Health is wealth - this is what we've grown up learning. However, many working women end up compromising their health due to stress at work or the constant effort to juggle home and office duties. As a result, many women are becoming victims of lifestyle diseases such as diabetes, hypertension etc. That's why this International Women's Day, we thought of helping out by putting together a few helpful health tips.
In this article, we've listed tips for working women, which can help improve overall fitness and enhance productivity at the workplace. If you're a working woman, you do not have to disturb your busy schedule to follow these tips. All you need to do is make small adjustments to your daily lifestyle and habits.
1. Don't skip breakfast
Working women may be hard-pressed for time in the morning, which may lead to skipping breakfast at times. However, a healthy breakfast with ample inclusion of fibre, protein and carbs is imperative. Also, breakfast is the first thing you eat in the morning, and therefore, it should be healthy and nutritious.
Ideally, your breakfast should include foods that can provide energy and also keep you full till lunch. For example, eggs, milk, oats, fruits, cereals, etc.
2. Avoid junk food
Working women may have very tight schedules with lesser free time. This means no time to prepare healthy snacks; ergo, eating junk food becomes common when hunger pangs strike. However, this can lead to health issues since they usually contain fewer nutrients and more unhealthy ingredients.
Hence, you must remove oily or sugary snacks from your daily routine. Instead, it would help if you switched to healthy snacks like nuts and dry fruits, roasted makhana, fruits, or homemade energy bars. This will help you maintain optimum body weight, and minimise the risk of several diseases.
3. Take breaks to stay active
Sitting for prolonged hours can have a detrimental effect on your body. Besides being bad for your mental health, it increases the risk of chronic health problems such as diabetes, and heart diseases. Hence, it's crucial to take breaks between your working hours and involve yourself in some physical activities to stay active.
For example, you can stand up during meetings or try a stand-up desk while working. You can take short walks with your colleagues at break time. Such activities will not only help you stay fit and healthy but also increase your energy levels leading to better productivity.
4. Drink lots of water throughout the day
Dehydration is common among office goers, who may forget to refill their bottles or sip on water throughout the day while working. However, dehydration can lead to headaches, poor digestion and other issues. Hence, drinking enough water is essential.
If possible, keep a bottle on your desk at work. You can also have other fluids like buttermilk, coconut water or energy drinks to increase your liquid intake. If you forget to drink water, you can try using a mobile app that gives you reminders.
5. Minimise your intake of empty carbs
Cookies, cakes, chocolates, chips, etc., are not suitable for regular consumption. This is because they don't contain much fibre or protein, just empty carbs. They will increase your blood sugar level by producing more insulin in the body, which may lead to obesity and diabetes.
Therefore, you should refrain from including excessive carb-rich foods in your daily diet. Instead, your daily diet should contain food items rich in proteins, calcium, vitamins, and minerals.
6. Follow an effective exercise routine
Exercising daily is a must if you want to stay fit. More so, if you're a working woman, you must never undermine the importance of exercising daily. It will keep you healthy, improve your overall stamina, and reduce the risk of developing several diseases, including diabetes and cardiovascular problems. More importantly, it will improve the quality of your life.
Therefore, you must create an effective daily exercise routine for yourself and follow it without fail. Your daily exercise routine must include warm-up exercises along with strength training. If you feel comfortable with time, you can also include high-intensity interval training in your daily fitness regime.
7. Practice yoga and meditation
While daily exercises and training will improve your physical health and stamina, yoga and meditation will boost your mental health. Daily yoga will help you build your mental balance, endurance, flexibility, and strength. While daily meditation will keep your mind sharp and help you in relieving stress and anxiety. Additionally, it will also strengthen your body's immune system.
As per fitness experts, you should devote at least 20 to 30 minutes daily to yoga and meditation to keep your physical and mental health in proper shape. Initially, you can start with simple yoga poses such as cat pose, cow pose, tree pose, low lunge etc., and gradually increases the difficulty level.
To sum it up
A working woman has to handle multiple roles and responsibilities. She needs to perform her workplace and household tasks excellently, without compromising on health. By following the fitness tips for women mentioned above, you will gain mental and physical strength to manage all your responsibilities with ease and will be able to enhance your overall health and fitness.
Apart from following these women fitness tips, you should procure a sound health insurance plan for yourself. It will provide you with a financial shield against unexpected medical emergencies and protect your hard-earned savings from getting depleted.