As your business grows you’ll find that you spend more time sitting at your desk writing.  This is a good thing however it can easily lead to the inevitable weight gain – something I like to call “My big fat writer’s butt.”

Here’s how I’ve managed to handle it.

#1.  I found a great website to easily track food and activities during the day.  It’s called Fitday.com. Initially, I approached this site as an experiment because I thought it would be too tedious to track everything I ate and did but I found the process extremely helpful and the data is somewhat addictive.  It’s free and a great way to stay on track nutritionally.

#2  Schedule exercise into your day.  Now here’s the conundrum….writers are creative folk and don’t always appreciate a regimented structure.  Yet at the same time if you’re going to run a successful freelance writing business, you’re going to need some type of structure to your day to be productive.

I solved the problem by not forcing myself to do anything in particular, just to focus on moving for at least 30 minutes each day.  It could be yoga one day, the elliptical and my favorite TV show another day, and weight lifting or rock climbing another day.  It keeps me from feeling like I’m in a rut and at the same time it helps prevent that big fat writer’s butt!

#3  Indulge once in a while.  Seriously, there’s nothing worse than deprivation to make you gain weight.  If you eliminate all of your favorite foods from your diet then you’re going to think of nothing else.  However, if you give yourself permission to enjoy your favorite foods once in a while (yes I’m talking about a little chocolate each and every day!) then it’s much easier to stay on track.

It all boils down to moderation and being conscious about your body, what goes in it and what it needs.  Enjoy your life and your success!

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