Can you measure your e-success by your expanding waistline? Are your bathroom scales telling the same story? Almost every crafter has a website, blog and/or Facebook account to sell their finished crafts from. With crafting, blogging, networking, strategic business surfing, emailing, and other home-based commitments (I am also a home schooling mom and a virtual assistant), there doesn’t seem to be much time to work an exercise routine into our busy schedules. Top that off with unhealthy eating habits and you have a potent concoction for obesity. A pound here and there adds up quickly, as most of us are becoming aware.

Not only does weight gain make us feel bad about ourselves, it can also cause numerous health related issues. I decided to do a few things to help myself before my problem became bigger than the World Wide Web. We may not be able to remove the pounds as quickly as they added up, but starting somewhere is better than doing nothing at all.

I’m the first to admit that it isn’t easy to change all of those bad habits at once. So I recommend baby steps to reach those healthy goals.

The first step should be to change your eating habits. Trade in your junk food for fruit. If you find it difficult to give up junk food completely, then place only a few pieces into a napkin to eat rather than eating from a bag. Eat a small candy bar instead of a large one. Do this with all of your fatty snacks to give you better control of your snacking. I’ve never met a woman yet who doesn’t LOVE control. Let’s use this to our advantage. Limiting the little temptations that you bring home from the grocery store is very helpful as well. Eventually you will find yourself bringing home less junk food.

Next, add more vegetables to your dinner menu. Vegetables can fill you up without all the fatty content that you get from meats, breads and pastas that are necessary but should be limited.

Soft drinks are another issue. Trade those in for water and fruit or vegetable drinks.

You’ve heard these last ones your whole life but they are important to your diet as well. Chew your food very well before swallowing; this aids in proper digestion. Eat slowly; it takes your brain 20 minutes to acknowledge that you’re full. And finally, eat a good breakfast; you tend to do less snacking throughout the day.

Exercise is a must for any weight loss routine to be effective. It’s always a good idea to check with your doctor before beginning an exercise procedure. Now that we have that established, where is the best place for a work out?  It isn’t always convenient to pack up and head to the gym, so why not use your home or office? A five or ten minute workout once every hour or two works great for me. Not only does this provide me with a much needed break that I need, I discovered that this clears my mind and really gets the blood pumping through the heart and brain – making me feel more energetic and ready to tackle the next e-task or sewing project.

Power walking is always a popular workout. Turn a bathroom visit into a brisk walk. You may find yourself power walking for at least a few minutes once you get started.

When you’re ready to expand your power walking routine, simply head outdoors. Walk around your house, yard, business building or apartment complex for about ten or fifteen minutes - or longer - if you can spare the time. Bonus: it’s a change of scenery, fresh air for your lungs, and you will get natural Vitamin D from the sunshine that doctors are now recommending that we get on a regular basis each week.

Do you get bored while “just” walking? Walk backwards or sideways to work different muscles. Use extreme safety precautions when you’re performing these types of walking exercises. A flat surface workout is very effective. Be sure you’re walking in a safe, clutter-free area so that you don’t trip or fall. Then there’s always the trusty stairs. Simply walking up and down stairs is a great workout. Just be sure to hold on to the handrail.

What other types of exercises can you do besides walking? Well, since you asked, I do have a few more recommendations for you. Buy a hula hoop and a jump rope! Grab a friend, your spouse or the kids and play a few minutes of badminton without the net. Keeping score isn’t necessary. You’re getting a good work out by chasing that little birdie around the yard.

There are all kinds of exercises you can do at your work station. If you work on each part of your body in five minute intervals during each hour of an eight hour period, you’ll get a 40 minute workout each day.  Some of my favorites are: march in place, leg squats (hold onto your desk or chair if necessary), waist-bends, toe touches (if we practice, we’ll be able to reach or toes again), air punches, or other simple exercise while waiting for internet pages to load or during a break.

Last but not least, buy a few exercise DVD’s for those days when you’re feeling really motivated to reach your goals. We’ll be feeling better before we know it without sacrificing our business strategies.