If a lack of time has been stopping you from losing weight, this article will show you clever ways to lose weight with a busy schedule.
Finding time to cook healthy meals or workouts is a big challenge for many of us.
You may want to walk every day but you end up being too busy or tired.
Well, a busy schedule should not stop you from losing weight and staying fit.
Incorporating the strategies below into your daily routine will help you develop habits that enhance weight loss.
Here are 15 ways to lose weight with a busy schedule
How to Lose Weight with a Busy Schedule
1. Have a Plan
A plan is essential. Just like you write down all the things you plan to do in a day, including your 20-30 minute workout is just like any activity that you cross off your to-do list.
Plans are great tools that ensure you execute your activities. They keep you motivated and determined.
Make sure your plans a detailed.
If you plan to do a 20-minute workout, write down the exercises and the number of reps and sets you’ll do.
As for your meals, write down the foods you’ll eat at every meal. Feel free to use these meal plans.
2. Do Home Workouts
Home workouts are the best option for losing weight, especially with a busy schedule.
It’s so easy for one to come with up reasons but with many available resources online, there is no excuse.
There are many short home workouts online you can follow along anytime, anywhere.
Remember to subscribe to Focus Fitness channel for short workouts.
3. Eat more Nuts and Seeds
Stock up on nuts and seeds like peanuts, almond, macadamia, sesame.
Nuts are high in essential monounsaturated fats that are good at raising the good cholesterol in the body and lowering the bad cholesterol levels.
They also have adequate amounts of protein, fiber and low in calories.
Other than that, they keep your insulin levels balanced and decrease your risk of developing obesity.
If you a foodie and measuring your calories is a task, this may be a solution that will ensure you don’t add on weight.
4. Have a Food Budget
Without a budget, it’s easy to settle for processed foods that are sugary and unhealthy.
Take time to go to the farmer’s market or an organic foods store and buy high-quality produce at cheaper prices.
Buying in bulk reduces the cost tremendously as opposed to buying single items.
Create a list using tools like spreadsheets or budgeting apps like Mint help you to track down your spending and make payments.
5. Practice Meal Prepping
Meal prepping is a great way to ensure you eat healthy with a busy schedule.
Take one day out of your week, like a Saturday or Sunday and prepare your meals for the next 3 or 4 days.
With time, you should be able to prep meals for an entire week.
If you’re not a good cook, this cookbook will teach how to prep healthy delicious meals.
6. Ration your Portions
Portion control is counting the calories you need and not exceeding that amount. However, counting calories is boring.
Luckily, you can ration your calories is by using your palm hand, using a smaller plate, reading nutritional labels on food and ensuring that you eat less than you normally would.
7. Drink Water
Water is a good weight loss beverage that if utilized well can prevent you from piling up the pounds.
No matter how busy you are, you can drink water at any time.
A study done on overweight women who were encouraged to drink over a liter of water per day showed a weight loss of 4.4lbs over a 12-month period.
Considering these women didn’t do any exercises, it goes to show how important water is.
The recommended amount of water you should drink in a day is 2-3 liters per day.
One hack you can use is drinking one or two glasses of water, 30 minutes before a meal. Water keeps you fuller, which makes you eat less.
8. Watch what you Snack on
Snacking is a habit most of us have. Due to busy schedules, demanding deadlines you find that preparing meals is a challenge.
So what do you do? You go for other alternatives.
If you have a busy job, and someone comes in with donuts or croissants, what’s going to stop you from having a bite?
Carrying your own snacks will ensure you don’t get tempted to snack on cakes or croissants.
Here are healthier snacking options you can munch on instead.
9. Have an Accountability Partner
Having a support system is important. That friend at your workplace can be your support system.
An accountability partner will help you stay consistent. You can go for walks together or do workout challenges together.
It’s advisable to choose an accountability partner who’s healthier and fitter than you.
10. Spend Less Time on Social Media
The amount of time we spend on social media is alarming.
You can put this time to better use. Instead of scrolling down your Facebook or Instagram, do a short workout or go for a walk.
Most times, scrolling down your timeline will leave you feeling bad. And this can lead to emotional eating.
Instead of reaching out for your phone first thing in the morning, why not use that time to work out.
11. Watch your Alcohol Intake
Wine, beers, whiskeys have been shown to interfere with fat oxidation. That’s why heavy drinkers gain weight.
Not only does alcohol cause weight gain, it increases the risk of diseases like arthritis, diabetes, and gout.
Therefore, limit the amount of alcohol you take.
Settle for alcoholic beverages with low calories like vodka and spirits. For wine, stick to one glass a day.
12. Use Fitness Apps
It seems like we have to keep track of everything from our calories, steps, weight, and heart rate.
This can get overwhelming over time.
Why not use the tools that can track everything without having to stress us?
Fitbit is a popular tracker in the market that does all this.
13. Practice Mindfulness
Mindfulness is required in everything you do. It’s second to breathing.
To stay healthy, you have to be mindful of the foods you buy, the foods you eat, and what you can do to ensure that you are staying healthy.
So how can you practice mindfulness?
By watching what you eat, or at least follow the 80/20 rule. It states that you eat healthy 80% of the time, and fill in the remaining 20% with the foods you love.
According to Harvard Medical, mindful eating helps with eating disorders and weight loss.
It can also combat depression and binge eating.
14. Visit a Gym
I know it may be hard to have the willpower or motivation to do home workouts.
Or maybe you’re motivated to work out when others are working out.
If that’s the case, signing up for a gym membership will work for you.
If you’re usually tired in the evening, go to the gym in the morning.
You can lose weight by applying a few of the strategies above, no matter how busy you are.
Even better, you can follow this program, which is designed for busy women who want to lose weight.
It tells you exactly what you need to do from the first day you start your weight loss journey until you reach your weight goal.
Do you know other ways to lose weight with a busy schedule?
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