When I began my first magazine internship at the tender age of 20, I couldn’t believe how physically taxing it was to sit at a computer in a cubicle for 8 hours a day. I was used to changing classes in college and moving around throughout my day. Staying in one space for so long and focusing was incredibly difficult – and even a little painful, as my body adjusted to sitting for hours.
Little did I know that I would spend 10 years of my life doing the same, sedentary computer work at newspapers and magazines.
Image courtesy of David Castillo Dominici/FreeDigitalPhotos.net
But I needed to work to pay bills. And as a trained journalist who absolutely loved writing and editing, my jobs were absolutely perfect for me – just not physically active ones.
I quickly discovered that when I got home from work – especially if I was working too much on projects – I was tired, hungry and just wanted to eat dinner and get on with my few hours of free time in an evening. Exercise was the furthest thing from my mind. So was healthy eating.
Quickly, my weight started to reflect my lack of movement and less-than-healthy food choices. But just at the right time I began a fitness challenge with a personal trainer and learned how to make healthy eating choices and exercise.
For the first time in my life, I began looking into what foods would fuel my body. Choosing real foods was fantastic.
And even though my daily cardio and weight training routine was challenging, I loved how I felt – and I adored the results.
Before that fitness challenge, I made myself too busy to exercise. (And I just didn’t care about my diet.) But I quickly learned that making healthy choices helped me feel so much better. Suddenly I had energy to make it through my long days of sitting at work.
Since that challenge nine years ago, my commitment to exercise definitely has wavered. (Pregnancy, childbirth, moving and the busyness that comes with the life of a mom will do that to a woman.) But my healthy eating choices remain – and I adopted healthier product choices and practices around my house. (Want to know specifics? I’ve detailed it all in my eBook Accidentally Green.)
I understand that it’s entirely possible to be too busy with work – and that this busyness will crowd out your desire and opportunity to make healthy choices.
Make them anyway. Even if you can’t exercise daily, find some room in your weekly schedule to get moving. Choose the healthier food at the store and stay away from processed junk. Brainstorm one healthier thing you’d like to try this month and just do it.
Work may be important, but your life is more important. If you continue to make your work a higher priority than your health, one day your health will take top priority.
How do you make time for your own health during your busy work schedule?
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