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Job-seeker resolution No. 1: Can exercise and nutrition help your job search? Yes!
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Special Note:
Throughout the week, I will be offering several ideas for new year's resolutions targeted at those who are seeking a job.
Do you want to jump-start your job search and make a healthy lifestyle change at the same time?
Many experts will tell you that being unemployed and on the hunt for a new job can provide a lot of new opportunities and new ways to evaluate your career and what you REALLY want to do with your life.
I’ve heard from many job seekers who have told me that being laid off in some ways was a wakeup call to them. The first month of being laid off showed them how much of their previous working lives were consumed with stress, career ambition, late nights at the office, travel, unhealthy snacking and little, if any physical activity!
One job seeker told me that it took him being laid off to realize he had forgot the ages of his young children. “While I’d been busy and driven with work - early morning breakfast meetings that stretched into late night client dinners - I also realized that there were other more important things I’d completely neglected. Among other things, I’d watched my health deteriorate, I'd created stress in my family, and my relationships with my wife, friends, siblings and parents became increasingly distant. While being unemployed was no bargain, it made me realize that in my new job, I needed a better work/life balance overall.”
One lifestyle change that many unemployed job seekers pursue is to improve their health through general physical fitness and nutrition. While committing to any lifestyle change is not an easy endeavour, taking small steps and increasing your committment level over time helps to keep you accountable and committed.
But does being in good health help you in searching for a job? You bet it does!
The research is conclusive: Exercising for at least 1 hour per-day:
• Gives you more energy throughout the day
• It triggers a cascade of positive changes in your head – from feelings of euphoria to improved memory. Physical activity ignites those‘feel good’ endorphins in your brain that put you in a better and more positive mood
• Exercise makes you feel overall better about yourself. Whether your goals are to become stronger or to simply lose weight – exercise gives you a new level of confidence and self esteem that benefits your job search
• Exercise is a social activity! You can join a gym, a running group or a fitness class with other like-minded folks. New friends also can lead to new job-seeking networks!
• Exercise is meditative. For example, during my morning workouts, I’m also able to focus on planning my day and I find that ‘brainstorms’ and creativity are more active during and immediately after my morning workouts.
• Forcing yourself to exercise each day gives you a level of personal accountability; the same level of personal accountability that provides discipline in your day-to-day job-search.
And of course, living a healthy lifestyle also means eating right! Follow your physical activity in the morning by eating a healthy breakfast! Avoid the temptations of donuts, cheesy omelets, greasy hash browns, syrupy pancakes or sugary cereals.
A nutritious breakfast each morning can keep you full until lunch and helps you to fend off the urge to go on the snack ‘binges’ mid-morning. Try delicious fresh-fruit breakfast smoothies, plain oatmeal with raisins, whole grain toast with sugar-free jam, or a few scrambled eggs with some tomatoes and peppers.
Find out the level of calories you should be consuming each day based on your body size and height and begin a ‘food diary’ to keep track and to keep yourself accountable. Eat healthy vegetables instead of candy bars and potato chips. Commit to eliminate one or two unhealthy things from your diet - soda pop, fast food, ice cream or nacho chips. Order a salad instead of french fries. Little steps like this go a long way.
Remember: while you will feel immediate benefits, its important to develop your own internal strategies that help you keep your momentum and discipline. Find a friend or a running or workout group to encourage you. If you can afford it, a trainer is a wonderful resource to help you get started. Good luck!
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