A sensible diet can help
business professionals cut the fat.
The Old World saying goes, 'Europeans work to live, Americans live to work.'
With workweeks continuously lengthening and vacation days slipping away as projects
pile up, those Europeans may be onto something.
And as Americans spend more hours at the office, they also spend less time watching their diet. Many business professionals are steadily getting heavier and unhealthier. In fact, one-third of Americans are obese, and more than half of all Americans are overweight, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta.
All that work leaves little time for play, let alone regular physical activity, says Cindy Moore, director of nutrition therapy at The Cleveland Clinic Foundation. 'With less exercise, people who work long hours are unable to burn as many calories and can more easily put weight on,' she says.
Because of conflicting demands, businesspeople often cannot establish a regular eating schedule.
'By the time some of the executives get around to eating, they are so ravenous that they simply overeat,' Moore says. 'Couple with that the fact that many dine out, they increase the likelihood that they are going to be eating large-portioned, unhealthy meals.'
Poor eating habits can lead to more than just those two extra belt notches and a case of heartburn. Carrying more than an appropriate amount of weight puts a tremendous strain on the entire body, says Moore, a spokesperson for the American Dietetic Association.
'It is a constant burden on the heart,' she says. 'All of the organs take a beating, making your physical being very uncomfortable.'
Ignoring your diet will eventually take its toll on the quality of your work, Moore says. Workers who don't get the nutrients they need have less endurance and tire more easily. 'It's like running a car without oil and sparkplugs. Eventually, it's going to shutdown,' she says.
There are a few simple ways to determine whether it's time to improve your diet. For starters, look in the mirror. 'Most people can tell if they have a fairly large waist circumference,' says Moore. 'That's probably the quickest and easiest way to tell if you are not eating well.'
Fatigue can also indicate poor nutrition.
Finally, compare your typical diet with the Food Guide Pyramid (www. nutrition.gov), the U.S. Department of Agriculture's general guide that calls for eating a variety of foods to get required nutrients along with the right amount of calories.
Before you pick up paperback versions of The Atkins Diet or The Zone, consider this warning from Moore: Completely changing your dietary and exercise habits may actually backfire and lead you to regress to old behavior.
'You need to say, I am going to make a few changes that I want to keep forever,' and then figure out what is reasonable to do for-ever,' says Moore. 'By gradually making changes, you are letting your body slowly get used to a healthier way to eat and live.'
To get started, here are some of Moore's tips for better nutrition:
Add two more servings of fruit to your daily diet.
Most Americans consume just one or two servings a day when they should consume around three or four. 'It's as easy as a cup worth of canned frozen fruit in the morning and a banana in the afternoon,' Moore says.
Add another serving of vegetables to dinner and lunch.
A good rule of thumb is to take away a serving of meat and replace it with vegetables.
Replace a starch or bread with a whole-grain product.
Mix whole-grain cereal with your regular cereal, have brown rice instead of white rice, and take it easy on the Wonder Bread.
Don't skip meals.
A common misconception on the diet circuit is, 'If I miss a meal, I will surely lose weight.' But Moore insists it's not that easy. 'Our body is smarter than we are,' she says. 'If you skip a meal, your body gets hungrier and starts thinking, I need something now.' '
Essentially, the body responds by craving food that will increase blood-sugar levels quickly — something usually high in sugar and fat. Furthermore, if your body thinks it's starving, it starts to conserve what it has and slows down your metabolism, therefore turning what you eventually eat into fat.
Don't count calories.
Although counting calories is the most precise way to watch what you ingest, unless you check all the dietary labels and monitor what goes into a meal, it's difficult to track how many calories you actually consume. Instead, conservatively reduce portions.
'Instead of a full portion, eat two-thirds. In a few weeks, reduce it again so it is half the size of the original portion,' says Moore.
Make your own food while traveling.
When booking a hotel, make sure it has a refrigerator or even a kitchenette if possible. 'If you have a free moment, go to a corner grocery store and pick up some healthy snacks and whatever you need to make a meal,' says Moore. 'Don't feel obliged to eat out every evening on the road.'
Pick an exercise routine you enjoy.
Understand your limitations and what you like to do. 'There are a couple of things you have to ask yourself. Would you rather exercise alone, in a group or with someone? Would you rather be walking outside? Is your exercise choice reasonable to do year-round in Cleveland?' Moore says.
Alarmingly, the risk of heart disease is increasing among younger workers.
Moore, who has helped hundreds of people alter their eating habits, likes to
say, 'Although you can't change your genes, you can change whether you smoke,
how physically active you are and your health habits. So change what you have
control over and change your life for the better, because you only have one
chance.'