Quick tips to help improve your workday

Recently two friends from the US came to visit M and I. While we were exploring a different state, I received an offer to participate in a posting with Nuts.com on easy goals to make an average work day healthier. I was asked to contribute three “hacks” as they called them, and in return they created this neat little graphic check list for me to share on BYOL.

Now I want to be clear, there was no money exchanged. I was not paid nor had to pay to participate. While I have made many purchases from Nuts.com over the years when I  lived in New York, I am not partnered with them nor do I receive any bonus or incentives to post for them. As such I feel in clear conscious about sharing these quick little and cheap tips.

Having lived and worked in different office settings around New York, I know how demanding and stressful a typical day can be. As such, here are just a few suggestions that can help improve your work day and remove some temptations from your office environment .

1. Taking a walk after lunch

This has long been one of my favorite tips for office workers, as using part of your lunch break to take a walk can do wonders for your physical and mental health. Walking after a meal has been shown to help aid in digestion, lower blood sugar, bring down your triglycerides, and it burns some excess calories. Perhaps the best thing is you only need to walk for about 10-15 minutes to start achieving these results. It also helps get you out of the office for a few minutes, when you return you’ll often be more productive having refreshed your mind.

2. Swap the candy jar with a bowl of fruit:

One of the most challenging parts about working in an office is you tend to be surrounded by unhealthy options, particularly in the form of candy jars. These become comparable to a safari watering hole where people congregate throughout the afternoon. However, what could be at play is the fact that after an entire morning of stress and decision-making, we start to exhaust our mental capabilities. This is similar to endurance athletes and as such, taking in a healthy source of glucose in the form of fruit can help satisfy that sweet craving by supplying all the sugars your brain needs in a healthy way.

3. Water over soda – staying hydrated

This one will probably seem quite obvious, but it relates more to the one above than many might assume. The sweetness of soda makes it especially enticing as the daily fatigue of the day starts to set in; however even diet sodas have been found to lead to weight gain, as they stimulate our hunger sense and cause us to eat more. Soda also has a limited ability to hydrate our body which is why sometimes after drinking it, you remain thirsty.

On the other hand, water is calorie-free and hydrating. It helps prevent bad breath, and can even refresh our brain energy.

M wanted me to also suggest that it's an excellent idea to buy your own small carton of plant-based milks like almond or soy, and keep it at work if you are a coffee or tea drinker, so you will always have an option.  

So go ahead and try these simple and cheap suggestions and see if it helps make your day at the office a little more tolerable. I’m willing to bet it is.

Also while I never like to endorse specific products or companies, I will share that nuts.com has a great selection of assorted nuts and dried fruits that can make eating and snacking at the office easier. (although do remember that it is not a plant-based company, so be sure to always read the ingredients.) For more tips and to see their products, check out their Healthy Snacks for Work page.

As always the information presented in this blog is for educational purposes only. It should not be considered as specific medical, nutritional, lifestyle, or other health-related advice.