For many business women, being tied to a desk for eight or more hours per day is the norm. Unfortunately, that’s not the norm for our bodies.
Your body was developed to move. If you’re not moving enough, things start to go wrong. You might not fell it right away, but over time, the damage will take its toll. Those pounds creep up on you, and aches and pains become more common.
The result? You’ll have less energy and feel crappy!
The good news is there are things that you can do to counteract the effects of too much sitting even when you’re at your desk all day. Here are my six tips to jumpstart your metabolism and clean your gut (including the extra weight, bloat, inflammation, and overall clogged feeling that come with a sluggish metabolism):
1. Watch Your Portions
All of the work you do to stay healthy, lose weight, and fire up your metabolism is wasted if you’re eating too much. Take a look at how much you’re putting on your plate. Chances are it’s too much.
Women should eat 3 to 4 ounces of protein, 4 to 6 ounces of fish, 1/4 to 1/2 cup of beans, and 1/4 to 1/3 cup of grains per meal as well as 5 cups of vegetables per day.
Women should also eat healthy fats and the right portions of those healthy fats. For example, you could eat 1 to 2 thumb-sized portions of oils, up to 1 closed handful of nuts, seeds, and coconut, 1/2 to 1 whole avocado, and 1 to 2 handfuls of olives per day.
2. Drink Water
Drink half your body weight in ounces of water every day. The minimum amount of water you should be drinking on a daily basis is 80 ounces. There is no exception! Alcohol and caffeinated drinks don’t count.
You can add flavor to your water by adding fresh fruit. Just done use mixes like Crystal Light. They’re filled with preservatives and do even more harm to your body!
3. Eat Clean Protein
Whenever you can, eat grass-fed meat and wild caught fish because they have no fillers, preservatives, food coloring, or antibiotics. If you can’t buy grass-fed meat, choose organic.
Protein helps to maintain lean muscle mass which is metabolically active tissue. In other words, it’s very important to fire up your metabolism.
4. Eat Health Fats
Despite what you may have heard in the past, you should eat fats. You just need to make sure you eat healthy fats. These include nuts, seeds, fish, avocado, and olives.
5. Eat Your Greens
Your mother was right. You need to eat your greens! Don’t worry if they’re not your thing. Hide them in a soup or shake if you have to. Just make sure you eat them!
6. Eat Healthy Grains
Even if you’re gluten-free, you can and should eat healthy grains. Choose grains that are filled with protein and fiber like quinoa, millet, brown rice, and buckwheat.
If you’re struggling to keep your metabolism going and feel like your sedentary job is making you sick, the six tips above are simple to follow. Trust me, they can make a big difference in how you feel every day!
Jen Meister
Jen Meister is on a mission to educate, empower, and inspire people on a journey toward whole health and wellness. Through her coaching practice, Simple Clean and Whole, she helps people sustain a healthy lifestyle while living in a world filled with distractions. Jen holds a Master in Education degree from New York University and is a graduate of the Institute of Integrative Nutrition. She is a Certified Holistic Health Counselor who has coached hundreds of people and spoken to thousands over the past 10 years about how they can transform themselves without fear or stress so they can be truly healthy and happy. Jen offers private and group coaching options, including one-on-one coaching, group cleanses, group nutrition and lifestyle programs, and online group programs.
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It also helps to stand up from your desk from time to time to stretch or just walk around. It does a lot of good for your eyes too.
I loved your recommendations, especially because you’re right! Working that many hours reduces the time to workout but we can all make some time to plan our meals to keep our weight. I should try to follow them…