In this futuristic modern utopia we live in – gadgets and tech do a lot of our work for us, so it’s safe to say that we are probably the laziest humans to ever exist on this planet (so far). As a fellow geek, I completely understand how important the subject of health is to the often sedentary lifestyle that we live. Glued to a computer for work, glued to a couch and TV for entertainment (or more computer!), sometimes not seeing the sun for days – I get it. No one is perfect (except for Ken in acquisitions) so we are all on varying paths on the journey to being as healthy as WE can be.
Today we are focusing on some simple tips that everyone can do every day in the office, at home, or wherever you work (or play) that can help us to be the healthiest humans we can be – even if we do fall off the wagon every now and then – we’re only human! So here we go, 7 tips for improving our health and fitness (GEEK EDITION).
1. Be Aware
10 Hacks to Jumpstart a Healthy Lifestyle
First one right out of the gate is simple, or so it seems, just being aware of your health situation can really help you out. You have to start somewhere right? Start here.
Whether you self asses your situation or visit a doctor – you need to know where you stand. Are you overweight, underweight, healthy or unhealthy? Start being aware of what you eat everyday, are you making correct food choices or not making any choices at all and inhaling everything in the vending machine until the hunger stops? Portion control, and healthy choices are the best place to start if you want to lose weight – maybe you don’t even want to lose weight you just want to “feel” better, you need to make a it conscious and in your mind so that you can move towards some type of goal that is better than simply “staying alive”. Figure out what your goals are and we’ll tackle them in the next points!
2. Get Up!
How to Fix Your Posture in 4 Moves! (PERMANENTLY)
That’s right – it’s sometimes the hardest thing to do, after working all day in a chair isn’t it sad that all we want to do is stay in that sitting position and “rest” – come on! Get up!
Not all of us can get a desk that lets us stand and work – but you don’t really have to have one either, just try to make that conscious decision every day to be better, and get up and walk around. You have to get that blood pumping one way or another and taking a bathroom break or just a quick stroll around the office, or your yard, can make you feel much better – and get some fresh air while you are at it! Sitting all day isn’t the best for your posture anyway so be aware of that also.
Now you start with walking, but you don’t have to stop there – you can do much more on those small 3-5 minute breaks, which we’ll talk about in the next points.
3. Revamp Your Lifestyle
This is where those goals come into play, got them ready? Here we go – so before you tell me, almost all of your fitness and health goals will involve at least to some degree diet and exercise. Don’t get scared.
All routines are hard at first but you need to make it an actual routine – then it won’t be so bad after a few days and weeks of repetition! Think about the foods you like, the foods you eat, and try to find a diet that works for you that you can stick to easily. If the diet you choose is too hard it will quickly fail and you are back at square one. If you are trying to lose weight try looking into the ketogenesis (keto) style diets, if you want to get stronger and have more defined muscles perhaps try a low fat and high protein diet, if you are trying for more advanced sports or to get much larger muscles you might need more supplements. Again, it all depends on what your goals are and where your body is right now. Speaking of supplements.
4. Vitamins
What Supplements Should I Take?
Everyone should be taking vitamins, yes, that means you. So walk (or run) yourself down to Mr Vitamins and tell him you need a multivitamin, and some calcium supplements, and maybe even some fish oil tablets – ASAP. I personally take all of those on a daily basis and have been doing it with my workout routine for a few years now and I must tell you that I feel great and can actually tell when I miss my daily dose of vitamins. In general we do not get enough of the vitamins we need from our food alone so thankfully that is why there are vitamin supplements available to make sure we get a healthy dose of the things that keep our bodies working properly.
5. Desk Workouts
Deskercise! 33 Smart Ways to Exercise at Work
Remember those 3-5 minute breaks? Here is what you do with them. You workout as much as you can fit into them!
Where? Right there at your desk! In your office, or wherever you can find a free moment – this goes back to the first point of being aware – if you are aware that you “should” be working out as much as possible throughout the day, you will be more inclined to doing those workouts.
If you can only fit in 30 minutes of exercise a day, do it – ideally you should try to go for 1 full hour of exercise every day (good, wholesome exercise with weights or some type of machines in a gym) but if you can only fit in a doze of these 3-5 minute workouts you can easily get in a few push-ups in one session, a few chair dips in another, a few sit-ups here and there, and a few squads or calf raises while you are standing in line for food. Be creative and get your heart pumping, before you know if you’ll have burned hundreds of calories and feel much better than if you chose to simply sit through your break. If you need an extra push there are actually gadgets that can motivate you to get up by tempting you to use them! Who says tech is the reason we stop moving after all?
By the way you can do this anywhere, not just your desk – I used to do mini workouts while watching commercials back in the day when we actually had commercials on TV that interrupted what we were watching, but you can do the same thing these days with loading/buffering or even if you are a gamer and play fortnite – workout in between loading screens, it is at least 3 minutes between matches! You have no excuse, get to working out!
6. Snack Healthy
18 MEAL PREP HEALTHY SNACKS FOR WORK
With all this extra movement you are bound to be hungrier throughout the day – if you have successfully laid out a diet plan and are restricting your calories like a boss you deserve a reward, a healthy one mind you! Pack in your lunch some carrots, or some cucumber slices, if you keep your snacks to light veggies (if your calorie or carb count allows for those snacks) then you will feel healthier and fresher throughout the day rather than scarfing down fries or chips – bonus tip: if you are on a keto diet I found turkey sticks to be a great high fat high protein snack, you can find them in the beef jerky isle – I found they fit my macros perfectly in terms of calories, carbs, fat, protein. If you need help finding quality food sources look to companies like Gold Bee that curate their products with the finest ingredients to make sure you are putting the healthiest option possible into your meal prep.
7. Stay Away From Food Traps
We all have friends, and social lives, and family – and they love to sabotage our diet! Once you get on track and are proud of your calorie counting ways, create some sort of schedule to allow cheat meals (one meal!) every week or every once in a while and try to stick with it. This may mean that you have to turn down your friends invitations for mid week burgers or your aunts home cooking – but let them know that you are trying to stick to a strict diet for a few months and they’ll understand, and you’ll feel better for putting your health front and center in your life. What I like to do is plan my biggest cheat meals around the weekends because I know that is when people usually go out – Friday night, Saturday morning, you bet the temptations are huge on those days! So be prepared. It’s possible to be responsible with your health and still have fun!
8. Stretch!
Work out like your gaming hero
Always stretch before you workout to reduce any muscle injuries that could take place – but even better stretch throughout the day to relieve tension and stress! It feels good to stretch but you may not realize that stretching itself is an actual exercise! Just like some exercises simply want you to flex your muscles – stretching your muscles works them out too and could burn off a few of those extra calories!
9. Drink Water!
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Really you should ONLY be drinking water, always. Don’t fall into the trap of sugary drinks and artificial sweeteners – water is all our bodies need and in fact it is the only thing you should be giving your body! There are countless stories about how people who drink lots of soft drinks simply started drinking water and lost a ton of weight – it can happen. If you are one of those people that hates drinking water and can’t give up your artificially sweet drinks please just give it a try, after a week or so you’ll crave water and feel much better!
We hope that these tips can help you get away from your desk or chair or whatever is keeping you from getting up and getting moving. If you implement these health tips into your day to day life you will quickly be on a trans-formative journey that could turn any couch potato into a hero potato!
Thanks for reading, if you have any geek fitness tips or health stories to share please do so in the comments below!
