Working a 9-5 can be a joy or a stressful environment for you. No matter the culture in your workplace, your body still needs to be fed a healthy meal or snack and your body still needs to get the right amount of exercises it needs, during your work day. Regardless if your workplace has a family style lunch hour, where everyone eats together or if lunch is on your own, I have a few wellness tips for you, for the workplace.
Meal Prep Weekly
The best way to make sure that you maintain a healthy diet at the workplace is to meal prep every week. This will keep you focused on the healthy foods you need to eat instead of being persuaded by your co-workers who buy their lunches everyday of the week. I used to treat myself to a “cheat meal” on payday. The logic behind this was that, I’ve worked hard for two weeks definitely to earn my paycheck and I worked even harder to take care of my body, so I deserved one meal of my choice, every two weeks. There are tons of meal prep ideas on the internet but I have a few recipes for salads here.
Keep fruit at your desk
Instead of snacking on chocolate candy bars, candy of any sorts or chips, keep some fruit at your desk. I worked at a place where I had my own office and a refrigerator in my office so I had total control over what I fed myself daily. I've also had jobs where the vending machines were filled with tempting junk foods and the struggle was always real trying to eat fruit while everyone else was munching on chips and cookies, but I made it work. I would suggest having multiple fruits at your desk or bring to work with you daily so that you won't get bored eating the same fruit all week.
Take a walk during your breaks
Get up, stretch and go for a walk. Staying at our desks for 8 plus hours a day is damaging to our eyes and muscles in our body. Instead of taking the elevator, take the stairs or if you work in a high rise building, take the elevator down to the fifth floor and walk the staircase, the rest of the way. You can do also walk up and down a flight of stairs several times after you eat lunch to burn off some calories. Volunteer every now and then in another department (if allowed) whose job entails movement or some sort of lifting. Whatever you decide to do, just don't sit at your desk for your entire shift.
Ditch the soda and drink more water
Back to avoiding the vending machine or those diet cokes you convince yourself is "healthy" to drink with your lunch salad. Here's a perfect opportunity to drink more water, all while you're at work. I would challenge myself to only drink water at work and then I could enjoy my beloved wine at home. I didn't keep sodas or juice in my office refrigerator, only water. If you don't like water much, try drinking infused water. Click here to learn more about the benefits of drinking infused waters.
No matter where you work, you can still maintain a healthy diet and get the right amount of exercises that your body needs. Avoid the office potlucks that will keep the weight on you that you're trying to loose. If your workplace has a gym for their employees, great! But if it doesn't, get creative and get those muscles moving during your 9-5 and truly rest once you get home. What other ways can you remain fit and healthy at your workplace? Share your thoughts in the comments.
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