Healthy Habits

Drink a glass of water before every meal - Everyone needs to drink more water. That's a given. Plus when you drink a glass of water before you eat you'll already feel a little more full and won't be as tempted to eat past the point of hunger.

Eat one really healthy meal - Pick one meal. Just one. Then change what you eat. If it's lunch, eat one portion of protein that fits in the palm of your hand, a vegetable or fruit, and four or five almonds. I know that's not a lot of food, but it's healthier than what you're eating now and, just as important, it lets you take small steps toward better controlling your portions at every meal.

Other examples: Pack a can of tuna and two apples. Or bring a skinless chicken breast and some cucumbers. Just make sure you prepare it ahead of time--that way you won't have to decide to eat healthy. You just will.

Use your lunch to be active - It doesn't take 30 minutes or an hour to eat. So make your lunch break productive. Go for a walk. (Better yet, find a walking buddy or do like LinkedIn's Jeff Weiner and have walking meetings.) Or stretch. Or do some push-ups or sit-ups.

It doesn't matter what you do as long as you do something. You'll burn a few calories, burn off some stress, and feel better when you climb back into the work saddle.

And you'll start to make fitness a part of your daily lifestyle without having to add to your already busy schedule.

Eat one meal-replacement bar - OK, so most protein bars taste like flavored sawdust. But most are also nutritious and low in calories, and they make it easy to stave off the midafternoon hunger pangs you'll inevitably feel after having eaten, say, a light lunch.

Don't get too hung up on nutritional values; just pick a bar that includes 10 or 15 grams of protein (think protein bar, not energy bar) and you'll be fine.

Eating a midmorning or midafternoon meal replacement bar doesn't just bridge the gap between meals; it's an easy way to get in the habit of eating smaller meals more frequently, another habit you'll eventually want to adopt.

And, finally, a bonus habit to toss in once a week:

Have fun completing a physical challenge - It would be great if you could consistently hit the gym four to five days a week, but if you're starting from zero instantly transforming yourself into a gym rat isn't realistic.