Three Ways To Diet And Exercise When You Have No Time At All
Do you ever find yourself saying that you “don’t have time” to diet? You might fantasise about having a few weeks to just focus on your health and fitness, to exercise daily, stock up the fridge, cook delicious yet diet-friendly meals…
Unfortunately, the reality often looks rather different!
Even if you’re rushed and short on time, don’t think that you can’t successfully lose weight. You might not be able to prepare gourmet meals from scratch every evening or to work out for hours every day … but you can make these effective changes that take no time at all. (And in some cases, they even save you time.)
1. Canny Food Swaps
It doesn’t take any longer to buy and eat slightly different foods – and a few tweaks here will see you losing weight easily. Here are some healthy swaps:
- Swap white bread for wholewheat or oatmeal (fills you up faster, keeps you full for longer, and is better for you!)
- Swap a chocolate bar or cookie snack for a piece of fruit.
- Swap full-fat milk for skimmed.
- Swap full-fat spread for lower-fat. Ditto with cheese, mayo, yoghurt…
- Swap fries for a baked potato (more cooking time, but no extra prep time)
- Swap cheese in your sandwiches for lean turkey or ham.
- Swap a sugary cereal for a wholegrain one.
- Swap a flapjack for a low-calorie granola bar.
- Swap regular soda for diet soda (or better, water)
- Swap sugar for sweetener (cuts calories, though many people feel that sweeteners are harmful on other nutritional grounds)
I’m sure you can think of lots more easy swaps! In each of these cases, you’re saving calories without having to invest any extra time at all. You may find that there are some foods where you just aren’t willing to make the switch, but do try out the light alternatives to your favourites: after a week or two, your tastebuds may well have adapted.
2. An Active Commute
This won’t work for everyone, but if you can walk or cycle to work instead of driving, then do! In many cases, you might find it takes a similar amount of time. In general, whenever you have to get from A to B, look for ways to do so in as active a manner as possible. Obviously, this won’t always be practical, but think creatively: the big grocery store might be too far to go without your car, but can you pick up what you need by walking around the local shops?
3. Moving Around During Commercial Breaks
The average American watches 28 hours of television each week. That’s a lot of commercial breaks! If you normally ignore the ads in favour of grabbing a snack, or if you sit and zone out in front of them, try getting active instead. See how many sit-ups or press-ups you can do before your show comes back on – or simply jog on the spot or do some gentle stretches.
If you’re worried your family will cart you off to the loony bin if you start jogging around the room during the ads, try some subtler forms of activity. How about doing a general pick-up/tidy-up around the house during commercial breaks? It keeps your body moving, and keeps you from raiding the cookie jar…
(You could also apply this to other activities: perhaps you use the computer for hours at a stretch in the evening. Take a ten minute break every hour to give your eyes a rest and to get your body moving around.)
Do you have a great way to improve your diet or exercise without it taking up any extra time in your day? Share it in the comments…
Written by Ali HaleRelated posts:
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