Is the credit crunch eating into your gym budget? Subway are running a competition to win a year’s free gym membership – you don’t need to buy a sub to enter, just take a look at this video and read the competition rules.

The competition is being promoted by Jared Fogle on his blog Jared245 – the chap who famously lost 245lbs on a diet of Subways.

When I was working in an office full time, with a Subway just round the corner, an occasional sub made a nice healthy treat (I like the veggie sub on wheat bread with as much salad as they can cram in!) Sadly, this competition is only open to US residents, so I can’t enter myself, but hopefully some of The Office Diet’s readers might be able to…

Last week, I gave you a simple good habit to adopt – eating five pieces of fruit and veg a day. How’s it going? If you’re struggling, try making a big pan of vegetable soup, or a vat of vegetable curry, and have it for dinner a couple of times this week. A large bowlful can give you five different vegetable portions in a single hit.

Today’s good habit is getting some exercise every day. Adults should be getting five sessions of 30 minutes moderate exercise each week to meet government recommendations. I find it easiest to sustain habits that are seven days a week – otherwise it’s all too easy to let one skipped day become two, then three…

Method 1: The active commute

The most straightforward way to make exercise a daily habit is to have an active commute to work and back. This isn’t possible for everyone (maybe your office is actually the spare bedroom, or perhaps you have to drive for two hours to get to work), but if you can even adjust your routine to walk a bit further to your train station or bus stop, ten – twenty minutes of daily exercise will add up over the course of a week.

Method 2: Walk during your lunch break

Another great habit to get into is taking a walk during your lunch-hour. Most of us should be able to manage that (and if you always grab a sandwich at your desk, you need to read about how to take your full lunch hour).

Method 3: Head to the gym

High intensity exercise (such as jogging or swimming) is better for you than just walking at a moderate pace. How about going straight to the gym on your way home from work – 30-40 minutes exercise then won’t take much time out of your evening. If you go home intending to head out to the gym later, chances are you’ll stay stuck on the sofa. Alternatively, if you’re a morning person, why not go for a quick swim or gym session before work?

Weekends

Once you’ve built daily exercise into your weekday routine, it’s worth also tackling the weekends. Studies have shown that most of us eat more at the weekend than during the week, and doing some extra exercise can help to counter any over-indulgences. It’s also a great way to have fun! How about joining a sports team or club, trying out a new activity with your family, or simply kicking a ball around in the park?

And if your weekend seems packed with chores, take heart: housework (especially hovering, mopping floors and other more strenuous activities) burns calories too. If you have to make a trip to the shops, cycle or walk instead of driving.

Once you’ve got into the habit of doing at least thirty minutes of exercise a day, it’s hard to break it: I know I get a bit “stir crazy” if I haven’t left the flat for a walk by lunchtime. Good luck with your exercising!

If you’ve been reading The Office Diet for a while, you’ve probably noticed that my advice on exercise is often “fit it into your regular routine”. I advocate things like:

• Cycling or walking to work
• Going out for a walk with colleagues in your lunch hour
• Fitting in a gym session at lunch or on your way home

…and so on. The problem here is that when it gets to Christmas and a few days away from the office, your exercise routine is likely to go out of the window.

I know that I’ll need to make an effort to keep up with exercising over Christmas. My regular exercise currently involves:

• Walking to and from college (a total of an hour, and much of it up and down hills!) three days a week
• Cycling to my childminding job twice a week (about forty five minutes there and back), and walking the kids home from school (about ten minutes)
• Going to the gym three times most weeks (this sometimes gets shunted aside for extra childminding and running errands, but at least both are active!)

If you work full time in an office, you may get most of your exercise at around 8am and 5pm. This could present problems when Christmas comes and you end up enjoying long lie-ins and lazy afternoons in from of the television, or when you spend most of the day in the car, travelling for hours to visit some relatives who you’re just glad you can avoid for 364 days of the year…

So how can you keep up with semi-regular exercise when your days are following an unpredictable pattern?

Here are a few things I plan to do:

• Manage at least half an hour’s activity every day, even if it’s just a stroll round the block or a big blitz on the housework.
• Go for a walk every day when staying with relatives.
• Try to fit in at least two gym sessions per week whilst at home.

As well as those “routine” exercises, I’d like to use the Christmas period as an excuse to try out some fun activities too. I’ve not been ice-skating for years, and though I know I’m terrible at it, I also know I’ll have a lot of fun!

Good luck sticking to some semblance of an exercise routine over the Christmas period; remember that doing something is better than doing nothing, and that a brisk half-hour’s walk every day can make all the difference to your health and happiness by the time 2008 rolls into 2009…

(Image above by fiskfisk)

The Times newspaper had an interesting list of Fitness products which you can use at work this week.

