The Entrepreneur Diet
The secret to losing weight and keep up with a hectic schedule is to change your attitude and behaviors toward food.
(PRWEB) April 20, 2005
So you work a fourteen-hour day, travel around the world, and have little time to exercise. You now complain you can’t fit into your wardrobe. “How did I gain those twenty-five pounds?”
Well, if you had the time, a food record would show you the answer. You would see the following: 1) Much less leisure activity - I just donÂ’t have time for the gym
2) No real time schedule to your meals. It is 3 a. m. London time!
3) High junk intake at airports and on planes. I really hate airplane food.
So what is the secret to lose weight and yet keep a hectic schedule? It is a combination of attitude and behavioral changes that you will need to take. For this to really work over the long-haul, you need to make permanent changes. As I say in my book, The Thinderella Syndrome, “You must live a diet and not just do a diet!” Let’s look at a typical (if there is such a thing) working day. If you have a routine schedule and it repeats itself daily through the week, you can pre-plan many of your eating events. Treat eating as a client. Schedule eating into your planner. Breakfast, lunch, or snack can be put in based on time of hunger, not time of the day. I typically have a fruit at seven a. m. in the office and have lunch at eleven a. m. I don’t force myself to eat at twelve to one p. m., so don’t go by the clock.
Strict Avoidance - “Out of sight, out of mouth.” For the busy entrepreneur, this requires a bit of pre-planning. The basic premise here is to protect yourself from the (obesifying effect of the environment). To build this protective fence requires that you have a healthy, easy to get to food that is transportable and readily available. I typically have a bag of fresh fruits packed the night before that I just bring into the office. I make sure not to order foods in or go to areas of the office where snacks are kept.
During travel time, fruit is convenient and clearly a healthy substitute to airport foods. Other pre-planning ideas include packing a healthy lunch in an “igloo” lunchbox, thus avoiding ordering in more fattening foods.
Those of us who meet in restaurants “business meetings” have a harder time. Here the technique of “Strict Avoidance” is more difficult, but don’t give up hope! You can frequent restaurants that cater to low-calorie foods. Some of my business clients have their favorite restaurants catered to their needs by serving them the “usual” salad or low-cal dish, even if it is not on the typical menu. As a general rule, I would tell the frequent restaurant visitor to treat the restaurant as if it is your own kitchen. Eat healthy meals that are small in portions and choose a weekend meal or special event to have a regular restaurant meal with dessert and all.
“Other tips” (pardon the pun) on Restaurant eating:
• Don’t have breadbaskets in front of you. Send them back or move them away from you.
• Drink water or seltzer and avoid the caloric alcohol beverages.
• Pre-plan the meal you want so you can order without being sabotaged by the menus.
• Try to avoid restaurant meetings, look at other social arenas for business get-togethers such as coffee cafes, a golf game, a squash game, or any non-food entities.
• When you must order in the office for business meetings, be sure to have plenty of salads and fresh fruit available even if you feel obliged to serve your client more enticing items.
Traveling poses another challenge since many times you donÂ’t know what or even where the facility may be.
Some general points:
• Avoid room service and buffets, they are always a challenge.
• Fruits and veggies will generally be available if you are assertive and ask for them.
• Some entrepreneurs like to carry “burn bars” or other health bars with them. Ultrameal bars are zone-based and nutritious. They are 150 to 200 calories per bar and certainly better than most travelers’ foods.
Exercise is another challenge. Too often the complaint is, “I am exhausted, I work eighteen hours a day, I can’t squeeze it in.”
• Remember that there are many forms of exercise, even if you can’t go to the local gym, try getting out of the cab and walking a few blocks.
• Walk up a few stairs instead of using the elevator. Don’t look for the closest parking spot when you go to a meeting. These minimal tasks over time consume energy and will burn calories.
• Get a pedometer to check out how much physical activity “in everyday lifestyle” you get.
DonÂ’t be frightened by exercise, you can get leisure activity in. If you feel you need to get things done while you are exercising, here are some ideas:
• For reading, try the stationary bike. You can read and write reports while pedaling away.
• If you want to return phone calls, do it on the move, and use your cellular phone while walking.
• Need to follow the business news, watch your business channel while walking or jogging on a treadmill.
• Finally, look at exercise as an enjoyable break from a grueling work schedule. You deserve a breath of fresh air.
Dr. Dennis Gage, M. D. is Board Certified in Internal Medicine, Endocrinology, Metabolism, and Clinical Nutrition. He is an attending physician at Lenox Hill Hospital and Beth Israel Hospital and is a Clinical Instructor at New York University Medical School. Order his book through his website: www. thethinderellasyndrome. com.
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