Don’t Let Lunch Let You Down: How to Eat Right at Work

 

You might be able to eat healthily at breakfast and dinner, but lunch is kind of tricky to do right when you’re on a diet, particularly if you’re at the office. Your jam-packed morning means that you don’t have time to whip up something healthy from scratch, meaning that you often have no other option but to eat the oily, greasy, spicy food that is served in your office in the name of “complementary lunch”. Even if you fork out for a salad or a sandwich at a local bistro on days that you are feeling rather guilty about your culinary indulgences and want to be good for a change, you know that you are ingesting far too many calories than you can afford to. Luckily, there’s an all new concept in corporate lunches.

 

Over in India, a few small companies are sprouting up and offering corporate employees a healthy lunch that is hygienically packed, nutritionally balanced, and yet not lacking in taste. One such company – aptly named CalorieSmart – operates within Gurgaon and is a major help to people trying to look after their wellness and eat right. CalorieSmart provides the luxury of eating home cooked meals without the hassle of cooking them for yourself, as well as restricting your calorie intake so that you don’t have to work out how many calories are in your lunch – you can just enjoy it! On average, a CalorieSmart lunch contains 500 to 700Kcal, but while your calories are restricted, your choices are not. Whether you choose an Executive meal or a Premium meal, you can pick from a wide range of cuisines from Indian, Chinese, South Indian, Mexican, Lebanese, Moroccan, Thai and Continental. This means you can eat healthy foods while also keeping your palate happy!

 

It’s OK to indulge yourself in pizza for lunch every once in a while, but take a good look at your cafeteria served food. Frankly, how often are you exceeding your calorie intake limits? Not only are you not doing your waistline any favours; you’re also putting your overall wellbeing at risk. Aside from the health problems that come with excessive weight gain, a heavy meal that is high in calories and fried in bad saturated oils will leave you feeling rather uncomfortably full and sluggish. That’s bad enough on your own time, but how is this going to affect your work performance? If you want to avoid that mid-afternoon slump where you cannot seem to keep your eyes open and concentrate on that presentation, you probably have the contents of your plate at lunch to blame.

 

Counting calories and assessing food labels is time-consuming enough during your free time, why not have someone else do that, while all you need to do is unwrap your lunch and tuck in without feeling like you are compromising with your health? In order for diets to work, they have to be easy to achieve and CalorieSmart meals provide everything you need without you having to work hard for it. Eating light, healthy and nutrient dense food gives your body vital nutrients which offer a ready source of energy and also keep you feeling refreshed and alert. However, if you don’t live in Gurgaon – and there’s a good chance you probably don’t – there’s still hope for finding smart and calorie-conscious meals in your area. Until CalorieSmart hits the UK, it is highly recommend that you do an online research and find out some healthy lunch options in your own city. You already eat healthily at breakfast and dinner – it’s time to make lunch count as well!

Categories: CalorieSmart, lunch, work

Maintain A Healthy Office Routine With These Steps

The office is a difficult place to maintain a healthy routine, but with a few easy changes to how you spend your day you can stay healthier throughout the working week. Here are ten steps to a healthier you, both in and out of the office.

Eat breakfast

Breakfast is something which many of us claim we don’t have time for, but it sets up your metabolism for the rest of the day. People who eat breakfast actually end up eating less during the day than those who don’t. This means if you’re trying to lose weight, you could actually be making things harder for yourself by skipping this important meal.

Take your breaks

Breaks give you chance to de-stress and relax. This short time away from your desk equals peace of mind, and that leads to more energy and focus, so you have more productivity for the rest of the day. Make the most of your lunch break by taking a walk around the block or step away from your desk regularly throughout the day to give your mind a rest for five minutes.

Take a packed lunch

Make your favourite lunch and take it with you to work. Not only is lunch an important meal and packing your own is cheaper, but it will also stop you searching for something more satisfying if you enjoy what you’re eating.

Eat lunch away from your desk

There’s no point in taking a lunch break if you’re just going to be responding to emails – you need a break during the day to refresh your mind and set the pace for the afternoon. You need to be focused on eating during lunch, so take time to digest and enjoy your meal – you’ll be more satisfied in the end and this will stop you from seeking food elsewhere later in the day.

Don’t drink more than two cups of coffee a day

You may think you need those coffees to get your through the day, but you’ll be amazed at how less jittery you are when you stop having them.

