We get it, you don’t have much time for yourself; you’re stressed about work, family, and not having enough time to do either let along both; and you aren’t in the shape you want (or actually need) to be in to operate at 100% so you really aren’t living your life, you’re just existing. Here’s out top 6 ways to get the mind and body you NEED to fulfill whats missing in your life, all while dropping the kgs and enjoying a beer.
1. Strength training – movement is key, but the main priority should be to perform as many multi-joint functional movements with resistance as possible to activate larger muscle groups. The bigger the muscle group the more energy required to fuel the exercise and repair of the muscle after training and therefore the more calories burned. In addition, the more muscle mass we have, the more calories we continue to burn throughout the day, so we need to add lean muscle mass through strength training.
2. Interval/Sprint Training – although running or riding for long distances does burn a lot of calories, its inefficient and you’re a person with limited time (probably a few injuries from years of pounding the pavement). Activities such as intervals, sprints, or other short bouts of high intensity work can burn the same if not more calories over a much shorter period of time.
3. Move – Take a few options which keep you moving. Go for a walk at lunch rather than eat at your desk, take the stairs rather than the lift, walk the dog, play with the kids rather than watch, and have some fun moving on the weekends like playing wall tennis.
4. Eat better foods including more healthy fat – Quite frankly, you know generally what’s rubbish and what’s good for you. There’s some finer details like eating more protein and fat, and less processed carbs, but we also like to keep it simple. If its packaged, how many ingredients do you recognise and what’s added? What’s the sugar content? Added sugar; you may as well throw it in the bin. Is it colourful? More colourful foods are generally better for you – ie White is generally highly processed so nutrients are stripped out. Eat more veggies, particularly the green ones. You have a fair idea about what to eat, so form some better habits to stop eating so much rubbish.
Fat has been given a bad wrap for years, but the tide has turned. Fatty acids like Omega 3 are essential as your body can’t make them, so these need to be included in our diet. Fish, avocado, nuts, seeds and coconut or olive oil are great sources of good fat and play a huge role in maintaining our metabolism which reduces our cravings.
5. Don’t stress – Stress plays a huge role in our lives and is something we help our clients with a lot. Don’t stress if you eat something you shouldn’t, just own it and be better tomorrow. Although beer is a depressant, and we would encourage you to avoid it as might as possible, in moderation, it can be helpful to de-stress. Exercise has a very similar de-stressing effect with lots more added benefits, but sometimes a beer just hits the spot. Just don’t make it 10.
6. Preparation – You’re probably an organised person at work, so why not in taking care of your own health? This includes having a morning routine and eating breakfast. Wake up at the same time, drink a glass of water, splash cold water on your face, exercise to earn that morning shower (only has to be 10 min), do some personal development (ie 10 min reading a book), eat breakfast and listen to your favorite 3 songs. The first ritual you do during the day is the most powerful ritual by far. It sets your mind, body and the context for the rest of you day.
At the end of the day, a house must be built on strong foundations and so should the body. Without them, it’s only a matter of time before cracks appear.