The USB stepper sounds intriguing; if you stop stepping, your keyboard and mouse stop working (I suspect that I would use this to avoid both exercise and work, however…)

Some of the gear could be a bit annoying to your colleagues (the wobble-board to stand on, for instance), depending on your office set up. The air desk mentioned, however, really caught my attention as a potentially great way to rig up your laptop alongside exercise equipment – not too office-friendly in many cases, I’d imagine, but could be ideal if you work from home and have a dusty exercise bike tucked away that you rarely use…

Ultimately, though, my view is that these items are little more than fun gizmos; of course, doing something is better than nothing, but for ideal results, you want to be doing exercise that leaves you out of breath and sweating — not a state likely to endear you to your colleagues!

The last fortnight here in London has been cold – it feels like winter’s suddenly hit! Going out for a midday walk no longer seems so attractive (I made it as far as the local library yesterday and decided the freezing wind and looming grey clouds weren’t worth braving any longer).

So, when the weather outside makes you want to stick in the office all through your lunch break (and brave as little as possible of the outside world during your commute home), how can you keep up your activity levels?

Go to the gym

One of the big advantages of the gym is that it’s sheltered from the elements! Even if you prefer to jog outside during the warmer months, you might like to get gym membership during the winter.

December is a quiet month in the gym, too, with most people using Christmas preparations as an excuse to slack off on exercise. Join now and miss the January rush!

Wrap up warm

Winter walks with your partner or family can be a lot of fun, so long as you wrap up warm. It’s miserable shivering your way through a muddy trudge in the drizzling rain: find jumpers, scarves, gloves, hats — and wear an extra pair of socks.

On the plus side, if it’s chilly out, you’ll probably be motivated to walk a bit faster just to keep warm!

Enjoy winter activities

Some sports and activities are specifically winter-themed. How about heading to an ice-rink (many cities have temporary outdoor ones during December)? Even Christmas shopping can help you stay active as you pound the pavements, and lugging around bags of presents will help tone those arm muscles.

And, of course, if it snows, there’s lots of excitement to be had: release that inner child and enjoy tobogganing, making snowmen and even having snowball fights…

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Do you feel that you should do more exercise, but hate the thought of spending hours in the gym? Do you want to be more active, but worry that you’ll need to shed those extra pounds first in order to have a chance of keeping up?

If you’re avoiding exercise because you see it as an “all or nothing”, start thinking instead about ways to make your current lifestyle just a bit more active. You don’t need to go to the gym three times a week to see health benefits.

Just get moving

Cranky Fitness had a great guest post from Drew Harvey of Diet Tired a few days ago. Drew wrote:

What constitutes the best form of exercise for weight loss? Here is a shocker: anything that gets you moving on a regular, preferably daily, basis.

Although, as Drew points out, weight loss does depend on calories in being less than calories out, that doesn’t necessarily mean that the best sort of exercise is the one that burns the most calories. After all, what do you think will have more benefits for your body in the long run: six months’ worth of daily half-hour walks, or two weeks of daily gym sessions followed by five and a half months where you’ve been completely put off exercising?

Something which “gets you moving on a regular, preferably daily, basis” is something that fits easily around the rest of your life. I’m a big fan of:

• Having an active commute (even if the only way to do that is to get off the bus a couple of stops early, or to park your car further from work).
• Escaping from the office for your full lunch hour, and enjoying a relaxing walk – or working off some energy with a quick jog, cycle ride or gym session
• Making activity something fun that involves friends or family members.

Exercise boosts willpower

It can be depressing to watch the numbers slowly tick round on the calorie-counter at the gym or on your heart rate monitor. When I’ve been sweating away from thirty minutes, it’s galling to be told I’ve only burnt as many calories as there are in a Wispa (one of my favourite types of chocolate bar…)

However, I know that exercise for me isn’t just about the calories I burn – it’s also about the calories I don’t eat. As Drew writes:

It is a well known fact that people eat healthier on days that they are active. By simply being active and consequently feeling good about yourself, you decrease your daily calorie intake through better food choices.

I’ve definitely seen the truth of this in my own attempts to live healthily. When I go to the gym, take a long walk, or commute by bike, I’m much more ready to resist that cookie or slice of cake – because I don’t want to undo all my hard work. And if I’m exercising, I know that I need to eat extra “good” food (protein, unrefined carbs) for sustained energy during my workout, instead of skimping on lunch then wasting calories on chocolate.

How will you get active?