Don’t heat your lunch in a plastic container in the microwave

The plastics from your container of choice will get into your food and could even increase your risk of developing certain cancers if you’re not careful. If you need to heat your food, you should transfer it to a hotplate or a microwave-safe glass dish.

If you can, make an effort to walk or cycle to and from work

There are numerous benefits to changing how you get to work to something more health-efficient. Not only will you arrive at work with a healthy glow, but you’ll also get your exercise quota for the day, get some much needed fresh air before sitting in your office all day, and you’ll often save time by avoiding rush hour in traffic.

Drink your greens

At 3pm, when your energy begins to slip, drinking a nutrient-rich green smoothie can really give you the boost you need to maintain your productivity.

Nuts are a great office snack

Nuts are full of protein and healthy fats, as well as being cheap, easy to transport and they don’t need cooking. If you want to sustain your energy, nuts mid-morning or mid-afternoon could be the way forward.

Exercise before you get home

Home is comfortable so you won’t want to leave once you get in after a hard day of work; exercise on the way home so you can relax properly when you get home.

Categories: diet, eat breakfast, health, Home, lunch, office, time, work, Workplace Wellness

Top Tips For Staying Healthy In The Workplace

We’ve all been there – the afternoon hits and our energy slumps almost instantly. If you find that you’re regularly running out of energy come the end of the day, you might not be taking as good care of yourself in the office as you think you are. What we eat and how we conduct ourselves makes a massive difference to the energy levels we have throughout the day, whether it’s taking regular breaks as you work or making the most of your lunch break, here are some great tips on how to stay healthy.

Take regular breaks

It’s easy to find yourself in amongst a project and suddenly you’ve been working solidly for hours on end. Regular breaks give your mind chance to refresh itself and unwind, limiting the risk of you burning out and becoming tired too quickly. Try and take ten minutes of fresh air when you can or move to another department or the canteen for a change of scenery and a chance to stretch your legs.

Move around the office

A change of view can change your whole perspective on work and sometimes that’s all you really need. If you find yourself stuck with a problem that you can’t seem to get through, pick yourself up and move somewhere else for a short while – perhaps go and chat it through with a colleague. The change of pace and scenery might give you the mental boost you need.

Do something nice for a colleague

Workplace kindness is invariably forgotten in most companies, but random acts of kindness can really boost your morale. Why not take a trip to the bakery at lunchtime and treat your department to a nice treat? Or you could offer to make your colleague a cup of tea or pay them a compliment – anything you’d enjoy to receive, offer it to your team and watch the mood instantly lift.

Get involved

The feel-good factor is vital for helping to keep company spirit high. Why not join in on fundraising activities or make a company-wide bake sale for charity? It might sound like a lot of effort but it helps to improve teamwork and you’re helping others at the same time.

Have fun at work

Work doesn’t need to be boring, so make time for play – it not only improves your mood but can also help to stimulate your brain, which is often what we all need by the time the afternoon rolls around. Why not take part in a friendly game of table football at lunch or ping pong with a colleague? It will be fun as well as helping to get the brain juices flowing.

Treat yourself to a massage

Believe it or not, but lunchtimes don’t need to be reduced to a soggy lunch and a read of the paper. You can treat yourself! Why not visit the local masseuse for a stress-relieving massage which will lift your spirits and lower your stress levels. It can even boost mental health. Making time for yourself can really do wonders for your mood.

Get active

If a massage on lunch isn’t really your thing, you can still use this time to get some fresh air and go for a walk. Boosting your energy levels is just one of the benefits – you’ll also have chance to stretch your legs, lower your stress levels and enjoy a change of scenery, to set you up for the remainder of the day.

Categories: change, energy levels, fresh air, health, levels, lunch, Stress, Stress Levels, time, work, Workplace Wellness

What Are the Best Packed Lunches for Energetic Children?

If you want to look after the wellness of your family, the best thing you can do is make sure that you feed them well and pack them full of nutrients. The wellness and wellbeing of your children is hugely affected by the food that you choose to feed them, and that includes what you put into their lunch boxes.

 

When children are at school, they need brain power and energy to help them do well. With lots of junky pre-packaged foods available, the pressure to put unhealthy things into your child’s lunchbox can be really difficult to cope with, but there are ways around it.

 

First of all, children love food that is well presented. Try to find a lunch box that has a cute interior with different compartments for different food, and cute designs on the lid. You can also use colourful toothpicks for skewering veggies and fruit, slicing wraps into pinwheel shapes, cutting cheese, meat and sandwiches into shapes using cookie cutters.

