February 20, 2012

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The life of a young entrepreneur is demanding, time-intensive, and quick. I get that, but don’t let it impact your attention to nutrition and exercise.  If you’re going to make your business adhere to the principals of a lean startup, it’s only fair that you lead by example and become a lean entrepreneur.

Now I understand you may not want to dedicate ten hours a week to working out, so here are seven small things you can incorporate into your busy day to keep your mind fresh and your body in sync.

1. Eat well.

Fast food is tempting, but it lacks quality.  Eating high glycemic foods will fill you up quickly, but cause you to feel incredibly hungry again just as quickly.  This deteriorates your body, your time, and your wallet.  Plus, as an entrepreneur, you’re continuously representing your brand. Walking into a meeting with giant fast food portions speaks to your character – cheap and gluttonous.

2. Eat breakfast and snacks.

This may seem contradictory to the first point, but the focus here is on your metabolism.  Exercise will increase your metabolism, but so will eating!

Now hold on, before you reach for that Ho-Ho, try to pick snacks that are convenient and healthy.  Nutrition bars from Clif, Usana, Lara, Kind etc. make great snacks that keep your body churning.  Just be sure to stay clear of snacks made with trans-fats.

Products with less than 0.5 grams of trans-fats per serving can legally declare 0 grams on the nutrition label, so be sure to look in the ingredient list for the words “Partially Hydrogenated” as that’s a quick indicator to walk away.

3. Park farther.

Speaking of walking, parking farther may actually save you time and gets your body moving.  Ever notice all those gloriously empty spots in the back of the parking lot?  Instead of fighting over the front spot, driving around in circles, and waiting for that mom to buckle her child in, just park farther away. You don’t need to break a sweat to make a positive impact on your long term health.

4. Take a stance!

Standing burns 34 more calories per hour than sitting, so buy a desk with vertical adjustment, ditch the couch for a dance floor, and save the sitting for a car.

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