If you work in the fashion industry, you will probably recognize this. You go from one job to another, have several deadlines to meet and it seems almost impossible to fit everything in your schedule. At the same time, you want to maintain a healthy diet and lifestyle. This can be a mission when work seems to consume all your time and attention.
When you work in the fashion industry, the challenge of living a healthy lifestyle can be a lot greater than when you have a job and life with more regularity. You must be incredibly motivated and stay motivated to withstand all the temptations and distractions. In other words, if you don’t make healthy eating important enough, chances are you’ll succumb to all the sweets and snacks on the set, or grab a quick unhealthy bite at the airport, gas station or fast-food restaurant.
It is crucial to be and stay motivated. This means that you must know and feel why you want to live a healthy life. Every time you fall back into old behavior, it is important not to blame the situation, but to ask yourself the question: “Why was it not important enough for me at that moment?” And then try to think about how you can get healthy food and lifestyle back on the agenda. In this way, you remain in charge. Motivated people have a clear idea of who they want to be and who they do not want to be. Ask yourself the hypothetical question: what will your life be like if you continue with your current ‘unhealthy’ lifestyle? And what will it be like if you change your behavior for the better?
When you have found sufficient motivation, you can start to look further. The next task is to look for your personal pitfalls. Which behavior undermines your healthy result the most and how can you solve this? In doing so, you look at the big picture and details are less important for now. For example, it is less interesting that you eat junk food once a month than that you get a mid-afternoon dip every day at half past three and start snacking. We are looking to improve the long-term average. Create a plan to deal with these moments.
After you have studied your own motivation and personal pitfalls, and based your basic plan on them, is it time to gather more knowledge and tips on healthy diets and lifestyles. Use this to fine-tune your basic plan. This means building your own customized plan and not just copying someone else’s lifestyle or getting it from a book. Here are five basic tips that may help you:
- Plan your meals in advance. If you are very busy, you can plan for the next few days. This also means that you don’t go shopping every day. This reduces the chance of being tempted to eat unhealthy foods.
- Stay ahead of cravings by eating nutritious, long-lasting meals at regular intervals. Skipping meals or eating too little often results in a poorer average. Also the calories you eat less come back with interest when you snack later in the day.
- Bring your own food. On the set, you don’t know in advance whether there will be healthy food available.
- Put bottles of water and healthy snacks such as unroasted nuts in your car (or bag). This will help you avoid binges at gas stations.
- Don’t arrive hungry at a restaurant. And if you’re going to be eating late, eat something small in advance. That will save you from attacking the bread and fries.
With healthy greetings, Ralph Moorman
