A desk job can be demanding on your mind, but can also be demanding on your body. For daily exercise it is recommended by physicians to get in at least 30 minutes of cardio a day, but between a job, daily tasks, and other miscellaneous duties it can be hard to get the daily exercise you need. Follow these 10 tips to easily introduce yourself to a healthy working lifestyle.

Eating Habits

• Eat a good sized and healthy breakfast. Eggs, fruit, vegetables, and some low-fat yogurt make for an excellent start to the day. Breakfast sets the scene for the rest of the day and can help to curb unhealthy cravings.
• Stop eating out at fast food restaurants for lunch. Instead wake up an extra hour or two and prepare your healthy lunch for the day or even cook your lunches for the entire week on Sunday evening. Meal prepping ensures that you have an on-the-go lunch that is healthy and filling. Plus this also allows for schedule flexibility as you are able to eat wherever you want whenever you want.
• Drink water instead of soda or coffee. The switch may be difficult from soda and coffee to water at first, but you will see a difference in your natural energy levels and also feel a major difference in your body. Plus ending your caffeine habit and replacing it with water will also save you money. No more buying five dollar Starbucks drinks.
• Skip the candy jar and go for more filling snacks: carrot sticks, celery, raisins, and other healthy treats are much better options and you won’t crash and burn later coming off of a sugar rush.

Exercise

• Wear ankle weights. This is simple and straightforward, when you strap some weights onto your ankles you make every action into a work-out, plus they can easily be hidden underneath long pants.
• Do simple desk work-outs. There are plenty of easy and discreet work-outs you can do while seated on a regular basis. Keeping active even while sitting can help you to burn some calories while also giving you an endorphin boost.
• Take breaks from your work and walk. Taking short 15 minute breaks from work to take walks can help to ease your mind and get you that much closer to your 30 minute cardio goal. If you took only three 15 minute breaks a day to walk you have already met your suggested cardio goal.

Lifestyle Changes

Physical fitness is not only one of the most important keys to a healthy body, it is the basis of dynamic and creative intellectual activity.
-John F. Kennedy

• Ask your Human Resources Manager about your company’s wellness program. Half of U.S. employers offer wellness promotion initiatives for their employees, and the larger the company is the more likely that they have a wellness program in place. Usually wellness programs will offer some sort of monetary incentive for their healthy employees.
• Make some time for the gym. It’s always hard to find time to exercise, but re-purposing lunch hour as gym hour is an easy way to ensure that you spend some time on your physical fitness. If lunch hour doesn’t work for you early mornings and late evenings might.
• Create a daily fitness, “to-do list,” with your favorite office exercises and check them off as you do them. Keeping track of the number of repetitions and sets you do will help you to see progress and give you the motivation you need to continue working out.

If you follow these tips you will not only feel better, but you will be more productive as well. Good luck with your new fitness regime!