Medically CitedIn This Article
Overview
Pressing work responsibilities and duties often get in the way of making healthy food choices while in the office. Most people find it easier to grab prepackaged meals and snacks packed with unhealthy fats, sugar, and other additives. An unhealthy diet usually leads to low energy levels, making it hard to focus throughout the day, which hampers productivity. It also raises the risk of chronic health issues like heart disease and obesity, reducing mental and physical functioning. This affects your ability to handle your work duties effectively[1].
Healthy eating is vital for your well-being and health, plus workplace productivity. Healthy food choices result in improved consistent energy, decreased stress, and better mood while keeping you more engaged at work. While maintaining healthy eating habits at work can be challenging, the right strategies can help. Discussed below are six tips for eating healthier at work.
Opt for Healthy Meal Deliveries
While healthy eating is crucial for your well-being, a busy work schedule makes it hard to plan, buy, and prepare nutritious meals daily. Cooking healthy food takes time, which is often limited due to work commitments. Luckily, eating healthy at work without worrying about the hassle of getting nutritious food onto your plate is possible. Thanks to a healthy prepared meal delivery service, you can develop a healthier and more disciplined food approach. With this service, you can select from a broad range of foods to help you keep up with healthy eating[2].
Getting healthy meals delivered to your workplace daily is the easiest way to maintain consistency with your diet. A healthy food delivery service eliminates the risk of overeating, which can lead to low energy and sluggishness. This is because you’re assured that your meals are prepared to your precise requirements, the right portion included. A healthy prepared meal delivery service is convenient. It lets you pick an alternative that best aligns with your lifestyle while eliminating the stress that comes with trying to maintain healthy eating habits.
Plan in Advance
Not knowing what to eat at work makes it easier to make unhealthy food choices. Planning your work meals ahead of time gives you enough room for nutritious and well-balanced alternatives. Without a plan, you may repeat the same food several times a week, which can be boring and makes it hard to keep up with healthy eating.
Meal planning allows you to add variety to your menu, making it easier to keep track of your nutritious eating journey. When you know what you will have at work, it’s easy to stay organized and save time, even with a busy schedule[3].
Have Healthy Breakfast
Your blood sugar levels can drop at night as you sleep, creating a deficit that hampers your muscle and brain’s maximum functionality. Having a healthy breakfast before heading to work replenishes your blood sugar. Failure to give your body this fuel causes you to feel energy drained while increasing the risk of unhealthy snacking and overeating during the day[4].
Maintaining a healthy breakfast routine makes it easier to keep up with healthy eating habits by lowering the possibility of snacking throughout the day while at work. Should you skip breakfast for whatever reason, it’s essential to compensate for the nutritional content you didn’t get with a healthy lunch. You can also pack your breakfast to enjoy it mid-morning at work. Look for healthy portable breakfasts you can carry to work to make it easier to maintain nutritious eating and avoid unhealthy snacking[5].
Pack Healthy Snacks and Lunches for Work
Bringing your work lunch from home comes with multiple benefits. It helps cut your calorie consumption and reduces the possibility of falling prey to unhealthy food choices. It’s also pocket-friendly. While some people might claim that they don’t know what to take as work lunch, you can make extra dinner portions throughout the week[6].
