5 Tips to Help You Maintain a Healthy Lifestyle Even When Life and Work is Out of Your Control  

It’s 6:00 a.m., and the alarm buzzes for you to start your day. You get up to walk the dog, prep for your 8:00 a.m. meeting and rush out of the house. You might remember to grab a yogurt, or you might decide to stop by a coffee shop and get a coffee and breakfast sandwich. Your day is filled with meetings and conference calls and no time for lunch, so you grab a sandwich from the cafeteria. You leave the office only to sit in traffic and pray you can just relax for a few minutes when you get home or perhaps grab dinner and a cocktail with a friend. Your routine is manageable, but you’ve noticed as you get older that you can’t eat anything you want anymore, maybe losing weight after the second or third baby isn’t happening as quickly as you remember after the first, or a couple of midweek cocktails leave you feeling tired and sluggish the next day, and the scale continues to creep higher and higher as you gain unexpected pounds. Although you may be working hard at the office and managing your children’s schedules at home, your dietary choices and lack of exercise have caused life (and body) changes by leaps and bounds. During your pursuit of a healthy lifestyle, your overall health and wellness has suffered. A pattern like this isn’t sustainable, even for the woman who typically manages to “have it all.” When you’re ready to make a choice to be and remain healthy, remember these five tips throughout your journey.

• Choosing to be healthy will make you love your body more than being skinny ever could. For many people the pursuit of “skinny” may feel like a never-ending cycle of weight fluctuation and shame, but being healthy is an attainable goal that can transform your life. Every day you are ensuring that you feel better inside and out. You have more energy. Your skin is clearer and softer. Your muscles are longer and leaner, and your smile is brighter. Making healthier choices, even small ones, will also influence others around you to do the same because they can see tangible benefits in your demeanor and appearance.

• Travel smart and stay healthy on business trips. If you travel often for work, you should incorporate healthy habits to survive the plethora of hotel continental breakfasts. Throw some hard-boiled eggs in a bag, make a trail mix of nuts and dried cranberries, and pack a medley of berries. You will not be able to plan every single meal while you are traveling, but you can put in a little extra effort to ensure that you have access to healthy food options. Rule of thumb: If you wouldn’t eat it at home, don’t eat it on the road.

• Consistency is key. Each day you should incorporate a tool into your routine and strive to form as many healthy habits as you can. Establish a routine that works for your schedule and personality. If you are a morning person, then plan to workout at 6:00 a.m. three to four days a week. If you like to snack throughout the day, then pack nuts, turkey-wrapped avocado slices, or an apple with peanut butter to munch on throughout your day. Prep your meals on Sunday, so when your week gets busy, you don’t have to worry about cooking or running to the grocery store. Use that crock pot collecting dust in the cabinet! Be as consistent as possible because that will bring about the long-term goals that you have set for yourself. Eating well for one week may be a good start, but creating habits that you will carry on for months and years will result in the lifestyle change you need.

• Teamwork makes the dream work. As a self-motivated, driven woman, you undoubtedly surround yourself with other like-minded, intelligent, and inspiring women. You should tap into your networks for advice about maintaining a healthy lifestyle or share with them your tips for self-motivation. Recruit a friend or a few to go to the weekly yoga class with you; it not only gets you moving, but it also allows you to spend quality time with your girlfriends. Cleansing and fasting are really difficult endeavors, but as long as your doctor approves, having a friend to commiserate with about that epsom salt water flush and your dreams of pepperoni pizzas somehow makes the cayenne pepper water a bit easier to digest. Your family and friends may be looking for some motivation to get healthy as well, so make sure you share your journey as you may inspire others along the way. If you are a mother, the changes you make will influence your family. Lead them to a healthier lifestyle by setting an example.

• Give yourself a break. Women are great at showing compassion towards everyone else, but we rarely do the same for ourselves. Don’t be so hard on yourself when you falter in your diet or skip a session at the gym. If your friend, sister, or daughter told you that she ate a burger and fries for dinner, you would never make her feel like she was failing at life, so don’t do that to yourself. On the road to a healthier lifestyle, you will sometimes miss workouts, go for the dessert, and skip the salad. You’ll decide to binge on Game of Thrones episodes instead of heading to the gym. It’s okay; don’t beat yourself up. You will have the chance to get going tomorrow.

At the end of the day, it’s all about making a conscious decision each day to build a stronger, healthier you from the inside out so that you can thrive at home, at work, and during all of life’s inevitable adventures. These tips can help you get started in the right direction.