Healthy meals and staying well hydrated will help you maintain your energy and concentration throughout the day. Plan ahead to avoid grabbing unhealthy food from vending machines or corner shops.
Plan your Lunches in Advance
Plan your lunches ahead of time to maintain a healthy diet and save both money and valuable time. A packed lunch will prevent you from grabbing fast food, meal deals or the sugary treats at vending machines.
- Find a suitable storage container. Think about what you’ll be using it for. Make sure that it will withstand being microwaved, frozen, or put in the dishwasher. You can use durable plastic or glass containers for this. Find a container with a lid or seal that is secure and stays on.
- Fill your fridge at the beginning of the week with foods that can be combined easily to create healthy lunches.
- Make double the amount the night before to have a prepared lunch for the next day.
- Batch-cook a dish you like at the start of the week. You can freeze the remaining food if you don’t want to eat it all week. Prepare soups, grains or beans salads, lasagnes, curries or grain-based dishes. You can also prepare sandwich fillers to add to your daily sandwiches.
- What works for you? Everybody’s method of meal planning will be unique. Some people may not have time, space or access to prepare or batch cook meals. Pre-chopped veggies, tins with lentils, chickpeas and beans, and spreads low in sugar or saturated fats are all healthy options. It can be difficult to determine which processed foods are better for you.
- Save lunch recipes and ideas in a convenient place, like a note in your phone or in a book. You can also save them on a fridge page. It can help you remember some easy lunches if you’re in a hurry at the start of the week.
Stay Hydrated
It is important to stay hydrated in order to maintain a healthy diet. Eatwell recommends drinking 6-8 glasses or cups of liquid per day. All drinks that are sugar-free, such as tea, coffee and lower-fat milk, count, including water.
You may experience fatigue, headaches, loss of concentration and a less productive day at work if you don’t drink enough. Making hydration at work a priority can help you stay focused, and give you the mental and physical energy you need to get through your day.
Stay hydrated while at work with these tips:
- Make it a habit to always carry a water bottle. Are you leaving the house? Check your keys, wallet…water bottle! Working from home? Open the laptop only after you’ve filled up a glass of water. Keep topping it off each time you leave the desk.
- Plan with colleagues how to make water more accessible. Do you have access to a sink or water fountain at work? Are there any cups to use if you forget your bottle? Speak to your colleagues about a solution.
- Use reminders to encourage you to drink. For example, sticky notes on your desktop, phone reminders, or whenever you see another person drinking, you can use that as a prompt to drink.
- Challenge your colleagues to drink water more.
- Use natural fruits or herbs, like cucumber and mint or ginger and lime, to flavor your water if you don’t enjoy the taste of it. The link below contains a variety of combinations and recipes.
- Snacks such as celery, cucumber, melon, apples or berries are all hydrating. Lunch can be soups, salads or stews.
Make a Healthy snack kit
Simple snacks you can include in your kit are trail mix, fresh fruits, nut butter, rice cakes, unsalted almonds, and healthy popcorn. You can store your snacks in the fridge. Choose fresh fruit and yoghurt with carrot sticks, hummus or apple slices to dip into nut butters.
Celebrate without Sugar
No to office cakes, lunch takeaways, and doughnuts during meetings. You can celebrate special occasions without using sugar.
Other examples can be found at:
- decorate workspaces
- Eat lunch together as a group
- Organise a small gift or card for a birthday
- create a birthday reward system
- Bring tea, coffee, and healthy snacks to celebrate outdoors
- Get everyone involved in a game
Eat with Mindfulness
You can become more mindful of your feelings, thoughts, and senses when you eat by eating mindfully. It can help regulate your appetite and prevent you from being distracted by hunger during the day. You can also be reminded to savour your food more.
- Get away from your desk: Find a lunch partner to help you take a break from what you’re doing.
- Put your laptop and phone away when you are eating. If you’re distracted, it can be easy to eat too much.
- Slow down and chew your food. Take pauses during your meal. After you start eating, it can take up to 20 minutes for the brain to send signals that your stomach is full. You can slow down to help you recognize when you are full before it is too late or if you need more food.
- Plan your meal times. You can regulate your appetite by following a daily routine. You should eat enough food at mealtimes and choose foods that will release energy gradually and consistently. You can avoid feeling too hungry and reaching out for snacks at various times. This may cause you to not feel hungry for the next meal. Wholegrains such as porridge, oats and pulses are examples of slow-release energy foods.
- Recognize the differences in textures, flavours, and tastes of your food. You can enjoy your food more if you slow down.
