Remember when you were a kid and all you wanted to do was grow up? Maybe you wanted to be a fire fighter? A doctor? A teacher? No matter what we wanted to be we foolishly rushed our childhood so that we could have a “grown-up” job. Now that I have one I want to go back to playing Nintendo 64 and snacking on some Dungaroos.
My average work week is shy of 40 hours. With three night classes and a job, exercise and eating right is hard to do. Before I started I had an open schedule, which allowed me to exercise freely during the day and and cook heart healthy meals. Once I began a full-time job, all my free time to exercise dwindled to ZERO. Within a few weeks I found myself struggling to find time for anything. Here’s a few ways to keep healthy at work:
Utilize the standing desk
Standing longer than 30 minutes on the subway sounds utterly terrible. The first thing you want to do at work is sit down, but sitting for long periods of time has shown an increase in health related issues such as chest pain and heart attack. Not to mention a lack of physical movement can effect your mood.
My workplace offers an open floor plan with three desk types – the walking desk, the standing desk, and the sitting desk. While the walking desk may be a more active alternative, it isn’t exactly reasonable in many situations. I mean… have you tried running on a treadmill while sending an email? To combat restless legs and tiredness I’ve been using a standing desk instead. Since I’ve started doing this my legs feel less stiff and my spirits high.
Exercise during lunch
Finding time to exercise is difficult when on a busy schedule. I’ve barely been able to keep track of my laundry let alone walk on the treadmill for an hour. But regardless of your daily hurdles, exercising is important for weight loss. If your office offers a gym, utilize your lunch hour and make an effort to exercise.
With an hour lunch I walk for about 40 minutes on the treadmill with a 3 percent incline. If you’re the adventurous type take a run or lift some weights. Whatever it is, the important part is to exercise. Get moving! If your office doesn’t have a gym in the building, use your lunch break to take a walk around town.
Use protein powder
Gastric bypass patients require at least 50- 60 grams of protein a day. For me this is difficult unless I eat a whole chicken, which isn’t going to happen. The easiest way to reach your daily requirement is to find a high protein source you enjoy. Prior to trying protein powder I ate protein bars, but I hated them. Not only were they difficult to digest, but the bars were tasteless and chewy. When I’m starving I’ll snack on a Kind bar (10g), but that’s hardly enough.
I suggest trying protein powder. My favorite is Muscle Milk, which comes in a lot of weird flavors like cookie dough, banana, German chocolate cake, chai tea, and mint chocolate chip. Many of these flavors are also available in a light version that is half the calories, but still high in vitamins and minerals. For an added burst of protein, mix a few scoops of your desired powder with fat free milk. One cup of milk alone has about 8.5 grams of protein.
Walk home
As the rumor goes, 10,000 steps a day keeps the doctor away… or some ridiculous generalization like that. Increasing your step count is important, but it’s not exactly the number that matters. It’s the effort. The Center of Disease Control recommends at least 150 minutes of activity a week.
While I don’t have a lot of time with class, on my days off I enjoy walking the two miles back to my apartment. I suggest walking home from work to help increase your activity during the week. If you drive to work or live far away, try parking down the street from your office and walk the rest. Every minute counts.
Avoid the ‘extra treats’
Conferences, parties, pot lucks, you name it. Office culture means food and lots of it. Every Friday there are platters of bagels, cake, fruit, and cream cheese piled onto my office counter. This gesture of kindness is wonderful, but the temptation makes moderation difficult. Usually I settle for a half bagel and some fruit salad– but free breakfast isn’t the only challenge. If you’re office is like mine sweets are an everyday occurrence. I suggest allowing yourself one or two weekly treats with healthy snacks tucked away in case temptation hits.
Feature image of man working at desk via Pixabay
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