Staying Healthy at the Office
If you’re like me, you are constantly eating. I can’t really do big meals but do one continuous meal all day long. It’s probably not the healthiest, but I’m 23 and have an amazing metabolism for now.
The main issue, however, arises when I’m at the office and have limited access to homemade foods -which even when they’re desserts tend to be healthier than store-bought or packaged items. I get less exercise than I did in my college (read: glory) days and have noticed that my pants are starting to fit just a little differently (read: snug).
That being said, there have been a couple of tips that I have gathered that have helped me keep my weight and stress levels manageable:
Drink a lot of water. Like really a lot. First thing I do when I get to the office is fill up a tall glass of water and keep that with me throughout the day. I can easily down 3-4 of those while I’m at work. It keeps me full and gets me up from my desk to walk down the hall to the bathroom consistently.
Pack a lunch. Not only will this save your waistline, it’ll save your pocketbook. I know it’s not as glamorous as going out to lunch, but restaurants tend to use more salt and sugar than you’d put in your cooking. Most days, I heat mine up and eat it at my desk while I work. Some say that you shouldn’t eat your food while looking at a screen (since it can distract you from the amount of food you’re eating and keep you from noticing how full you’re getting), but I keep my lunch portions controlled and like to use my actual lunch hour for the next tip.
Go on a walk. If you’re as lucky as me to work in a beautiful place like Sausalito, getting out of the office once a day for a walk is a necessity. Sometimes I don’t have time in my schedule to take my walk around lunchtime (or at all), but I can usually arrange to step out sometime in the afternoon. It keeps me mentally clear and stops that midday slump.
Stand at your desk. If you can, start off the day by standing at your desk. The little laptop stands are not particularly expensive and I find myself a little more productive and awake when I’m standing for the first couple hours of the day. Sometimes, when I’m feeling upbeat, I kind of dance and step to keep the blood flowing. My coworkers tolerate it.
Start a fitness-based competition with your coworkers. For the new year, my office started a pedometer competition. The boss was nice enough to splurge on pedometers for all of us (they were $9 each on Amazon) though most smart watches and phones also track daily steps. We update the leaderboard each week and I was in the lead until a cold landed me in bed for a whole week. It’s nice to have your coworkers on the same program with you and gives us an excuse to have walking meetings more often.
Stick to a schedule. I have found that eating lunch at the same time each day has really curbed my snacking. If I look at the clock and it’s 11:30 and I’m hungry, I can say to myself, “Just wait 30 minutes and you’ll have lunch.” Otherwise, I have no self-control, would eat a handful of chocolates at 11:30 and lunch at noon anyways.
Not all of these will work for everyone, especially those with usual work hours or stricter work environments. I have just found that incorporating healthy living into my workday beats having to wake up early to run or go to a gym after getting home (which cuts into my all-important dinner-cooking time and who has money for a gym membership). I won’t lie, it’s been a real struggle but like most things on this blog, I’m here to fail so you don’t have to.