In today’s day and age, it’s hard to find time to work out and stay healthy. From shuffling kids around to meeting deadlines at the office, it almost seems impossible to find time for ourselves. However, it is super important to make sure we maintain a healthy lifestyle to accomplish our top priorities in life and be the best possible person we can be. Sometimes it feels as though there are not enough hours in the day to work out or eat right, so we want to share with you our top secrets on how to stay healthy with a busy schedule.

PRACTICE MINDFUL EATING

Let’s face it when we have kids to take care of and work to be done, the last thing we’re thinking about is taking time to sit down and truly enjoy the food we eat. However, mindful eating is imperative when leading a healthy lifestyle and staying in shape. Here are some quick tips on how you can practice mindful eating with a busy schedule:

  • Before taking your first bite, bring all your senses to the meal. Be observant of the color, aroma, and texture of the food you’re about to eat.
  • As you take your first bite, pay attention to how your taste buds feel and try to identify all the ingredients and seasonings.
  • Take small bites as you eat, this will allow you to completely taste your food because there is more room in your mouth.
  • Chew your food thoroughly, by doing this, you will be able to fully taste all the flavors that are released.
  • Eat slowly and without distractions (yes, this means you need to put the phone down!), this will allow your food to be digested and send a signal to your head that you’re full so you do not overeat.

GET ENOUGH SLEEP

  • Did you know that if your trying to lead a healthy lifestyle, getting enough sleep can be just as crucial as your diet and exercise?  Lack of sleep can be very detrimental to our overall health, so it’s essential to put the computer down and get at least 7 hours of sleep.
  • Getting by on a few hours of sleep may seem like the right answer when you’re scrambling to meet the obligations of a busy schedule. However, it is important to note that insufficient sleep leads to a lack of alertness, impaired memory, and overeating.
  • Research shows that missing as little as an hour and a half of sleep can have an impact on your alertness. So don’t try and get by with 5 hours of sleep because you will be sure to pay for it the next day.
    • When you sleep, your body rests and your brain actually remains active and gets recharged, preparing for the following day. With a lack of sleep, your brain will have a hard time absorbing and recalling new information, so make sure to get sleep to keep that mind sharp!
    • Two hormones in your body help regulate hunger – leptin, and ghrelin. Leptin works by decreasing your appetite, while ghrelin stimulates it. When your body is sleep-deprived, the level of ghrelin rises, and the level of leptin falls, which leads to an increase in your appetite, causing you to eat more. Good sleep will only help you in leading a healthy lifestyle!

We’ve all been there, don’t let this be you.

MEAL PREP

  • When you hear the phrase, “meal prepping,” you’re probably thinking, “I don’t have time for this,” but meal prepping can be very simple and take as little as 2 hours (that’s not even 2% of your week). So if you’re like us, and continuously on the go, it’s imperative to take time to plan out your meals for the week to stay healthy.
  • There are many benefits to meal prepping, here are a few:
    • You are aware of the ingredients and nutrients going in your body
    • You prevent yourself from overeating
    • You save money by not eating out every other meal
    • You have more time to eat mindfully instead of shoving down your food to make it back to the office in time
  • It’s not easy to stay healthy with a crazy busy schedule, so pick a day that works for you (usually Sundays for most people) to plan and schedule your meals, this will keep you motivated to achieve this goal.

DON’T SKIP MEALS

  • With a busy schedule, it’s easy to forget to take time to sit down and eat a meal. Or maybe you think by skipping meals you’ll lose weight. However, it’s important to note that skipping meals does more harm than good, and if you want to be healthy, you must remember to eat throughout the day.
  • When you go many hours without food, your body notices and goes into safety mode. Which cues your metabolism to slow down to conserve energy. So be sure to find time to eat balanced meals throughout the day to avoid starvation mode and ultimately to stay healthy.

A LITTLE EXERCISE IS BETTER THAN ‘NO’ EXERCISE

  • After a long busy day, the last thing on our mind is to hit the gym. However, it’s essential to get some exercise in, to live a healthy life. So why not make exercising fun and convenient (yes, we did use exercise and fun in the same sentence.)
  • Here are a few ways you can incorporate fun and instinctive exercises into your busy day:
    • Walking – Go for a quick 15-minute walk, whether that be on your lunch break or when you get home with your family/friends.
    • Dancing – Who doesn’t love to dance? This is a great way to get your steps in while having fun.
    • Biking – Go for a bike ride around the block or maybe bike to work.
    • Take the Stairs – Switch up taking the elevator, every other day for the stairs – little efforts add up!
    • Commercial Break Situps/Pushups – Every time there’s a commercial break while you’re watching TV, make yourself do situps and pushups until the show comes back on.
    • Temptation Bundling – Combine something that needs to be done with something you enjoy. e.g., going for a walk and listening to a podcast (time flies)
  • There are many ways you can get your exercise in while keeping up with a busy schedule, and you don’t even have to think about the gym.

BODYSQUAD

  • By now, we all know it’s necessary to incorporate healthy eating habits and exercise into our lives, but we know it can be hard to stay in shape when you’re only getting in a few minutes of exercise a day. So if you’re looking to get rid of stubborn fat and build up your muscles, then BodySquad is the answer for you.
  • BodySquad offers non-surgical bodysculpting treatments and is open 7 days a week with convenient hours for YOU! We want to help you look your best because at BodySquad we believe looking good, feels good.
  • Come in and get your free consultation with the BodySquad and together we will come up with an individualized body plan that’s right for you.
Headshot of Sara
Sara Condon

Sara is the Director of Marketing at BodySquad and one of our certified specialists. She is in charge of all facets of BodySquad's marketing efforts. She has a degree in marketing and is certified in CoolSculpting® Resonic®, CoolTone® and Morpheus8®.