Did you know that having a busy lifestyle could actually be contributing to your weight gain. Epsom, Sutton, Surrey Weight loss Hypnotherapist Maria Furtek explains how being “too busy” may be contributing to you being over weight.
Research has shown that almost half of Britons grab food and “eat on the go” as they fail to make the time to sit down, relax and enjoy the food that they are eating. “Eating on the go” can also mean grabbing the first thing available to eat, and this habit can lead to you putting on weight: with the easiest thing to grab and eat often being snacks like crisps and chocolate!
Many people actually take less than 20 minutes to eat their lunch and then are busy doing other things in their lunch break. This is another bad habit if you are trying to lose weight or be more healthy: eating too fast means that you don’t always register that you have eaten and can cause you to overindulge and eat something else, usually unhealthy, in quick succession. How many of you eat a pudding or something sweet like chocolate or a biscuit immediately after your lunch or dinner? This is because you are not taking time (usually about 15 minutes) to enable your tummy to register that it has eaten and is now full.
Another bad habit for busy people is leaving long gaps between meals or eating very late in to the evening. Again leaving a long gap between meals means that there is a higher temptation to either grab an unhealthy snack because you are so hungry later on. Eating too late in the evening means that you are often too tired to cook something healthy and a pre-packaged meal which is often high in salt and fat, becomes a quick option to satisfy your hunger. Eating late in the evening also means that your body doesn’t have as much time to burn off the calories before retiring to sleep at night.
So if you think that your busy schedule is contributing to you being over weight what can you do?
The simple answer is to “slow down!” and I know that this isn’t always an easy or viable option! However, it is important to set aside at least 30 minutes for your lunch during the day, so that you feel satisfied by the meal and learn to recognise when your body has eaten enough. To put a stop to mid-afternoon unhealthy snacks, ensure your lunch is filled with protein, vegetables and wholegrains, which help keep hunger at bay for longer.
If your schedule appears too jam-packed to eat regular meals plan ahead and ensure that you have a couple of healthy snacks with you to combat that hunger feeling. If you find that your work schedule means that you are not getting home early enough to eat at a reasonable time, then it is worth seeing if you can make some adjustments: could you complete your work by getting to work earlier in the morning? Could you agree to only work late a couple of evenings a week and ensure you eat earlier the remaining evenings? Could you take a healthy pre-packed dinner to work and eat during the day and have a lighter meal or snack in the evening so that your body can digest it more easily? Think about some tweaks you could make to eat healthier, earlier and be more prepared for those busy times: the positive outcome will not only be a healthier and perhaps slimmer body but also one which has more energy to work through your busy schedule.