The busy woman’s guide to eating healthy - Women's Agenda

The busy woman’s guide to eating healthy

Sponsored Content: This information is provided with the support of Jenny Craig. 

You begin every day with the greatest of intentions. This is D-day!  The day you will be scheduling time for a healthy breakfast. And then for lunch, you will buy a healthy salad and a juice from you’re go-to nutritious cafe. Then, the afternoon nibbles strike, and you are craving something naughty, but you restrain yourself and eat that muesli bar instead.  For dinner, you intend to cook a delicious healthy dinner, chicken breast with lots of veggies.

However, you realise your alarm goes off and you have to hurry and get the kids ready for school as well as yourself dressed for work. You grab a cup of coffee on the way out the door, or even worse, swing past a drive through for a hazelnut cappuccino calorie bomb.

Let’s face it. Being a busy woman means you often do not have the time to count calories or follow complicated diet plans to obtain your goal weight. Fortunately, there are some diet plans that are tailored towards the needs of the busy career woman, which enable her to live healthy but still have the time for the most important things in her life.

So how can you find the time to balance the scales as well as your career? Check out the tips below.

Leave the Calorie Counting to Someone Else

Counting calories can be time-consuming, especially if you have a demanding job. Fortunately, there are certain diet programs that will do all the calorie counting for you. A good example is Jenny Craig, a food and nutrition specialist who delivers calorie controlled meals right to your doorstep.

By choosing a diet plan that delivers controlled calorie meals, you will also have a pre-made meal to enjoy while you are at work. While you may still have to deal with the occasional business lunch, you can always stick to your diet by choosing healthier meals, such a chicken based meals or fish dishes.

Always Choose a Tailored Diet Plan

Plenty of busy women have tried popular diets in the past, but found that they regained their weight as soon as they started eating “normal” again. In order to lose the weight and keep it off forever, you should no longer see your plan as a diet, but as a lifestyle change.

The majority of women find themselves following a diet that contains food they don’t really like. As a consequence, they become more susceptible to falling off the wagon. Unhealthy foods will become more tempting, so having a tailored diet plan with foods you actually like is the key to success.

Expect Setbacks

Setbacks are a common denominator in any diet plan, so it is important to expect set-backs along the way and to not let any setbacks determine your overall success. When you fall off the wagon, do not postpone eating healthy again until the next day. Instead, try to keep to your diet plan for the rest of the day, even if you have been eating something you should not have.

Expecting setbacks does not mean you should be okay with them if they happen frequently. If you find yourself falling off the diet wagon on a frequent basis, you will need to have a look at your current diet plan and its suitability for your lifestyle. Leading a busy lifestyle can influence the effectiveness of many diets, so a tailored diet plan is absolutely essential for long-term success.

Support

Having a good support system can have a positive impact on your weight loss results. Unfortunately, most businesswomen have to face colleagues or business partners who are not following a diet. For that reason, losing weight can be a little more difficult for those of us who encounter non-dieters frequently!

In order to be successful during a weight loss journey, you may need a good external support system. There are certain food and nutrition specialists (like Jenny Craig) who will give their members access to a private consultant. By having the support of a consultant, you will have a specialist who will be able to evaluate the struggles you are facing and propose some viable solutions.

Exercise When Possible

Exercise is a vital part of weight loss and a healthy lifestyle. Unfortunately, not everyone has the time to head to the gym on a daily basis or follow an exercise plan that requires several hours of exercise a day.

If you’re busy and want to lose some weight, but don’t have a huge amount of time to exercise, you can still get some exercise in by making some small changes to your daily routine. Instead of taking the car to work, you can ride your bike or walk. Of course, riding your bike to work is not always suitable. If this is the case for you, you can make some small changes during the day. Instead of taking the elevator, why not take the stairs instead?

Those who have little time for exercise, but do want to get the most out of the time they do have available, may want to consider a personal trainer. Some personal trainers will come to your home at a time you have determined beforehand. By using these services, you can still take advantage of exercise at a time that is suitable for you.

A successful diet is not impossible for busy women, provided you choose a tailored diet plan that is created for your specific situation. By following a tailored plan, with foods you love, you can change your lifestyle and maintain your goal weight.

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