 

Vegetable are also really important for kids, of course, but you need to be careful about how you include them. Find a way to make it fun, so for example you could slice up zucchini or carrots and then provide a tasty and delicious dip, or have cracker and cheese stackers with cucumber slices on them. Alternatively you could add a pasta salad that has shredded cabbage and carrots in it, or corn kernels and peas.

 

Sweet treats have a place too – just replace the usual chocolate bars with some homemade trail mix of roasted almonds, dried fruit and dark chocolate chips. Look for natural cookies and grain bars, and include some fruit leathers that are made from pure fruit concentrates and have no added sugars.

Categories: Children, cute, energy, Food, fruit, lunch, nbsp, packed

Sun and Supplements: Good Nutrition for Busy Brits

If you’re anything like the average Brit, you want to maintain a regular health and wellness regimen, but your busy schedule and last minute commitments can sometimes send you off track. You know that you need to maintain a balanced diet to look after your wellbeing, but still continue to fall short on valuable and vital nutrients. Therefore, registered dietician and best-selling author, Dave Grotto is here with a few simple and effective tips that can help you to maintain proper nutrition even when time is tight.

Firstly, make sure your meals are filled with nutrients. Set aside five minutes in your morning schedule for packing a healthy lunch. Grotto says, ‘It’s vital that we find ways to get the nutrients our bodies need and eating well-balanced meals can do just that.’ Make sure your lunch box is packed with protein and fibre to give you sustained energy throughout the day. Try preparing a salad with grilled chicken or a turkey sandwich on whole wheat bread.

On top of making the right food choices, you can fill the gaps in your nutrients by taking quality dietary supplements. As Grotto recommends, ‘Nature Made VitaMelts come in great flavours like juicy orange and melt smoothly in your mouth without water which provides an enjoyable vitamin experience. Plus they come in a handy, portable flip-top pack which can fit perfectly in your gym bag, or work bag, an added convenience factor on days you may not be eating as properly as you should.’

Once you’ve got your diet and supplement regime in place, get out in the sunshine and get some exercise. Even minimal activity, such as taking the stairs at work or going for a ten minute walk around the block on your lunch break, can be beneficial to your wellness. As an added bonus, being outdoors exposes your skin to the sun, which helps your body to produce vitamin D. This vitamin is important for bone strength, but vitamin D is scarce in many foods so sunshine is very important.

Finally, remember that it’s important to have a little “me time”. Overall health and wellbeing depends on getting enough rest and relaxation. Grotto recommends that you get seven to nine hours sleep a night, and that, when possible, you go to bed at the same time each night. This helps your body to know when it’s time to be tired, and when it isn’t, and can do your health a world of good.

Sun and Supplements: Good Nutrition for Busy Brits

Categories: exercise, grotto, grotto recommends, lunch, nutrients, sunshine, Supplements, time, vitamin

Are You Falling Into This Weight Loss Trap?

For seasoned dieters, it can be easy to fall into the trap of thinking that you know all there is to know about dieting and that it’s just a matter of finding the willpower. Many people who are in this camp go for an ‘all or nothing’ approach to their diet, trying to cut down on calories dramatically by eating very little and even skipping some meals altogether.

Recent research, however, shows that skipping meals or even eating meals (lunch in particular) later than usual, can be bad for your wellbeing and lead to problems with losing weight.

The study was carried out by speaking to 420 people who were embarking on the same weight-loss programme, and asking them about the time of day when they tended to have lunch. Those who opted for a late lunch were found to lose around 25 percent less weight than those who lunched earlier. For the purposes of the study, ‘late’ was anybody who ate lunch after 3pm.

It is worth noting, however, that this research was carried out in Spain, where lunch is the largest meal of the day. Therefore habits relating to this meal may not translate into the equivalent results in countries such as the UK where lunch is a light meal, and the evening meal is the main form of sustenance. Researchers also cannot isolate the factor of eating late lunch and be totally sure that it is this one eating habit that caused the lower levels of weight loss in this particular group.

Many people do believe, however, that it is better for your wellness if you eat your big/main meal earlier in the day (harking back to the old adage that you should breakfast like a king), but in fact there is very little scientific evidence to support this so far. This new study may be one of the first to back up the theory about eating earlier in the day, but it may also be due to the fact that late lunchers had left it too long between meals, thus slowing down their metabolism, rather than being purely due to the lateness of the meal.

Google+
Are You Falling Into This Weight Loss Trap?

Categories: late, lunch, time