Diet and exercise go hand in hand. If you want to be healthier, you change both your diet and your exercise. What if changing your exercise not only allows you to use what you consume, but also has the power to change what you consume? In two different studies, subjects who exercised fared better when making dietary choices.
In one study, when active subjects were shown high-calorie or low-calorie images, they had altered neural responses compared to those who did not exercise. Reward centers of the brain lit up on brain scans when active participants were shown low-calorie foods and suppressed when shown high-calorie foods. The other study showed that there were correlations between if a subject exercised and whether they were more naturally likely to choose fruits and vegetables.
Both of these studies allude to the transfer effect- where changing one’s behavior in one area can result in a change in a second behavior. In the studies, exercising had the ability to change eating. I think the same is true of our professional diet and our professional exercise.
Last week, when we discussed how our professional diet is foundational to how we make use of our time. Equally important is how we exercise and make use of that consumption- our professional expenditure.
We know that what we eat is important and what we activity we do is important, but sometimes we don’t consider the digestion that happens in between. Before we look at professional exercise, it is crucial to know if we can process or digest what we consume.
Can you digest it?
The perfect portion:
Is your plate overflowing or in need of more food? When it comes to digestion/absorption in our professional diet, how much we eat is just as important as what we eat. One of my 2017 goals is to read 52 books in 52 weeks. The most difficult part is not reading, but absorbing what I am reading. Initially, my intake was so much higher than usual and I had difficulty truly digesting what I was reading. Finding the perfect portions for our professional diet is just as important as choosing the correct consumption.
Digestibility:
Does what you consume digest well? I’m allergic to gluten so I avoid it completely in my diet. It doesn’t matter how much I love gluten, the fact is that it is not healthy for me. While I enjoyed Draftkings (online fantasy football) as part of my professional diet at one point, I realized that I did not digest it well and it left me feeling drained and guilty rather than energized.
How will you utilize it?
Exercise:
Are you exercising appropriately? We know from the studies above that your choice to exercise appropriately will affect your food choices. How you choose to exercise what you take in through your professional diet has the ability to encourage better intake options as well. When I increased my intake of books, I had to figure out a way to exercise the information. What I didn’t expect to happen was that as I exercised what I was reading (by writing or bringing it up in daily conversation), I actually increased my desire to read more. The more we exercise new knowledge or deepen relationships, the more we seek out novel experiences and try to form lasting connections.
Fuel:
Does what you’re doing align with your goals? Your energy intake should fuel your output. Just as a body builder makes intentional diet choices, your professional diet should fuel your goals. If you are consuming appropriately and utilizing effectively, then you will move toward your goals. Your values, your goals, and your actions need to mirror each other. You choose a wholesome diet and exercise program in order to improve your physicality and your professional diet and utilization should be no different.
The better you eat and the more you exercise, the stronger become. The more robust your professional diet and the more impressive your exercise and expenditure, the stronger your career becomes.
How are you exercising for your professional diet?