Business of Well-being

How to Avoid Weight Gain as a Busy Professional

We all have 24-hours and how well we manage to accomplish important tasks in a day is the skillful art of leading a healthy and fulfilling life. As a busy professional, you might typically find that you're juggle many priorities within limited hours, particularly as a business woman or woman in the corporate world.


You have a personal life beyond your work hours, and you need time to take care of your family too. Are they getting ignored? Are late work nights and frequent traveling causing health problems and making you feel fatigued? Have you gained weight due to a sedentary lifestyle? It is important that you remain active in your own self-care.


Here are six useful tips that will help manage your health with your corporate routine:

1. Maintain a daily routine and stick to it diligently

Start and follow a disciplined routine that includes getting up early to exercise, preparing quick and easy meals in advance that you can reheat, or cook in less than 30 minutes when you get home from a long day, switching off your smartphones at night and keeping track of your daily health habits (e.g. a Food & Exercise Diary). Many successful executives globally, have endorsed a daily routine for a happy, healthy, and productive life.

2. Mindful Eating

Consciously paying attention to what you eat, and how your body feels when you're eating. Try chewing your food slowly, and eat a well-balanced diet full of green leafy vegetables, fruits and whole grains. It provides the right nutrients to keep you energized and strong, and this includes maintaining a healthy weight, and strengthening your immune system.


By dividing half of your plate with non-starchy vegetables, you're avoiding processed foods, fried items and sugar that otherwise ensure weight gain, obesity, diabetes and other heart-related diseases.

3. Exercise and Meditate

Take 30-minutes out from your busy schedule, 4-7 times per week to exercise, either low-impact like walking or high-intensity. Get up from your chair every 45 minutes and take a stroll either round the office or go outside. Take the stairs instead of the elevator. Walk wherever you can.


This will aid in maintaining your fitness and optimum weight, and may help to increase your energy levels. Take 5-minutes a day to meditate or self-motivate. Meditation is another wonderful way to destress and clear your mind from the humdrum of corporate affairs.


You can choose your office lounge, conference room or your own desk and perform short meditation sessions at regular intervals to experience feeling refreshed, and inner peace.

4. Healthy Snacks

Healthy snacking in moderate quantities that include fat-free yogurt, nuts, boiled eggs, fruits, oats, low fat plant based protein like lentils, beans, and edamame, are a great way to keep your energy levels without increasing your body fat. It also means you won't overeat when it comes to your main meals, particularly dinner.

5. Avoid Prolonged Stress

Stress contributes to increased anxiety, interferes with our digestive system, affects how and what we eat, and also causes insomnia. We find it hard to re-energize when we feel stressed, and this then leads to the development of physical ailments such as sleep deprivation, chest pain, high blood pressure, headaches and disease.


Learn the art of letting things go - not all situations are within our direct control. Your abusive boss, impossible sales targets, a strained relationship, or financial turmoil can all be dealt with in time. But we are unable to deal with these issues if we ourselves are falling apart.

6. Consult a Nutritionist or Enroll in an Online Nutrition and Fitness Program

If you have been struggling hard for weight-loss and formulating a daily regime for yourself, you may want to see a nutritionist help you get on the right track. If traveling is keeping you away from home and your routine, an online nutrition program can provide you with invaluable information likes videos, downloadables, and infographics on how to maintain a healthy routine by eating right and performing quick, effective exercises, with access from your laptop or mobile 24/7.


Whether you are an established professional or new to corporate, these tips can create wonders in your life with improved energy levels that keep you going. Plan your weekly health goals, and take charge of your life while you still can!

About the Author

Karen Aroney founded ExecFuel, the 6-week online program that empowers busy executives to feel energized by achieving and maintaining a healthy lifestyle. The ExecFuel Team specialize in tailored nutrition coaching for time-poor executives and professionals who travel excessively, work long hours, and do not have fixed routines.

Learn about how you can become a Certified Corporate Wellness Specialist→