How can I fit health and fitness around the demands of my working life?

There are plenty of ways you can make exercise a part of your daily routine. If most of your moving is done by car or public transport, take a good look at your journeys and think about which of them could be done by walking or cycling instead. Do you really need to drive to the shops a mile away? Maybe you could walk, enjoying your neighbourhood, saving a bit of COsub2/sub and improving your fitness all at the same time.

Do you get the bus or drive to work? Maybe you could cycle instead. Cycling has taken off in a big way in the UK in the last few years, new networks of cycle routes are being opened all the time, and it’s an exhilarating way to travel that will deliver you to your workplace full of energy and smiling.

Or try to fit some exercise into your lunchbreak. Plenty of people do it, and come back to their work a lot more enthusiastic and clear-headed than when they set off.

As for healthy eating, the key is planning. Don’t leave your meals to the last minute, because if you do, and you’re making your eating decisions when you’re tired and have no time, the easier, less healthy options will look very convenient. Take a few minutes to plan your week’s eating. Find some healthy recipes, buy what you need for the week, and then it will all be ready and waiting for you when you come home from work starving.

Take your own healthy snacks into work, rather than relying on what you can find within reach of your desk. And make sure you drink plenty of water. Many workplaces, particularly offices, can be very dehydrating environments, and a good flow of water will help keep your organs well fed and your system moving nicely.

If you work at a computer, remember to take regular breaks, allowing your body to try some other positions for a while and your eyes to get used to looking at things more than two feet away. If you can, step outside for a breath of fresh air now and then, too. These may seem like small things, but they all help improve your health, and every little bit helps in shifting the balance of your life back in the right direction.