Alternatively, you can pack deconstructed lunches yet to be assembled or use ready-made vegetables for salads you can toss whenever you’re ready to eat. To ascertain healthy lunches, consider including a quarter plate of:
- Vegetables
- Fruits
- Whole grains
- Protein or less
You may also incorporate a whole dairy serving. Don’t forget to pack healthy snacks to keep yourself energized whenever you feel hungry between meals and reduce the risk of depending on coffee shop treats or vending machines. Healthy snack [7]options you can pack include:
- Vanilla or plain Greek yogurt with berries
- Apple slices and almond butter
- A handful of seeds and nuts
- Steamed soybeans
- A couple of whole-grain crackers and a hard-boiled egg
If you’re pressed for time, keep non-perishables at work for quick snacking, including:
- Cereals
- Whole grain breadsticks and crackers
- Seed, nut, or granola bars: Opt for plain bars with at least two grams of fiber and added sugar of no more than 10gms
- Light tuna: Purchase vacuum-packed pouches or single-serving cans and serve with some whole grain crackers as a snack or add into a salad for your lunch
- Trail mix: You can make yours with seeds, nuts, multigrain pretzels, popcorn and dried fruits
Keep Hydrating
Confusing thirst for hunger is common and may hinder your healthy eating journey. It may cause you to ingest more calories than your body requires. Hydrating throughout the day is the best way to avoid this confusion[8]. If you still experience food cravings even shortly after eating, you could be dehydrated. Drink some water instead of opting for a snack. To ensure you’re always hydrated, consider:
- Keeping a glass or bottle of water on your desk: It keeps reminding you that you need to hydrate and makes it easier to take regular sips, which can be challenging where you have to keep getting up to get the water
- Taking hydration breaks: Since you might not remember to hydrate even with a glass/ bottle of water on your desk, scheduling frequent hydration breaks and taking them can help
- Prioritizing hydrating snacks: The foods you take also contribute to your hydration levels. So, take more high-water content food options, including cucumbers, melons, apples, celery, and strawberries to help keep you hydrated
- Take stews and soups for lunch: These are hydrating and can easily be made in batch form at the beginning of the week
- Don’t take processed foods: While processed foods are unhealthy, they may have excess fat, sugar, or salt, which can accelerate the dehydration process[9]
- Wear loose or light clothes: Don’t wear tight-fitting clothes that don’t let your skin breathe and make you sweat more. Opt for light and loose clothes to keep your body cool while preventing dehydration from sweating or overheating
- Avoid waiting until you’re thirsty: Thirst signifies that you’re already dehydrated. So, take a lot of fluids throughout your day at work and enjoy vegetables and fruits with high water content to keep thirst away
To ensure healthy hydration, don’t take flavored water that contains flavorings and sugar because they may cause dehydration. If you must add flavor, choose natural water organic flavorings.[10]
Practice Mindful Eating
Considering how taxing work can be, you end up engaging in emotional eating, which may cause you to consume unhealthy foods. Mindful eating promotes better digestion, influences future food choices[11], and keeps you full without consuming much. For effective mindful workplace eating:
- Take time when choosing what to eat at work and ensure it meets your body’s demands and needs
- Avoid distractions when eating
- Eat slowly
- Think positive as you enjoy your meals
- Know your hunger triggers and eat only when you’re hungry
Endnote
Keeping up with healthy eating while at work isn’t easy. However, implementing these tips can help ensure healthier eating at work.
11 sources
We review published medical research in respected scientific journals to arrive at our conclusions about a product or health topic. This ensures the highest standard of scientific accuracy.
[2] healthy prepared meal delivery https://eatfitlifefoods.com/
[3] Health benefits of meal planning https://www.beaumont.org/health-wellness/blogs/health-benefits-of-meal-planning
[4] 59 Healthy Breakfast Recipes to Start Your Day https://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/photos/healthy-breakfasts
[5] 23 10-Minute Portable Breakfasts You Can Bring to Work https://www.eatingwell.com/gallery/7961807/10-minute-portable-breakfast-recipes-for-work/
[6] How Bringing Your Own Lunch To Work Can Help Your Energy Levels, Overall Health And Bank Balance https://www.huffpost.com/archive/au/entry/how-bringing-your-own-lunch-to-work-can-help-your-energy-levels_n_9675486
[7] 20 best healthy snacks for worke https://www.bbcgoodfood.com/howto/guide/best-healthy-snacks-work
[8] 6 Tips To Differentiate Hunger vs. Thirst https://www.corporatewellnessmagazine.com/article/hunger-vs-thirst
[9] The Importance of Hydration When Fueling With Salty and Sugary Snacks https://www.bicycling.com/news/a35967496/link-between-processed-foods-and-dehydration-study/
[10] Water Flavorings https://www.naturesflavors.com/category/products/extracts-and-flavorings/flavoring-for-water
[11] Health & Wellness https://www.helpguide.org/articles/diets/mindful-eating.htm
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