How Busy Entrepreneurs Can Ensure Healthy Eating Habits

Busy entrepreneurs have quite the life. Their days involve countless hours of work, one or two hours of sleep, and sometimes they decide to take a break to eat. All jokes aside, it’s no secret that ever entrepreneur knows they can’t afford to waste a single second of their day. That said, their commitment to their job often gets in the way of their eating habits. Especially when it comes to healthy choices.

Our bodies rely on energy to keep moving at such a fast pace. This makes it extremely important to ensure we make healthy eating choices throughout the day.

Here’s how busy entrepreneurs can ensure healthy eating habits:

Drink your water, and then some more

People underestimate how important it is to stay hydrated throughout the workday. And despite a few extra trips to the bathroom, it’s really hard to overdo it. That said, you should make sure you drink your fair share of water, and then some extra.

Health experts suggest we drink at least eight 8-ounce glasses of water per day. This obviously depends on a few other factors like size and the amount of physical activity you’re doing. But if you’re having a normal day at the office, the 8×8 rule explained above should do the trick.

You should always consider having an in-office “watering hole” so you can make it easy for your team to refill with a nice cool glass of water. Not to mention, who doesn’t love the morning small talk by the water jug?

If it’s affordable, pay the convenience fee

Entrepreneurs are trained to make every penny count. Often times paying for convenience is a luxury many entrepreneurs can’t afford. That said, it’s also important to remember that your time is money.

Thanks the latest and greatest in on-demand technologies, we can now have food from our favorite restaurants delivered straight to our door. In fact, we can even shop for groceries online and have them delivered within a few hours. A 2-hour detour to the grocery store may be more than you can afford. If that’s the case, you may want to consider using a service like Instacart to take care of the shopping for you. This way you wont rely on that snickers bar in the snack room for convenience.

Don’t skip the most important meal of the day

It’s been said that breakfast is the most important meal of the day. This is because it’s what gets the gears moving and sets the tone for the rest of your day. The problem with breakfast however, is that it’s in the morning. The last thing a busy entrepreneur is thinking about in the morning is their breakfast, let alone a healthy one.

Most quick breakfast items are jam packed with sugar. Cereals and  pastries may taste great, but they are loaded with processed sugar. Instead you should try and put together some quick and healthy breakfast items.

Here’s a list of a few of my favorites:

• Breakfast smoothie: Fruit (especially juice) contains a ton of sugar as well, so this can be a tricky one. I suggest throwing a banana, a few berries, greek yogurt, kale, and coconut water in a blender for a nice healthy smoothie. If you want, sprinkle some granola on top for an on-the-go parfait.
• Avocado Toast with Egg: Three simple yet delicious ingredients. Avocado. Toast. Egg. Try to use wheat toast and avoid any brands that add sugar to their bread.
• Super Scramble: This one is fun because you can really put whatever you want in it. In fact, it’s typically best when you use leftovers. Simply throw your leftover veggies into a pan with some eggs and scramble away!

Prepare ahead of time

If you want to be super efficient when you start your day, it’s always a good idea to prepare the night before. If you’re feeling extra ambitious you can prepare your entire weeks worth of meals on Sunday night. This is probably the best way to make sure you eat healthy while saving the most time during your work hours.

The best approach is to go out and purchase a few plastic containers that you can use to store your weekly meals. Then, make meals that can keep well in the fridge and you can easily grab on the way out of the door.

For example, for breakfast you can make a big batch of breakfast smoothies and freeze in small containers with some granola on the side. For lunches you can make a few variations of a protein-packed stir fry. A simple yet effective one is chicken (or tofu for vegetarians), brown rice, veggies, and your favorite sauce!

Pick healthy choices when eating out

Eating out is often a time when we like to treat ourselves. As a busy entrepreneur, you’re often meeting with others over a meal. Instead of ordering the burger with an extra side of onion rings, go for something more healthy. General rule of thumb is to choose grilled options over fried. When choosing sides, go for the salad or veggies over the big basket of french fries.

Obviously you can treat yourself but it’s important to stay disciplined even when you’re eating out.

Limit the happy hours

As an entrepreneur, networking is one of the most important parts of the business. Your network is your net worth. So it’s important to attend as many networking events as possible. You’ll never know who you’ll brush shoulders with.

Often times, networking events take place with alcohol enhancing the experience. While a little bit of liquid confidence never hurt, it’s not the best for your health. Especially if you’re looking to cut down on calories. Drinking alcohol is one of the worst ways to add empty calories to your diet.

If you want to keep a sharp mind, you need to take care of your body. As a busy entrepreneur it’s easy to forget about the latter. That said, make sure you take note of the tips above so you can make sure you maintain healthy eating habits while building your business.