You’re a working woman; you work long hours, often multi-tasking. That alone requires drive, motivation, and commitment. But do you focus on self-care for work life?
You have gifts and skills that no other woman has. And, if you’re juggling a family and a career, I hope you don’t mind if I call you superwoman.
But, I’m willing to bet that you often don’t feel like one. You’re trying to juggle 20 balls in the air with just 2 hands, and it’s hard! I’m even guessing that most of that is for other people.
But you are a superwoman. You spend your days crushing it in your career, taking care of the needs of your family, and making sure you have all your ducks in a row to manage a household, a job, a family, and everything else.
But, how often are you taking care of yourself? Or, do you Nurture your Career with Nutrition?
I know, I know, it’s the last thing you have time for. But, deep down, you know it’s important. You know running on fumes will eventually cause some balls to come crashing down.
Today’s post is for you. It’s an opportunity to take some time out of your day and focus on you. Focus on your needs, about nurturing yourself and your career with good nutrition. Because eating well and eating regularly can give you bonus energy, stamina, and the extra boost you need to be successful at work, at home, and everywhere else in life.
It’s true! Good nutrition is essential to success in all areas of life.
Eating right is not about the weight you lose. It’s about the life you gain.
I’m willing to bet you know that eating junk food typically makes you feel like junk. On the contrary, consistently nourishing your body with the vitamins, nutrients, and energy it needs can make you feel that managing it all is at least a little more doable.
Choose healthy eating to replace self-feeding with self nurturing.
The BE Plan!
Here are the 3 things you need to BE in order to practice good, healthy, and consistent nutrition practices. And it doesn’t matter if your goal is weight loss, more energy, better healthnutrition, or anything else. Following these 3 “be’s” will help you get there every time. If you get off track, as will happen with a busy lifestyle, always refer to these to gently guide you back.
Nurture your Career with Nutrition – 3 “BE’s” for Busy Women on the Go!
Be Prepared
Depending on your job, it’s likely that you spend several hours in one place each day. Most offices are surrounded with vending machines and treats in the break room or a kitchen for the WAH (Work at Home). Am I right?
The temptation to grab a candy bar during the afternoon lull can be really high, especially if you haven’t eaten much during the day.
So, the first “be” is to be prepared.
Spend 15-30 minutes total each week preparing a few items you can keep at work or take with you to and from. Grab a small lunchbox or cooler and throw in some healthy snacks. This applies even if you work from home too.
Some of my favorite on the go snacks include:
- Apples and peanut butter (you can even buy single-serving packets of peanut butter)
- Carrots and cottage cheese dip (mix a cottage cheese carton with a ranch dressing mix packet and you have an instant high protein snack)
- Protein bars, nut bars, or even a handful of nuts
- Cut up fruit and yogurt
- Cheese slices and whole-grain crackers
- Pita chips and guacamole (they sell individual servings of guacamole)
- I promise this will take no longer than 30 minutes each week to provide you with an entire week of good snacks. Each week, choose 2-3 snacks to rotate through. Then, choose different snacks the following week.
If you feel ambitious or ready, try doing something similar with your lunch. Choose 2-3 lunch ideas to make and then repeat a couple of times per week. I typically recommend trying to make enough dinner leftovers for lunches the next day. You’re already spending time on dinner, why not double the batch and save time on preparing lunches!
The key is to be prepared. When you feel that twinge of hunger, reach for one of your healthy snack options. This will give your brain a much-needed boost (there’s an entire physiology side of it that), and help you stay productive, energized, and satisfied as you continue working.
Be Consistent
It’s all good and well to eat an apple and peanut butter for a snack one day, but if you find yourself going back to reach for a candy bar, this next “be” is for you.
You see, the key to good nutrition is CONSISTENCY. It’s about making small choices every day that add up over time. It’s about finding ways to limit the junk and eat more of the nutrients you need.
But that’s hard to do! Especially if you’re stressed, tired, frustrated, or overwhelmed. Those emotions typically trigger an emotional eating response. You end up racing for the nearest bag of chips, the nearest cookie or baked good, or soda.
Whatever the trigger is for you, the goal is to try to find a balance in your eating habits. If you find that you’re an emotional eater, despite the healthy snacks you have in your lunchbox, head on over and take my free mini-course, “Make Peace with Food”. It’s all about helping you discover your unique eating style, how to deal with your emotions without using food, and ultimately create a positive experience with food.
The key to consistency with good nutrition is not to overhaul everything overnight. Start to understand your eating behavior one step at a time. To sustain the momentum, be prepared and be consistent.
“It’s a work in process. Change takes time.”
Be In-tune
When was the last time you actually paid attention to your hunger and fullness levels?
I’m guessing you’re probably pretty likely to suppress the feeling of hunger because you’re either busy with work or busy attending to the needs of others.
As women, we often don’t recognize hunger as well as we should, because we spend time doing other things when our body is trying to tell us it’s hungry. Have you ever found yourself in this situation? Knowing you’re hungry, but often doing nothing about it. Or grabbing the quickest thing you can find no matter how it will fill you up or nourish you.
Having good nutrition habits as a busy woman is an art! You have to learn how to listen to your body even when there are a thousand other things going on that need your attention.
But, it’s possible. It’s completely possible to be an intuitive eater on the go.
