For those who are manual laborers, have outdoor jobs, or even more active work hours, staying fit and enhancing your health isn’t too difficult. However, for people with a sedentary job that often involves long hours sitting in the work desk, keeping fit is much more of a challenge.
Yo-yo diets and strange ‘desk exercise’ trends might bring results in the short term, but it's necessary to think of a long-term solution and implement habits that work well.
Work on Accountability
Walter Fisher is a successful poker player on many of the main online poker sites, in addition to real-world poker tables. While he’s seen great professional success, something he always really struggled with was his tendency to snack on unhealthy food at his work desk.
He had tried without success at dieting too many times to count, but appropriately, a bold bet truly turned his life around. His friend wagered him $100,000 he couldn’t get fit in 6 months and it turned out that this bet finally set Walter straight. He succeeded in the challenge of improving his health insurance and has never looked back.
For a texas holdem player, a large bet was the perfect way to keep accountable. He knew that there would be consequences if he didn’t succeed, in addition to a reward if he did. Not every one of us have a friend that’s brave enough to stake $100,000 on our failure, but many of us have a friend who’d accompany us to the gym in the morning or after work.
Making intends to exercise with a friend Three or four times per week will help you keep to the exercise plan for longer. The pressure of not wanting to cancel on your friend will usually outweigh the temptation to seize an extra hour in bed.
Think Long and Hard About the Vending Machine
Although there’s a tendency to blame everything on our ‘slow metabolism’, the very fact of the matter is, the majority of us could probably look a little closer into our day-to-day diets. The mid-afternoon slump is a classic ‘reach for a snack’ time and chances are you don’t opt for a bit of fruit at least a few days a week.
The office vending machine is a diet disaster waiting to occur. It’s generally full of chocolate, chips, and soda, the three cardinal unhealthy foods. Jennifer Aniston has a simple rule to follow, if your body craves something then satisfy that craving, but do it healthily while improving your health. Before giving in to something sugary, salty or fatty, identify what you’re craving. If it’s chocolate, then go for a sweet piece of fruit, if it’s fries, then try a handful of nuts and if it’s salt, then hummus is an excellent substitute. Although our body is telling us it requires the nasty stuff, it's actually just craving something from one food group over the others.
Invest inside a Better Working Environment
Some companies provide fully stand up desks and ergonomically designed chairs for his or her offices, and some don’t. If you be working in an office from the latter camp, then ask yourself if it might be worth investing in an upgrade with your own money.
A standing desk will help you burn more calories than sitting, as well as improving your posture. If there isn’t the area for a standing desk, a kneeling chair will help to improve your posture and slightly engage your core.
Little adjustments such as these don’t require a great deal of effort but do produce tangible results enhancing your health. Having a complete life overhaul isn't the way to achieve sustainable change, but making tweaks here and there could genuinely help you change your life.