Weight loss tips for busy, working professionals

Long working hours and tight schedules may not allow you to stick to your fitness goals. Most of us skip meals and eat unhealthy food. It also becomes difficult to make time for exercise due to office deadlines and commuting. Due to our sedentary lifestyle, we slowly tend to get out of shape. However, with a little discipline you can easily manage both work and weight loss.

Tips to help you work out 

Exercise in the morning:

Dietician suggests motivating yourself and going for a brisk walk for an hour in the morning. You can also choose to exercise at home or hit the gym. An hour of exercise is a must to help you burn your calories.

Schedule your workouts:

If you want to make sure that you don’t miss out on your exercises, you have to schedule it. Utilise your lunch break to go for short walk or the gym, or even do office exercises sitting at your desk.

Workout for short durations:

Try short workouts and find simple ways to exercise to save your time. For example, the 7-minute workout is a high intensity workout which works on different body parts.

Take the stairs:

Take the stairs whenever you can to burn those calories. Walking up and down the stairs is a great cardio workout and will give you a good leg workout as well.

Make workouts fun:

Do what you love and you will stick to it. If you do not like the gym, sign up for a yoga, Pilates, martial arts or dance class after your office. You will enjoy your workout sessions while getting in shape.

Healthy eating tips for busy people

Do not skip breakfast:

Never skip your breakfast if you want to stay fit and healthy. According to dietician Sunaina, eating a protein-rich breakfast will help you in maintaining your weight and keeping hunger pangs at bay.

Eat whole grains:

Consuming whole grains like whole wheat, oats, bajra, ragi, barley, brown rice, instead of breads made from refined wheat, refined corns and white rice.

Eat frequently:

Fill up gaps between major meals with fruits, roasted chana, murmure rather than biscuits, chips and namkeens. Sprouts, boiled or roasted chana eaten as a snack will help you maintain your weight.

Avoid salt:

Try to have one salt-free and fat-free meal like sweetdalia, or any porridge. Sunaina says, ‘Excessive use of salt in your diet can cause fluid retention in your body. You can use cinnamon, fruits, or other complex carbohydrates like sweet potatoes or sweet corns to provide sweetness to your porridge.’

Avoid colas:

Avoid drinking high-calorie sodas, cold drinks, and juices as they are loaded with sugar. Instead try to drink home-made lemonade with less sugar and less salt, fruit shake, lassi or buttermilk, jaljeera and coconut water.

Choose your food wisely:

Whenever possible, eat home-made food. But if you cannot always cook, make sure what you eat out is healthy. Don’t opt for calorie-laden dishes. Have a side salad and customise your order with less oil or butter.

Sample diet plan

  • Early morning: 1 cup green tea without sugar (add 1tsp cinnamon powder to it) + 6 almonds
  • Breakfast: 1 bowl oats (with fruit added)
  • Mid morning: 1 fruit + 1 glass coconut water
  • Lunch: 2 chapatti + 1 bowl sabji + 1 bowl curd + 1 bowl salad
  • Evening: 30g nuts + 1 cup green tea
  • Late evening: Soup/1 bowl fruit
  • Dinner: 2 chapatti+ 1 bowl lentil + 1 bowl salad
  • Post dinner: 1 cup green tea

Image source: BigStock Images

 

Weight loss tips for busy, working professionals