Mondays. Ugh, Mondays.

Bringing you a little work week style this Monday to make it a little less painful and sharing some of my best tips for staying healthy at work, because we all know the office break room is a full on DANGER ZONE.

AVOID THE BREAKROOM

Being in consulting, I’ve frequented a number of different office break rooms. And no matter the business, the scene is typically the same – vending machine full of processed goods that may still be there from the beginning of time, soda machine with at least three buttons for the same exact soda and only one for water that is always “out of stock”, a box of donuts left over from some sort of “occasion” (and in an office there is ALWAYS an occasion), and other various “goodies” that are actually “baddies” (though it’s so sweet that so-and-so took the time to bake them), and a bowl full of assorted candies because everyone needs that 2PM rush of sugar to spike their  blood sugar and get through the coming meetings….

Alright I may be exaggerating a bit, but in general, the break room is a place you want to avoid. Aside from going in there for coffee and/or your own packed lunch, it’s most likely that you should avoid it as best you can.

 

BRING YOUR OWN LUNCH

This is by far my TOP TIP for staying healthy at work. While it takes a little bit more effort than picking up that “healthy” salad from the cafe, it will save you in more ways than one. Unless you work at the Google offices and basically can pick from anything you want, typically the office cafes are limited in their food variety and often even the “healthiest” items aren’t as great as they seem and will most likely leave you still feeling hungry even after you pay for that premium salad. If you’re worried about adding on to your grocery bill, just consider that buying lunch out (even with that work discount) can often cost you 4x more than what you can get and bring from home. So stop wasting your money away so you can buy something much more fabulous than romaine and one stale crouton. One of my favorite things to bring for lunch at work? It’s also the easiest, the fab4 smoothie that I can make in the morning and put in a lunch bag with some ice packs and totally fills me up and curbs any cravings during the day. Need more momentum to avoid those donuts in the break room? Have something you love (that’s healthy) for lunch that will fill you up and it won’t even be a thing.

 

DON’T SNACK

Let’s be honest. Sometimes we all get a little bored at work. Even as crazy busy as we can be, 3PM rolls around and we are staring at the clock like…. how was it only 2:55PM five minutes ago?! And the first thing most of us will do? Reach for a snack. But don’t. Really. Because first of all, you’re probably not even hungry, you’re either in a little work rut and need to do a quick walk around the office for a little energy or you need to fill up your water and get that hydration in. If you are hungry, then let’s not plan a snack, let’s look at your lunch again and understand why it didn’t fill you up. Were you missing a fab4 element that would have made it a more well rounded and filling meal? Mindless snacking is dangerous and work is definitely one of the biggest places for this bad habit to occur, so stick to the basics and avoid the concept of snacking all together.

 

MAKE YOUR OWN HEALTHY “LUNCH OUT” MENU

This tip comes straight from Kelly Leveque’s BodyLove book, and it’s an absolutely brilliant one that I couldn’t keep to myself. Office lunch outings are unavoidable sometimes, so to make sure you’re still able to stay on track while eating out make sure you are ALWAYS prepared. How? Go through the menu’s of the most frequented places that lunch outings happen and find the best items you can find that stay in your healthy track, and make up your own word doc with these items. This way, every time you get that last minute lunch meeting you know exactly what to order without looking at the menu full of tempting things. Added bonus? You can spend more time networking and connecting with coworkers rather than stressing over a menu.

 

STOP BURNING OUT

Staying healthy at work is much more than what you eat (or don’t eat) throughout the day. Making sure you’re also not overdoing it is important to maintaining your overall health. Excessive stress and loss of sleep are TERRIBLE for your health and bleed into so many other components of your life that will eventually burn you out and leave you wanting to climb under a blanket for a least 6 months. While it’s important to work hard and put in your time, if you’re constantly putting in more than you should be, you need to address it. Overworking could be a sign that another resource is needed for the team, or that your boss is not aware of all that you are currently managing, so talking with your leadership about this and your desire to be able to balance it better is something no one can fault. And if they do? Maybe that’s not the right place for you after all. Though there will certainly be busy seasons, make sure you are being disciplined enough to not burn yourself out, because your health should be your first priority and it’s never healthy to put work above all.

 

 

Do you have some other ways you stay healthy at work? Comment below!

 

XO,

JESS

 

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