It can be extremely difficult to keep up with your health if you work full time, especially if you have a family to look after once you get home. The tasks build up, and your health seems like an easy thing to push back until an easier time in your life.
But that easier time doesn’t come, and after a while, you begin to feel the effects of poor eating habits or lack of exercise. If you need some ideas about how to jump into healthy habits right where you’re at, then this article is for you.
Eating Right
A huge part of health is what you put in your body. After all, you are what you eat. To help you stay on track with your diet while working full time, it’s helpful to rely on meal planning.
Meal planning isn’t just an easy way to get dinner on the table in a hurry. It encompasses your breakfast, lunch, dinner and snacks throughout the week. Take the time to plan out every meal of the week. You could even take some time out on a Saturday afternoon to prepare snacks and get ahead on chopping vegetables for meals later in the week. Some families find it helpful to combine ingredients, freeze them, and then throw them in the crock pot the day they want that meal.
Concentrate on foods low in saturated fats and high in lean protein, such as plain Greek yogurt, chicken, turkey, nuts, whole grains, and fruits and vegetables. For snacks, prepare small pots of grapes, apple or salad the night before you go to work.
Exercising Right
To keep any high-fat and high-carb foods that you do happen to eat from adversely affecting your health, you need to get your heart pumping. Cardio exercise is important for circulating the blood, ultimately decreasing your blood pressure and risk of heart disease.
To incorporate exercise into your full-time work schedule, you’ve got to get into a routine. Join a gym with a class you might enjoy (cycling, yoga, pilates, etc.) and commit to attending it every time they have a session. If you’re working out on your own, figure out what works best for you. Are you more likely to go to the gym if someone goes with you? Find a friend to join you at the same time each week.
If you’re working out at home, set aside an area just for working out, and commit to a specific set of exercises at the same time each day. If you prefer to walk or jog outside, get up earlier so you can add that in before you go to work.
Taking Care of Your Feet
If you’re on your feet at work all day, it’s incredibly important to have the right footwear. Without it, you may notice that your feet, legs, and back hurt more with each passing day. For example, nurses should wear shoes that properly support their feet so that walking from patient to patient doesn’t have a negative impact on their bodies. The best shoes for nurses may be ones that offer great comfort, a strong grip and support for when you’re standing all day. To figure out your best footwear situation for a standing or walking position, you will probably have to try a few different types of shoes or insoles before you settle on ones that keep foot pain at bay.
Always take Breaks
Obviously taking a lunch break is essential (and a legal requirement) for anybody who is working a full day’s shift. But, you should also try and take brief breaks throughout the day. If you’re staring at a computer screen, you should try and avert your eyes away for 20 seconds every 20 minutes as to avoid headaches and strains. In addition to this, standing up every hour and stretching your legs will be highly beneficial for your muscles and will give you a chance to grab a glass of water or a quick snack from the break room.
Although some of these tips may seem fairly minuscule and obvious to some, following them will help you to stay healthy and focused throughout the day. When we’re trying to focus on a task and deal with the stresses of our job, it’s easy to ignore these things and sacrifice our comfort. But, adopting them into your daily routine will make all of that work much easier to get through.