Buy Outfit

For those of you who are new here – my name is Mary and I am the founder of The Candid Millennial. I’m SO excited to have you here and talk ALL things millennial!

Before we get started – I just wanted to make a quick comment on the outfit featured in this post. I am L O V I N G this wide leg pant trend this season. This pair of LEITH pants is SO cute and comes in SO many beautiful colors. Plus, they’re under $100!

Like you and many of my readers, I fill my life with all the things: career, side hustle (blog), charity, family and so much more. My biggest motivator is personal growth and career growth, all while trying to find “balance” in my life.

Buy Outfit

How To Be A Boss Babe & Stay Fit

Today I wanted to talk about how to stay in shape while being busy AF đŸ˜‰ Whether you work in an office or chase your kiddos around all day long, life can get in the way of us taking the time to put ourselves first.

For me, things changed when I started my first “real job” several years ago. In college, I walked from class to class every day and worked in the service industry where I was on my feet 20-30+ hours a week. I worked out 1-3 times a week and pretty much ate whatever I wanted, but never gained any weight.

All of this changed once I joined corporate America and sat at a desk 5 days a week!

Buy Outfit

Make Yourself a Priority

One of the many things I’m passionate about is not letting myself go despite having a busy career and life. By letting myself go I mean skipping the gym, eating out of stress and ultimately, (the dreaded)…gaining weight.

I believe in taking the time to take care of myself so I can be at my best a majority of the time. I also believe in working smart, not hard. And with that, I know that I have to be fully focused and ready to do my best work when I am at on the clock.

I know myself enough to know that I need to look AND feel good to do good work. If I eat like crap, skip the gym, and let myself go, I start to feel terrible and it ends up being super counter-productive.

Putting myself first is not always an easy thing to do when there are so many things on my plate. No day is the same or “average” for me, but if I could summarize one of my days, it looks like this:

Wake up, get ready for work, commute to work, work and communicate with my team/clients all day, meetings, demos, commute back from work, go to the gym, cook dinner for me and my boyfriend, take care of my dog, get on social media for the blog, catch up on my latest TV show, go to bed before 11 so I don’t die of sleep deprivation, wake up and do it all over again. đŸ˜€

I get it.

We are all busy.

We all have 1,000+ things to do every single day (not literally, but you get it).

BUT we MUST start each day with the question “how can I make myself feel good so that I have the strength and energy to tackle everything on my list?”

Buy Outfit

It Starts With Food

80% of losing weight OR maintaining weight has to do with nutrition. I believe it is everything to do with it. Calculate your TDEE to see how many calories a day you need to consume in order to maintain your weight.

If you are looking to stay where you’re at – do not consume more calories than that. Avoid the office snack room. Avoid sugars. Avoid alcohol as much as possible. (This is my biggest weakness #wine-o).

I tend to bring my lunch on the days I go into the office. If I don’t bring lunch, I try to get salads or meats + proteins for pick up. Eating out for lunch can end up being double or triple the calories in one meal, so I try to avoid it as much as possible.

Bring your own snacks instead of being tempted at that anxious hour of 3-4 PM. I’m horrible at avoiding diet cokes and all the yummy chips in the break room, but when I’m focused or really making an effort, I avoid it at all costs.

I like to bring cashews, almonds, boiled eggs, cheese, deli meat, or veggies and hummus as a snack. I also like Quest bars and Premier Protein shakes since they are full of protein and low on sugar.

Anything high in protein and fiber keeps you full longer.

Buy Outfit

Putting Together A Workout Routine

Working at a desk all day and not being on my feet too much has required me to come up with a plan to avoid gaining weight. I also needed to start changing my workout routine to tone up specific areas of my body (i.e. lots of squats to avoid wide booty from sitting at a desk all day).

Download my FREE E-Book “How To Dress Your Ass(ets)”

I’ve learned to incorporate weights and cardio for the most effective workout. I try to get a workout in 3-4 days a week either before or after work. I also like to workout at least one day on the weekend.

*Super tip: getting in a routine where you workout first thing in the morning is ideal and gives you the most energy throughout the day. I struggle with this because I am a deep sleeper in the morning, but on the weeks I force myself to do this I am SO productive and positive.*

This is the ONLY pre-workout that helps me wake up and kicks my butt into gear.

An example of a routine I’ll do at the gym is start off with 20 minutes of sprint intervals on the treadmill. I do a one minute walk, then 45-second sprint. From there, I’ll cool down and get a weighted bar around 40-60 pounds. I like to do sets of squats, lunges, deadlifts and bridges. I’ll typically do 3-5 sets of 10.

I also LOVE pilates. I get sooo sore after a pilates class. To chill and stretch out, I love doing hot yoga. I try to mix it up each week to avoid getting bored with one type of workout.

Buy Outfit

Plan Ahead

My favorite motivational tagline is “if you fail to plan, you plan to fail”. This is SO true when you live a busy life!! Sundays are my day to get groceries, pick up the house, and put a plan in place for the upcoming week.

*BONUS tip: getting to the grocery store before 9AM on a Sunday is a game changer. Especially if you are like me and hate crowds and busy parking lots.

First I plan out what foods I’ll eat for breakfast, lunch, and dinner during the week. Then I make a grocery list and either head off to the grocery store or order it on Amazon Fresh. (What was life like before Amazon?!?)

From there, plan what days I’ll work out by looking at my work calendar and figuring out what dates and times I have meetings throughout the week. I try to always workout on the days I’m working from home since I save time from not commuting!

For dinners I like anything simple and fast, some of my favorites are protein filled pastas, lettuce cup tacos and crockpot chicken to name a few. I also try to get 3 workouts planned during the work week and 1 workout planned on the weekend.

Since I started working full time 4+ years ago, I’ve been able to maintain my weight and continue to push myself at the gym. With some planning ahead and commitment to yourself, I know you can do it too!

Having energy and a strong metabolism is so important when you are constantly on the go and in hustle mode. I hope these tips help you also look good and feel amazing!

What things do you do to stay in shape despite a busy lifestyle?!

~XXXO