Try to find some way of being active every day – even if it’s just a half-hour stroll after dinner, or a quick power walk during your lunch hour. You might find some of these articles useful for further inspiration:

• Exercising: Before and after work
• Exercising: In your lunch hour
• Five ways to find ten minutes to exercise
• Five reasons to walk more
• Exercise: Getting started, staying motivated, seeing improvements

If you can put off a habit change / life change until a new year rolls around, that’s a sign that you just don’t have much motivation to make it happen. You may wish it would happen, but you don’t really want to do the work to get it (and that’s why you’ve been putting it off). You may have a whole new year ahead of you, but you’ve still got all the old desires that will keep you trapped in the place you’re at now.
- Why Your Resolutions Never Change Anything (And The One Thing That Does), Dave Navarro

The above quote really struck me earlier in this week, especially when I read a piece by one of my fellow writers on Diet-Blog, suggesting that would-be-dieters should start right now and get ahead for the new year.

Do you want to make changes in your life, but think it’s not worth getting started till January? An awful lot of people go on diets at the start of the year (just look at Google Trends for the word ‘diet’ to see the peak every January). And lots of us take up impressive fitness regimes, try to overhaul our lives, start hunting for a new job in earnest …

… and all too often, this motivation fizzles out by mid-January.

You don’t need to wait until some arbitrary date to begin working on your goals.

All you need to do is:

• Be clear about what it is you want to do (e.g. “eat five fruit and veg a day”)
• Work out all the reasons you want to make this change
• Write them down (you’ll be much more likely to succeed)
• Figure out the first step – make it a little bit challenging, but not too daunting
• Get started!

Not feeling motivated enough? Here are a few popular health/fitness related resolutions, and reasons to start on them today.

• Losing weight – if you’re overweight, you could easily be 6lbs lighter by Christmas. You’ll have more energy, you’ll feel great about yourself, and you won’t be so tempted to have a complete pig-out at every Christmas party.
• Eating more healthily – you’ll see the benefits every day with increased energy and zest for life, if you make an effort to cut out high-fat, high-sugar foods. And with Christmas just around the corner, you’ll want all the energy you can get…
• Exercising regularly – why not get into good habits now? If you feel a bit down during the dark winter months, exercise is a great way to lift your mood. Regular exercise is even prescribed as a treatment for mild-moderate depression.
• Quitting smoking – put the money you’re saving in a jar, and spend it in the January sales on a fantastic outfit, or that new gadget you wish you could afford. And, of course, you’ll be enjoying the benefits of clearer lungs long before Christmas begins.So what are you waiting for? Get ahead of the game, and start your New Years’ resolution today!If you want to know a bit more about me and about why I started The Office Diet, you might like to read an interview with me on the “Ditch Diets, Live Light” site.

Sometimes, we tend to see a lot of things that are bad for us as “treats”: things like chocolate, crisps, takeaways, lazy afternoons slumped on the sofa. I know I’m a bit prone to doing this too, but after an email from one of The Office Diet’s readers, I’m trying to rethink my attitude! Why shouldn’t I think of things that are good for me – like exercise – as treats too?

After all, I know that a trip to the gym is a real treat for me – when I was working full-time, it was a wonderful hour of freedom away from the office, and now that I’m studying, it makes a nice break from my desk. Going out for a leisurely walk with my boyfriend is also a treat, as is eating something delicious, homemade and packed with long-lasting energy, like pasta with a chunky vegetable sauce.

Here’s a few ways to think about your exercising as a treat, not a chore:

• If you work from home during some or all of the week, treat yourself to a half-hour walk every morning and afternoon as a break. You might want to listen to your favourite music or podcast while you walk, or use it as “couple time” with your partner.
• Pick a fun activity to do at the weekend – perhaps ice-skating, trampolining, rowing, skateboarding, or anything that you genuinely love to do. Set aside a morning or afternoon to indulge. If it’s something that brings out the big kid in you, so much the better!
• Get some friends on board, and have a blast doing something active together. How about a game of Ultimate Frisbee in the park, or an afternoon at an adventure playground with your kids? I love Lazer Quest (my competitive spirit comes to the fore when I get to prowl around and shoot people in the dark…), and I’m keen to try Paintball some day.
• Enjoy a long, chilled-out gym session: make some time for yourself, work off some energy on the machines, push yourself with the weights, and then take a long soak in the pool – or relax in the sauna – to wind down. Start viewing your workouts as “me time”, a chance to escape the computer, phone and pressures of daily life.

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Have you ever had a day when your workout just seemed tougher than usual? Maybe your ten minute warm-up stint on the exercise bike had you feeling worn out, or you couldn’t manage as many reps as usual on the weights. Before you start blaming yourself for being “lazy”, here’s some factors you might want to have a think about:

Water

Did you drink enough before your workout? It’s not enough to just drink water during your gym session – you need to be well hydrated beforehand, too.

