How To Prioritize Your Health When You're Busy With Work
#SugarBalancedLiving
With the stress and constant rush of modern life, it can be easy to overlook our health and self-care. We forget to eat right, workout, relax, and other important things that keep us healthy. So, in today's post, learn how to prioritize healthy habits without stress as busy men and women!
Are you so busy with life that you forget to plan to eat something healthy for lunch? Is your day so busy that you can't even think about what would be healthiest for? Does it feel like your life is not your own? Do you feel guilty to try and make time to take care of #1... aka yourself?
If you answered yes to any of these questions, then you need to read this article.
Many of us do not even think to prioritize our health, happiness, and mental well-being, because we're too busy and wouldn't even know how to start.
This is especially true for business professionals, whose days consist of urgent deadlines, business meetings, work lunches, and then there is family and friend obligations, errands, and if you have children, then no doubt there is even more to do, from cleaning the house, doing the laundry, picking up the kids from school, to attending PTA meetings.
Life can be so overwhelming and with work's heavy and hectic demands, can make it easy to lose sight of some of the most important health and happiness requirements, like staying active, take time for self-care, and eating to fuel your body. Unfortunately, putting your health on hold is a normal occurrence for business professionals.
To make matters worse, in this modern 21 century age we live in, being busy is considered a good thing.
We all want to be known as a person who can handle anything and we pride ourselves on how much we have “going on”. In the end, we're left feeling exhausted all of the time, and our health declines.
Even when we finally decide to try to take the steps to make a healthy positive change in our lives for good, we find a way to let our self-priority fade away. For example, you may take spring break vacation to work on achieving a “beach body” ready for summer. You work hard on focusing on yourself, your wellness, eating healthily, and you do see happy mental and physical results.
Then fall comes around, and... boom... a whole new list of objectives and goals to achieve before winter show up. Combine that with the busy start of the school year, and voila, our health and self-care can be thrown right back onto the backburner.
Many of us tend to forget that self-care and health aren't a luxury, but necessities.
Because we feel too busy, don't know where to start, or can't find the right balance, we simply let ourselves go and choose work-life over wellness.
To be honest, ignoring your physical health can become very easy when you fall into a pattern of negative habits when you're working all of the time. If you're trapped at a desk job all day, often grabbing a quick (aka unhealthy junk food) bite to eat seems easier.
After a while of sitting, it also seems easier to remain inactive and keep working at your desk throughout the day, rather than to take even 5 minutes to step out of the office, and walk around for a bit. By the time you are done at work, it might feel too late to even worry about moving or eating healthily.
Can you relate?
However, life, work, health, and self-care shouldn't be about picking one or the other.
Having a healthy mind and body should never be taken for granted despite your seemingly hectic schedule. You can't wait for something to go wrong to give your well-being the attention it so desperately needs and deserves.
If you want vibrant health and happiness, there is intentional action required from you, but once you have the processes in place, a 'healthy life' with be intuitive and trust me, the wonderful long-term positive effects will far outweigh any effort you put in.
Balancing Health and Work
Treat your body like a temple you want to spend time enriching. Your body is worthy of a good support system. If you take good care of your body, it'll take you where you want to go, with the power, energy, and vitality that you will require to get there. I know this importance very personally.
I had a personal wake-up call a few years ago when I was in the thick of my exams while I was working full time and going through a serious weight struggle, I would work for hours, study mindlessly for hours on end during my free time, and family and friend obligations were just squeezed into any spare minutes left. I hated the way I looked and more importantly hated the way I felt all the time.
I was overwhelmed with relatively simple and small problems that felt MASSIVE, and I didn’t even realize it until it started to contribute to my physical health. I suffered from low energy, headaches, weight fluctuations, and muscle soreness.
My body was breaking down.
In a desperate search for a way to dig myself out of mental discomfort and the terrible physical toll my body was experiencing, I realized that I needed to start prioritizing myself and discovered I need to work on flipping my perspective on my health and play an active role in improving my wellbeing every day.
I knew I wasn't gonna magically find more time, but I had to start taking care of myself. I set out on a journey to make that happen using the best smart yet simple actionable strategies I could find to take me forward.
