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Maintaining your health can be a challenge when you're stuck sitting at a desk for eight hours a day, then spending another two hours tangled in your commute. Factor in eight hours for sleep, and that only leaves six hours left for you every work day. It's not easy to get anything substantial accomplished in that span, let alone find some extra time for exercise.
But there are certainly some things you could do each day to stay healthy. The new national standards call for roughly two hours of exercise each week. This could include anything from walking to running, bicycling, or swimming, doing jumping jacks, or lifting weights. Spread out over five days, that two hours equals roughly twenty minutes a day, which could easily fit within a thirty minute lunch break. Which means that if you pack a lunch and eat it at your desk (instead of spending money at the cafeteria every day), you've got time to go for a walk.
Additionally, to help foster a fitness friendly atmosphere (and to keep insurance premiums lower), many larger businesses provide fitness facilities for their employees. This may take the form of a small gym with a couple of treadmills, to a full sized fitness center complete with aerobics instructors. Charges for use of these facilities may vary, but businesses typically try to make them very affordable and some are even free. Their idea behind it is that healthier employees equal fewer medical expenses. Healthier employees are, thus, cheaper to insure. The benefit for you is that you've got somewhere to go over your lunch break to work up a quick sweat.
In the event you work somewhere small, with fewer perks, it's still important to find something to do for twenty minutes a day. Take a walk. Do jumping jacks. Just spend twenty minutes being active. By no stretch of the imagination does this mean you need to skimp lunch or skip out on work. Simply pack yourself a sandwich or salad, something you can easily eat at your desk while still being productive. This strategy tends to help your pocket book as much as it does your waist size.
Another thing you can do to stay healthy with a packed schedule is also pretty simple: Eat breakfast at home. It's too easy to pick up McDonald's on the way to work or take advantage of those free donuts in the break room. While breakfast is indeed the most important meal of the day, it's not that important. A better idea is to eat a bowl of cereal before you leave home. It equates to (maybe) an extra ten minutes that you have to give yourself in the morning. But it's so much better to get something healthy into your body at the beginning of the day. Even if you're the world's worst morning person, there are better options than fast food and donuts. Fruit smoothies (not to be confused with fruit milkshakes) can be both filling and healthy. I know someone that has a watermelon smoothie every morning. Not my choice of breakfast, but protein shakes or bars would be a decent way to start off the morning. Oatmeal packets are also quick, healthy, and smart. Add a pint of milk and you’re good to go! You'll definitely want to stay away from Pop-tarts and cereal bars, which are really just the donut's little brother anyway.
The third thing you can do is try to get others to go along with you. Exercise, even twenty minutes of it a day, can be rewarding and can de-stress you. And it can be, honestly, tedious and mind-numbing. Some people do not find exercise to be that much fun (myself included). But it's always nice to have somebody sharing the misery with you. Someone that makes you feel ashamed when they smell that egg sandwich on your breath and someone to pat you on the (sweaty) back after a good work out.
But good workout or not, getting fit is not the idea here. You're not going to give yourself abs of steel or get in shape for the marathon. These would require every-day training—not simply exercise, but disciplined training. And if that is your goal, I applaud your ambition, but you're going to have to set aside at least a couple hours a day for this.
On the other hand, if you're looking for something to fit into a tight schedule, the idea is that you'll allow yourself to stay healthy. You won't reach the apex of human physical conditioning, but you'll add a few more good years to your life. That said, there are definitely ways to find time to stay healthy. It is first and foremost a matter of mindset, a matter of dedication and tenacity. It's about making priorities and doing the things you know you can. It's about putting excuses to bed and finding two hours a week to dedicate to your mind and body. It doesn’t have to be as intense as contestants on NBC’s The Biggest Loser, just a regular walk is all it takes. You’ll thank yourself for it.
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