surely motivate you enough to start working on it. From time to time, we all need something new, right?
Once you start thinking and planning, it is very important to have realistic expectations and make sure you can organize your schedule- a lack of organization might soon deprive you of your motivation and result in you giving up too quickly.
Food picks and calorie intake
According to many doctors, an average man needs about 2500 calories to maintain his weight, and 2000 calories to lose a pound every week. As this depends on various factors, like age, genetics and activity, it is best you find and calculate your most suitable calorie intake online.
Even though different foods offer different amounts of calories and vitamins, there definitely are fat-burner foods and foods that are generally best for weight loss. You might want to consider foods and ingredients like avocados, whole eggs, salmon, beef and chicken breast, boiled or mashed potatoes, tuna and beans.
Pick a diet and plan beforehand
Because any diet is better than 2 am junk-food snacks during paperwork.
We all know that breakfast is the most important meal of the day, yet we often skip it. If you often find yourself in a rush, maybe it’s time to think, plan and pack ahead. This method includes both making your breakfast the night before and making and packing your meals for the next day. Because we are often tempted to eat just anything during work hours, it is a good idea to bring meals and snacks to your office desk.
Supply all of your drawers, both at work and at home, with healthy snacks- and get rid of the unhealthy ones. Often we might think that we are too tired (or lazy), so we skip cooking and grab whatever food that catches our eye first.
Another good idea is to keep fruit bowls in plain sight. Pick two or three different fruits and combine them in bowls. Even if you’re forgetful, this is a great way to remind yourself and have a good vitamin intake.
Organize weekends
Depending on your age, weekends are mostly used either for relaxing, spending time with family, or relieving stress by partying and spending time with friends. A good idea for combining all of this with your new lifestyle is to make a friendly or a family dinner. There are various healthy and tasty recipes you can use, both for cooking and making your own cocktails and drinks.
To give you an idea, you could consider making things like grilled watermelon and steak salad, grilled chicken with corn salad, white beans and tuna salad, or simply any grilled vegetable with chicken, risotto or fish.
Know your drinks
Every now and then, we all like to celebrate, drink a bit and forget about our problems. Even though we feel positive and relaxed, alcohol has many side effects, some of which we’re often not aware of.
Almost all alcoholic beverages contain a lot of calories, which means that you consume more calories whilst drinking then while eating. A good way to avoid taking too much calorie intake is to know what to order.
If you prefer heavier drinks you can order or make yourself tequila with fresh lime juice, vodka soda with lemon or a mojito without the syrup. Some other low-calorie ideas for parties or dinners include light beer, light Bloody Mary and Rosé. Remember, moderate drinking is good for your concentration, which means that, two glasses for men and a glass for a woman are enough. Some liquid fat-burners which are non-alcoholic and perfect for dinners, parties and even regular meals include lemonades, cucumber water or ginger water.
H2O to go
The most important thing to remember is that, even if you don’t drink alcohol or sugary beverages, you should always drink a lot of water. During your workouts, hobbies or work hours, you should always drink water.
Most of us often forget to drink water, until we feel dehydrated and dry. To avoid this, you could put bottles of water in your bag, at the dinner table, or at your office. Keeping water at your plain sight will remind you to actually drink it more often.
Befriend your temptation
Many people, both with a busy schedule or a flexible one, agree that too strict diets often made them almost give up on their weight loss. This is often due to unrealistic expectations, incompatible diets and the impossibility to resist temptations.
This is exactly why you should ditch the all-or-nothing lifestyle; it is important that you know what is good for you and what isn’t, but, often the unhealthiest things taste the best, right?
Balanced diets, with an allowance for food sins, equal the most successful ones. Don’t deprive yourself of all the treats and pleasures; instead, find a partner and share in half.
Stay strong and think of your goal
Being a business professional or even having a family can be stressful enough for an average individual. Even though we try our best as workers, fathers, mothers, it mirrors and affects our health, which, again, comes back around and, as a boomerang, affects our work life. If we wish to stay successful in both private and professional fields, our body must relieve stress and gain enough energy to stay productive. Sometimes losing weight and changing your routine can be tough, but with realistic expectations, good plans and positive surroundings, any obstacle is easy to overcome.