That’s why I’m so passionate, about everything health and wellness, because they are the very foundation of living our best, happiest lives.
They’re the foundation of our confidence to pursue our deepest dreams and live inspired and purposeful lives, and for the confidence to speak up for what we believe in - and what we deserve.
So how can we juggle all the responsibilities of life, prioritize our health and wellness for good, and change negative habits we've formed over a lifetime?
Today I'm going to share my steps and strategies specifically for busy men and women who want to maintain healthy habits without stress and find a positive work-life balance.
Step #1: Awareness
We all know that making healthy choices will make us feel better and help us live longer happier lives. Yet, even with the best intentions to eat a better diet, get more exercise in, catch a healthy amount of sleep, quit smoking, and/or reduce stress, we unknowingly or willingly hold onto mental habits that sabotage our efforts to move forward and progress.
Without judgment, be completely honest with yourself about your daily choices. Can you see any self-defeating mental patterns?
Maybe you can see where you subconsciously sabotage your health goals because you see it as a tiring and overwhelming goal, that'll just get in the way of your current lifestyle of prioritizing your work and friend and family engagements.
Don't worry, it's understandable that you sacrifice your health for your career. We are told as soon as we turn into young adults that our future and career are the most important asset. We replace caffeine for sleep and substitute nutrition with cheap pasta from the restaurant across from work. Do you see these patterns now?
The first step toward change is awareness and accepting our negative patterns, so, we can move forward. Once you’re aware change is needed, you can start working on forming the commitment to take action on prioritizing what 'really matters' in life: you.
Step #2: Take Smaller Steps
We only have one body, so it's crucial to treat it right. However, this doesn’t mean need to push yourself to meet that daily workout goal. Be realistic. The steps towards a healthier lifestyle don't have to be earth-shattering or overwhelming and your healthy routine shouldn't have to add to your daily exhaustion.
Living a wellness thriving life is much more than intimidating diet tracking or buying prepper health meals or forcing yourself into the gym for an hour a day, it is about planning, devotion, and creating new positive healthy habits.
I'm here to tell you that you don't need to spend half your day in the gym or start drinking green juices at lunch. To start living a healthier lifestyle without feeling deprived or overworked, focus on slowly incorporating wellness-driven habits and strategies into your routine. Changing behavior can be hard work, but small steps taken to accomplish goals are often successful over the long term.
I know it can be hard to know where to start so here are some small and easy yet very effective, actionable steps that you can incorporate into your lifestyle to make it a healthier one.
Bring Lunch To Work:
In this modern-day world, we are surrounded by convenient and affordable food options. Sadly, they tend to be high in sugar and calories-dense.
However, while cooking is the ideal option, because you'll know exactly how much salt, sugar, and fats are in your dish, I know you're running a busy life and I understand that few of us can do this all the time -- and that’s okay.
Instead, set some weekly goals like bringing your lunch to work on Mondays and Fridays. Also, prioritize setting some time aside to research some takeout dishes that can be your healthy go-to's to order when you're under pressure. Your bank account will thank you, too.
Deskercise:
Being a business professional often means sitting for prolonged periods. Luckily there are some ways to help counteract these couch potato habits and keep active while sitting at the computer all whole day. Try googling some exercises that you can do while you are on your desk like triceps dips, calf raises, desk plant, etc.
Also, if your office is within walking or biking distance from your house, try to incorporate some days when you walk or bike to work instead of commuting. Even if your work is very far, you could park a few kilometers away and instead walk the of the way.
Hydrate:
I know it's easy to rely on caffeine boosts from Starbucks to get you through the workday. But you shouldn't be depending on sugary coffee drinks with little nutritional value. Instead, opt for water throughout your day.
Every cell, organ, and tissue in your body uses water to help with temperature regulation and maintaining bodily functions. Plus, staying hydrated can help curb junk food and sugar cravings. Thirst is easily mistaken for hunger, and dehydration can also cause mismanaged hunger signals.
Deploy The 80/20 Principle:
To take the stress off of worrying every time you eat while you're already stressed and busy with work, I want you to follow the 80/20 principle. This principle is just the concept of focusing on eating clean only 80 percent of the time and for the other 20 percent, you have flexible freedom to eat whatever you want.