Follow this simple 5 Step Exercise for learning how to be in tune with your body. Because it will tell you what it needs. Pretty soon you’ll be craving those nutrients, that good nutrition that you need to keep being superwoman.
1: Find 15 minutes once a week to sit down and eat a meal, no distractions.
2: Ask yourself where your hunger is on a level of 1-10 (1 being starving, 10 being stuffed).
3: As you eat, check in every 5 minutes and re-rank your hunger level.
4: Eat until you reach a level 8.
5: Stop. Stop and allow your body to feel that sensation.
This may take some practice and learning about what your hunger and fullness levels are. You may find yourself hungry again in 20 minutes. Maybe you didn’t eat enough. Or maybe you find yourself full at 7. Then stop there. Practice weekly and you’ll find it to become an intuitive process eventually.
Then, when you’re on the go, every time you begin a meal or snack, just mentally note your hunger level. I suggest asking yourself, “where am I at right now?” Then, eat accordingly. You may only need a snack, or maybe it’s time for a full meal. But, you’ll learn as you quickly practice being mindful even if you have a full day of work, errands, or other tasks.
Be prepared, be consistent, and be in tune.
You’re a superwoman. Self-care for your work life takes effort, but it’s important. You’re doing amazing things at work and in life. And don’t forget that even ‘SUPERS’ need a little recharging.
Making these simple changes to your nutrition will give you the strength and the energy you need to crush your career goals, your personal goals, and continue juggling all the things as you race through your life and its routines.
Connect with Elizabeth
Elizabeth Dall is a certified exercise physiologist and wellness coach. She specializes in helping professional women and mothers build confidence and love for who they are, build a better relationship with food, and reach their health and wellness goals. As a mother herself, she’s learned how important it is to find ways to nourish her body and soul to give the best to others and her family. Her message is one of self-compassion and a simplified, well-rounded approach to health. You can find more goodies, info, and join the community on her website and social media.
Great tips. Thanks for sharing.
Great tips! I loved reading it.
This is SO practical and well-written! Thank you for taking the time to put these tips together – super helpful for me, and for so many other women I’m sure! <3
I guilty of being a juggler when it comes to eating – as in my eyes HAVE to be on a book or a show when I eat. Otherwise, I’ll feel that I might have wasted my time by not doing two things at one go~
Can I just tape your tips on my fridge?? 😉 I’m feeling pretty good, actually, about the healthy snack choices we have at home. My glitch is having tweens/teen boys who “have to have” the chips for lunch bags. Even though they’re mostly organic/whole grain chips, they’re still….well, chips. But really, if I don’t buy the stuff (when the boys leave the nest?!) then I won’t eat it 🙂
Eating well is hard for a busy mom. I love cutting up apple slices and cheese cubes. Our healthy eating habits will encourage our kids to eat well too!
Eating right gives you so much more energy! You feel so much better automatically.
I feel like I eat my best when I go to the grocery store and really try to eat at home. I’m more conscious about all that goes into my food and cooking something healthy.
Great tips! I love reading about nutrition, and I really enjoyed in this post. Thanks for sharing!
These tips are really useful. Even busy people can do it. Thank you for sharing!
Consistency is my downfall. As a mom of two toddlers, also working full time, I totally understand!
Consistency is where I definitely struggle. This is a great post – we often think of others and forget to takr care of ourselves. As a mom of two toddlers, also working full time I totally understand!
I love your guidelines and I am so much into healthy eating that I have stressed my colleagues out to death trying to explain them how much difference the food we are eating makes to our lives!
I think these are fabulous tips not only for women who work outside the home but also for woman who choose to stay at home I do… sharing this to Pinterest to save!!
I used to have free chocolates in my office all the time and every time I would sit up from my desk I would grab one. They were small but soon I realised how addictive they were and how they made my body crave for sugar more and more.
I like this plan. I don’t work outside of being a mom, But I think I will implement the prepping of snacks on the go. Often time we are running around and I usually grab a bag of chips which really doesn’t offer me any substance and leaves me feeling cruddy.
These are great snacks! I bring some of them to work with me. Greek yogourt with fruit is my favourite.
Love the Be Plan, so true. This post is really helpful.
Glad you like it!!!
Such good advice. I am not a superwoman, unless you think WFH qualifies too. But you hit the right points here. Especially staying in tune to our needs.
This post was so needed. I’m finding it hard to juggle everything with my new role as ‘mom’, especially when my little one gets sick.
It’s a tough role to juggle as a mother! I’m still trying to find my balance! You’ve got this!
Such a great post, eating healthily definitely boosts my energy to do things, I’ll definitely try the apple and peanut butter snack!
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I need to use all of these in my life! Great post!
I’m about those snacks except the cheese! sometimes cheese can make you feel bloated!
yes, definitely some people struggle with cheese!
I loved this! Sharing on Pinterest as well. So many of us tend to forget to invest in ourselves. Apples and peanut butter are my go-to snacks whenever I need something sweet and salty. I work from home and it’s amazing how easy it is to still just eat unhealthily. We ARE superwoman(s) and I’m so glad you posted this. Kudos to you!
Thank you Gloria!
Good post! Although I don’t eat junk food very often, this is good to know so I will not be tempted by it. So, thank you.
Thanks for the tips! Going to try carrots and cottage cheese as a snack.