These days, it’s easier than ever to make bad decisions about what we eat while we work. Delivery services like DoorDash, Uber Eats, and GrubHub have placed an endless offering of fast foods, pizzas, and sweets at our fingertips at all times of the day, and those who work from home have constant access to our kitchens (with many working inside the kitchen area) for impromptu snacking and mid-day home cooking experiments.
But before you rush to the stove to start roasting peppers to make the homemade Birria Tacos you saw on TikTok for lunch today, you may want to consider some food alternatives that will keep you feeling light, energetic, and ready to face whatever the day has to throw at you (and then, when the day is over, feel free to indulge and eat those stresses away – we kid…but not really).
1.) Coffee may be for closers, but it is NOT for breakfast
This will probably be a controversial part of this article but put your coffee stirrers formed into pitchforks down and hear me out for a second: Coffee is good, but coffee with an actual food-based breakfast, well that’s a whole lot better.
We’re so conditioned to position coffee as the start to our day, that we often forget one crucial step that should always happen beforehand (or during at the very least).
Do not be the person to skip breakfast and only drink coffee in the morning. It will cause stomach problems, and you will end up feeling jittery and anxious. Whereas, if you do have a solid breakfast with your coffee, you’re actually getting the intended effects of your brew: A jolt that doesn’t cause all the negative side effects.
2.) Don’t Eat Your Feelings
Everybody does it – knowingly or unknowingly: Emotional eating.
And with the workplace being an area that can be full of stress and emotion, it stands to reason that the office can be a trigger for that type of mindless snacking. As adults, we may find it hard to admit when we are eating to mask negative emotions like sadness, anger, frustration, and stress, but the truth is that it does happen.
How can we curb this behavior and control our eating habits during the most stressful of times at work? The first step is recognizing it when it happens, and patterns that may cause it.
- Do you find yourself running to the candy bowl or vending machine (or your kitchen) after a tough call?
- Would you say that you tend to snack more on days that are difficult to help yourself feel better?
If you answered yes, then it’s time to start making changes either to what you eat when your stressed (see tip #3 below) or coming up with tactics to prevent yourself from eating when things get tough. Either way, as is the case with most issues: Knowing it’s there will help you to start to fix it.
3.) Natural Over Packaged for Snacking
When it comes to snacking throughout the day, a lot of us have a tendency to reach for things that are pre-packaged like cookies, candy, or protein bars. And while some packaged snacks are better than others, a good rule of thumb is to snack naturally when you can.
While many package products may tout claims like “Fat Free”, “Good for Heart Health”, and “Good Source of Protein”, there is no replacement for the nutrition you receive from eating natural foods throughout the day. Packaged foods tend to be loaded with salts and sugars for flavor and to preserve shelf life, and they also may contain tons of chemicals and dyes that all equal bad news for our digestive system. Natural options like apples, celery, and carrots all help promote digestive health and provide you that same hunger satisfaction without the drawback.
The next time you think to scurry down to the kitchen for some chips or shuffle on over to the candy bowl located on the front desk, think again. If you substitute an orange or berries to curb your midday hunger, you’ll feel a lot better in the short term, and you’ll set yourself up for a healthy life.
4.) Drink More Water
This should be obvious, but it’s shocking how many people fail to drink any actual water throughout the workday. Maybe it’s because these people are too busy, or maybe they prefer another type of beverage, but there’s a simple bottom line here: Drink water. Just do it. It’s really good for you and provides a ton of positive health benefits when you do it consistently and make a habit of it throughout the day.
Need a boost? Water provides you with a sustained energy boost without the jitters.
Want to lose weight? Water promotes that and should be a key part of any weight loss initiative.
Want those joints to stop hurting? Water lubricates your insides keeping you nice and loose and as pain free as you can be.
Plus, when it comes to snacking, water will curb your appetite and keep you from giving into those cravings you want to avoid. So, grab a water bottle and tell your boss to install a water refill station. If you commit to drinking more water throughout the day, you will see the benefits.
5.) How to Handle Lunch
These days, lunch can be a tough proposition when it comes to making healthy decisions. Whether we’re home and thinking about making an elaborate meal in the middle of the workday, or we’re anywhere that allows that elaborate meal to be prepared for us and brought directly to us. Lunch can be an unhealthy (and expensive) proposition if you give into bad patterns.
Ideally, the best way to control what you eat for lunch on a day-to-day basis is to prepare in advance (and/or bring lunch to the office). And if you do prepare your lunches in advance, here’s a key tip: Do so when you are NOT hungry. This is when your brain is ready to make smart decisions, and not decisions based on what your stomach wants at the moment.
If you can’t prepare your food in advance for any given day, keep a couple things in mind when deciding what to eat during a workday:
- How will this make me feel for the rest of the day? A lot of food sounds good, but when you give into it, it can make you logy and tired afterwards. If you want to have a productive afternoon, try to make a healthy lunch decision that won’t fill you up or give you a stomachache.
- Would I put this in my kids’ lunch? Parents often make great health decisions for their children but fall short when it comes to applying those rules to themselves. If you want to make healthy decisions as an adult, just imagine what you would want your child to eat at school (and if you don’t have kids, try to recall what your parents wanted you to eat in school when you were a kid).
BONUS: Get Everyone Involved
It’s always going to be easier to make healthy choices if the people around you are on board as well. If your office is providing healthy options in the office and encouraging healthy behaviors for those who work from home, you will see a positive shift among the entire staff. Some of the ways that your office can help the cause are:
- Installing a water bottle refill station - Bonus points if the company supplies their workers with reusable water bottles to keep things environmentally friendly!
- Providing reimbursements for gym memberships - This is a great way to get your employees to work out, and potentially even work out together which can form valuable bonds!
- Forming company sponsored athletic teams - Kickball, softball, and bowling. Adult sports leagues are popular and on the rise. Do a search for “adult sports leagues” in your city and build a team among your employees. It’s a great marketing and networking opportunity in addition to being a lot of fun!
- Initiating a step challenge using watches to track employee steps for prizes - These days, people love to win prizes, and a step challenge is a way to do that. Put up a prize and let the staff compete to see who can log the most steps during a period of time. Provide updates along the way to encourage healthy competition and watch how into it everyone can get!
Important note when it comes to company-wide health activities: Do not force anyone to participate, and do not form a culture that results in anyone feeling left out. You want to encourage positivity and health with these initiatives, so be understanding that some people are unwilling or unable to participate.
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Do you have any suggestions for avoiding bad nutrition habits at the office? What are you doing to encourage healthy behavior in your own life and in those around you? Leave your comments and suggestions below to get the conversation started with fellow LenovoPRO Community members!