Reduce Your Junk Food And Sugar Intake:
It is crucial that you reduce the amount of sugar and junk food in your diet. Refined carbs and added sugars are highly addictive and excess intake of them can exponentially increase your risk of diseases such as obesity, cardiovascular disease, diabetes, and non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) as well as cognitive decline and even some cancers.
However, be realistic - don't go crazy straight out of the starting line by cutting everything unhealthy completely. Going cold turkey isn’t the best idea if you want to sustainably cut processed foods and added sugars, because a drastic cut in sugar intake will cause your body to go into shock, and you’ll experience many different symptoms connected with sugar and junk food withdrawal. So what should you do?
By making a few modifications to your diet and setting yourself up with the right knowledge, overcoming sugar withdrawal and maintaining it can be easier than ever. Check out my post How to Stop Eating Sugar: 11 Simple Ways for some simple ways to reduce sugar from your diet without falling into the rationalization trap!
Step #3: Get Perspective
It's time to stop and get perspective. To be able to prioritize yourself, you need to take a step back and take dive into your mindset.
How important is your health to you? What is so important that it prevents you from prioritizing your happiness?
We all know that there is always something more that we need to or can do, but you need to know when to walk away and balance your life. You need to get perspective on what matters. Focus on the big picture.
Whether it’s wanting to impress your boss, get ahead with tasks, or achieve more with your career, you'll never truly be successful if you’re not also watching over yourself.
YOUR true essence needs to be okay if you want everything else in your existence to be okay. Self-care isn't a roadblock; in fact, it's a crucial step toward enjoying life and feeling your best. Being successful at work is often equated with having a successful life, but that is a bunch of hogwash - health is true wealth.
You had your body before you started working, and if you take proper care of it, you'll have it long after you retire. Your mind and body allow you to operate and do your job. Consider putting in a little time to help it do its job of helping you function.
Don't you think that if we started managing our health like our careers, the mental and physical rewards would be endless? You need to recognize that 'health' is more valuable than your career and you need to take a step back every once in a while.
Step #4: Schedule and Declutter
I recognize that your schedule is going to be equally as busy as before you start prioritizing your health. So, what's very important is that you organize and plan your new realistic wellness goals and just shift the schedule over time as you find what is comfortable and attainable for you. Build your health goals into a planned routine.
Firstly, an excellent first step to planning your day is to declutter your daily life of bad habits and time spent on tasks you can avoid. Be sensible, if you have too much on your schedule, evaluate what you have to do and what is adding unnecessary stress to your life.
Delegate tasks and allow yourself to relinquish control and let someone else do what normally falls to you but you don't need to be doing. You'll probably find that there is extra time that you've been wasting on tasks that aren't unneeded or redundant.
After decluttering your current schedule, outline your new goals, and positive new habits, and map out what your new days are going to look like, and stick to a routine.
Step #5: Support
You don’t have to set out for a goal on your own. People are stronger when they can rely on each other.
When I was personally working on breaking my negative eating patterns and terrible yo-yo dieting cycle, one of the biggest factors in achieving my goal of breaking my junk food addiction, finally curbing my sweet tooth, and losing weight, while I was trying to balance a crazy busy work, life, and, study schedule was: support. Yep, there it is: support.
Having emotional support throughout your weight loss journey will increase your odds of long-term success. If you feel encouraged by others, rather than discouraged on your own, you'll have an easier time staying committed to your weight-control efforts.
Support also helps keep you accountable and motivated to stay on track.
You can find support in a partner, friend, or even more effective professional support like a health and wellness coach and community.
As someone who is now a wellness coach, I can tell you if I had someone like myself, a wellness coach or even a healthy community, to keep me in check and metaphorically hold my hand when I was on my health journey, I would've achieved weight loss and vibrant health a lot sooner.
A health and wellness coach is someone who keeps you motivated, on track, gives you guidance with your eating plan, and helps you overcome mindset blocks that keep you stuck. They give you new ideas and help you move forward when your weight plateaus (which it will do at some point).
