I have noticed a trend while reading some of my favorite blogs. Guys are mentioning the need to make better use of their time. Now many of these guys are married with children, and they are struggling to find time to exercise. They seriously want to have healthy eating habits.

So these men are basically trying to get on a more “user friendly schedule”.

What is an user friendly schedule? A combination of things actually. You want to improve your diet and your work habits, and exercise more frequently. Without taking time away from your family. What’s in order is a complete transformation. Men want balance in their lives - like women, but they usually need more time in their day, and more motivation.

I am probably going to get into trouble with that remark.

Keep your Family in Mind

I would like to suggest that you invest in bikes for your family or take up walking in the evening. Maybe you could take up hiking on the weekends. Make it a family event. It is important for you to encourage your kids to exercise and have healthy eating habits.

Anyone up for Yoga?

Working out with your significant other is highly recommend by us. That’s Thumper and myself. Yoga has a lot to offer. Flexibility, better posture, stress relief; the list is endless. This puts you in the mood also, both of you!

Healthy Eating Habits: Your Diet

I know you guys love your coffee but you should cut back to two cups a day. On a blog with the catchy name Ketchup Daily, there is an article where the author shares her diet and health secrets - it says there that one banana gives you the energy of one cup of coffee. The good thing here is you don’t have to have a stimulant in order to wake up. The energy in the natural sugars in the banana are equivalent. So - fruit is the ticket. Have a healthy fruit drink and stay away from the snack machines.

Snacks

Have you ever read the labels on that stuff? These treats are made with hidden sugars and preservatives. There is a difference between healthy food and fast food - you are what you eat. Bring your own food to work.

Healthy snacks don’t have to be boring. Make a dip for fruit and vegetables. You could make small fruit salads and vegetable salads. Fresh fruit and vegetables are what you need to get accustomed to in order to live healthy.

Cut out the sour cream, mayonnaise, and butter. Instead, make dips with plain yogurt, and vinaigrette for salads. You will be amazed what you can do by adding spices to olive oil and vinegar. You can even make a great dip with honey and hot paprika flakes for fruit and cheeses. It is knowing what to eat, and eating in moderation. Many spicy foods even boost your metabolism. Cayenne pepper and ginger are just two of them!

Meat, & Potatoes, and Men

You have to stop being a meat and potatoes man daily. You don’t have to give them up, but have them less often. Like twice a month, treat yourself with a steak and potatoes. And when I say potatoes, I don’t mean cheezy fries! If you like french fries, there is a secret to making them healthy: bake them in the oven instead of deep fry. Even better, use sweet potatoes. Prep them as usual and put them on a cookie sheet. Drizzle some olive oil over them. This will be delicious, I guarantee it - and they have way fewer calories than regular potatoes.

Bread

Eat whole grain breads. Because I eat plenty of salads with nuts and seeds on top, I often have bread as a treat. I use dark bread only that is 100% certified. White breads can be unbleached - you must look at the labels.

So much for healthy eating habits - what’s next? Oh yes.

Working Habits

As we know, men and women are wired differently. What I have noticed is clearly that once a man is engulfed with work, there is no stopping him. He is in his own little world.

So is my Thumper. He is a certified workaholic. I willingly proclaim this.

Yes Thumper, I know you are going to read this.

Telling Thumper to slow down from work is like asking him to stop breathing. It just isn’t going to happen! He often suffers from sleep deprivation, and he has horrible eating habits. This is mainly due to the expansion of his clientele.

Endlessly working into the wee hours of the morning is normal for him. For those who share his creativity, you will find some similarities here - this is a man that wears several hats. An entrepreneur. And the list goes on.

Though he is aware of the need to refuel his body, he is very good about limiting his coffee to two cups in the morning. Often enough, he gets caught up in work. Actually he has never had a very accurate prescription of time. Sorry honey but it is true.

The usual “I just need another ten minutes” becomes two hours. He gets in his working flow and there is no stopping him until he is ready to himself. At this point, he may as well have a do not disturb sign tattooed on his forehead.

This is life loving a creative man. He can not lose his train of thought. He has to work until he is satisfied enough to stop working. The creativity mode has to actually come to a halt for the day. I don’t think he actually ever exclusively gets out of that mode.

Lately more then usual, he is working too hard. I am concerned for his health. I don’t want him running down his body, or worse, getting peptic ulcer.

Since we both work from home, the above are some of the disadvantages that come with such a business model. Your office is only feet away and unlocked, which calls for unstructured working time.

The advantages - well I need not mention. All I can say is eventually we will have children. As you know, children learn by example. So it’s good that we already know what good and healthy eating habits are - as for work habits, I figure we are going to be able to take a picture like this one someday.

Photo by jcumberland