Being dehydrated can severely hamper your athletic activities, slowing you down and making it harder to lift weights. Exercise requires additional water, so be sure to hydrate before, during and after exercise.
- 9 Great Reasons to Drink Water, and How to Form the Water Habit

Fix it: If you’re hitting the gym at 5.30pm after work, try having an extra glass of water at around 4 – 4.30pm. Take a big bottle of water into the gym with you and sip from it regularly.

Food

If you feel as though you’re lacking energy – and especially if you feel faint or dizzy – you might not have eaten enough. Remember that you need to eat a snack an hour or so before working out, to make sure you’ve got some energy for your body to burn!

Pre-exercise meals are important to be sure that you have adequate energy and that you get the most from your activity and do not experience undue fatigue.
- Eating Around Your Workout Schedule

Fix it: Have a pre-gym snack (around an hour before your workout usually works well), or exercise within 3-4 hours of a good-sized meal.

Sleep

Feeling exhausted during your workout might be a sign that you’ve not had enough sleep. If you’re yawning the day away at your desk, dragging yourself to the gym can help wake you up – but you might not be able to perform at your usual levels.

Without adequate sleep (eight hours a night), there is not enough rest for muscle cell growth and repair. In fact, when you sleep, growth hormone is produced and protein synthesis in the muscles occurs.
- The Importance of Sleep

Fix it: Make sure you get an early night the day before a workout. If you do sleep badly, go easy on yourself in the gym – it’s better to do your session at a slightly lower intensity than to not go at all.

Health

If you’re feeling under the weather, your ability to exercise is likely to be diminished. Jogging on the treadmill probably won’t help that nagging headache, either. Most experts say that you can work out if you have “above the neck” symptoms (stuffy nose, sore throat, etc) but not if you have “below the neck” symptoms (chest congestion, upset stomach). You also shouldn’t work out if you’ve got a fever.

If you’re not feeling well but still want to exercise, reduce the intensity of your workout and listen to your body. If your symptoms worsen with exercise, stop and rest. Missing a few days of exercise isn’t the end of the world.
- Exercise and illness: should you exercise when you’re sick?

Fix it: Don’t be afraid to skip your workout for a few days if you’re ill: it’s more important to recover quickly and fully than to force yourself through a gym session when you’re feeling awful. Try taking a gentle walk instead.

(Image above by The Yorkshire Rambler)

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I usually find myself too busy to read a whole newspaper, so I pick and choose articles from different online papers based on what I’m interested in! Here’s a few of my favourite recent diet-and-fitness news items:

The reluctant dieter

The problem for me isn’t that I’m trying too hard to be perfect, it’s that my attitude is so relaxed that I’ve gone from swallowing down one or two treats a week to, well, nine or 10. Oops.

I’ve linked to Kira’s series before – she’s got a wonderful, frank and funny writing style, and it’s been a fascinating look into her dieting ups and downs.

The Dangers of Working Out When You’re Stressed

Letting off steam at the gym is a good idea – up to a point. Exercising too aggressively when you are under a lot of strain can raise your blood pressure to dangerous levels.

An interesting read; I’ve been feeling a little stressed recently, and found that I was getting back-ache when on the rowing machine in the gym earlier today. I’m wondering now if it could have been due to having tenser muscles than usual.

New Diet Books Put To The Test

This month, we asked members of the Times Health Club to test some brand new diet books. The rules were simple: follow the diet for a minimum of two weeks, keep an honest diary on your progress, and record the (hopefully substantial) weight loss. These were the results…

I’m not a huge fan of diet books, but if I do consider buying one, I’d definitely want to read a few reviews first. These ones, by normal women rather than marketers or journalists, are informative and helpful.

Common Fibre a “True Superfood”

An ongoing study by the Institute of Food Research suggested pectin, a fibre found in everything from potato to plums, helped to fight the disease [cancer].
Lead researcher Professor Vic Morris said the likely effect of the fibre meant there was no need for people to rely on so-called superfoods.

I’m always suspicious of the fads for superfoods (especially expensive ones, like blueberries), so it was great to read that normal fibre may be just as good! Make sure you’re getting your five-a-day and you should be fine.
Break out the bubbly: White wine may be good for you

Rats that were fed white wine as part of their diet suffered less heart damage during cardiac arrest, compared to animals fed only water or grain alcohol. These benefits were similar to animals that ingested a red wine or its wonder ingredient found only in grape skin, resveratrol.

Although I drink red wine too, I’m rather fond of white wine so I’m hoping this research turns out to be true for humans as well as for rats!

Special announcement: I launched a new blog, Alpha Student, a couple of weeks ago, to celebrate starting on my MA course and to help other students get the most out of their time at university. If you happen to know any students, feel free to point them towards the site!