Health coaches keep you accountable and should help you a busy person create a tailored meal and fitness plan that works for YOUR life and circumstances.
Is it worth it to hire one? Consider the professional insights, support, and accountability, an investment in your health and future. A typical approach is between 3-6 months, so while being healthy is a lifelong commitment, getting help from a coach isn’t.
Even if you're not ready to get one-on-one coaching, you can always find a supportive program with a community that'll help save you time, stress, and failure, by guiding and supporting you with effective advice.
Be wary though, many nutrition and health and wellness coaches are product pushers, use depriving calorie counting methods, and don't work on long-term results and health, so, be sure to do your research.
If you want trusted accountability, support, and the right plan for losing weight in the long term and building a healthy life, then my Break My Sugar Addiction is for you.
In my program, we will help you conquer your obsession with sugar and junk food and negative eating habit without food fads, dieting, deprivation, and the need for willpower and we help you gain vibrant energy, heal your body, drop excess weight, boost your metabolism so that you can embrace a life that you love living.
Step #6: Think positive
Several studies have shown that positivity and optimism – that feeling that things are good and will work themselves out - directly affects your physical and mental health.
By flipping your negative thoughts into optimistic thoughts, you'll improve your attitude towards uneasiness. Imagine a day where 'you wake up feeling overwhelmed and like your work plate is never gonna allow you to take care of your wellness' - well flipping those negative feelings into positive ones will give your willpower an extra boost, even when you reach a tough situation or emotional instability.
For example in that situation above, you'd tell yourself that this is your tired mind overreacting and that every day will bring new possibilities, you just gotta take it one step at a time.
Try writing down a list of positive phrases for common situations find hard to handle in your journal. It might not be easy to start with, but with practice, this point of view will become second nature.
Step #7: End The Week With Reflection
I use this one every week - goals or not - but it's especially great for when you're trying to achieve something.
This ties in with my journaling recommendation as I suggest starting a reflection journal. You could sit and simply think about the week, but it won’t be as effective.
Each Friday I want you to sit down quietly and reflect on what you did this week; how you did it; what you didn’t do; and why you didn't do it. After writing all this down, look over it and work on creating solutions to any problems you see. This will make your productivity the next week EVEN better.
I also want you to highlight your wins as this will help you celebrate your effort more than you would have - the more victories you see on paper, the more fire you’ll have to create more of them.
How To Prioritize Your Health When You're Busy With Work: You Got This!
Trust me, I get it – people are competitive by nature, we want to thrive in our goals and careers. Nevertheless, this usually means we drive ourselves to take on more promises, responsibilities, and tasks, without even thinking about how we're truly feeling.
While we take on tasks like we're superheroes who can do anything, whenever, and we forget that truly we're all humans with needs, feelings, and a mind and body that needs support, and love.
Luckily, we can break this cycle of lack of care and respect for our physical and mental health.
With the right mindset and steps, you’ll be able to prioritize yourself. You can balance your career dreams while also taking care of yourself and make your life your own.
I know that the hardest step here might be starting the process of cutting back on the refined carbs and sugar - especially with sugary or carby pasta cravings - but once you’ve started decreasing it for a few weeks, you will notice the decreased cravings, and will be surprised at just how much better you feel.
I’m evidence of this!
However, I know that sometimes it’s harder for some rather than others when it comes to sugar and junk food cravings, especially when they cause you to endless crave them.
So, if your weight has crept up on you and/or you’re tired of feeling STUCK in trying to conquer negative food habits without food fads, obsessive dieting, deprivation, or the need for willpower, I have some extra support for you, that’ll help you in cutting down on processed foods and junk foods addictive pull!
… yup, the Isabelle behind the IsabelleMcKenzie.com!
Instagram: @ItsIsabelleM | Pinterest: @ItsIsabelleM | Subscribe on Youtube
I’m dedicated to helping teach people how to live their happiest, healthiest life and reach their goals so that they can create the lifestyle of their dreams with integrity & purpose.
I focus on self-care, mind, body and health, dedicated to helping teach peeps how to live their happiest, healthiest life and reach their goals so that they can create the life that will have them jumping out of their bed in the morning to actually live!
Read More >