Something I have struggled with since I started working in an office is getting active after I clock out. It makes no sense, but the longer I sit, the longer I, well, want to sit.

And to make matters worse, I used to have a job that provided vending machine tokens to every employee each day. Instead of two 15 minute breaks, I got cake and chips and soda. It sounds ideal, but as soon as my doctor said I was putting on the ‘marriage pounds’ (I was a newly wed at the time) I knew something had to change.

While I am still working off some of those Doritos, here are some things that noticed make a change in how I feel after a long day at work. They help me get motivated and move, instead of sit, then sit some more:

1. Stay active at work: It sounds simple, and it is. To feel energy when you get home, you have to get invigorated while at work. I used to find excuses to walk up and down the stairs when my building had a staircase. Now that it doesn’t, I enjoy short breaks to walk around the perimeter. Instead of jumping in your car right after work, try one of these activities to get your heart pumping.

2. Get a buddy: Just this evening my husband had to dislodge me from the couch where I was half asleep to go on a walk. And, as much hard as it was to initially get up, I was grateful that he encouraged me to enjoy the evening with him. There’s nothing like holding hands on a cool evening to make you feel motivated.

3. Make a set schedule to engage in activity: I know that if I don’t set a time to exercise or take a little walk, I’ll procrastinate until it’s too dark or too late at night, or too something… Set a time and mark it off on your calendar each day you meet that goal.

I hope these simple suggestions help you overcome the blob. Feel free to write your own ideas below.

This entry was posted on Monday, May 14th, 2007 at 2:10 pm and is filed under Helpful Diet Tips. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.