Maintaining a healthy lifestyle while at work is important to your overall health and well-being. If you have a job that requires you to sit in front of the computer for long periods of time, confront unhealthy snacks and foods on a daily basis, or are not lucky enough to work at a place that offers a complimentary in-house gym, keeping up on fitness and eating right can be a struggle.
In a previous post, we mentioned how exercise is one of the best ways to boost productivity among your work teams. Instead of giving in to the daily temptations of the workplace, consider using these techniques to boost your health and wellness at work and achieve the lifestyle you want to live.
Change the Food Culture
There is one thing that many office and lunchroom settings have in common, and that is the assortment of tasty and unhealthy snacks that are available for employees to consume. Whether your break area has vending machines or tables full of communal snack foods, many of these morning and midday snacks are loaded with empty calories, sugar, and fat. If you are looking to live a healthier lifestyle, bring change to the organization you work for and encourage the snack coordinators to switch out unhealthy foods for fresh fruits, vegetables, nuts, granola, and other foods that will fuel the way to better productivity and healthier eating habits.
If others in your workplace do not buy into this healthy change, consider purchasing nutritious snacks to keep at your desk and only snack on those items when you get hungry. And, if we are into food already, check out this post on the team building value of eating together.
Increase Your Footsteps
Getting in a good workout can be a challenge, especially when you have to work long hours. You can sneak in a calorie burning workout while you are at work when you get creative on how you go about your business every day. Do you have a favorite lunch spot or coffee shop within close proximity to your work? If so, skip the car drive and walk down the road to your favorite haunt instead. Talk to your supervisor about extending your lunch break so that you have time to get your meal and get some exercise at the same time.
You can also do simple things like walking down the hall to talk to a co-worker instead of sending an email or walking in place while on phone calls in an effort to get more exercise during the day. Read more on the importance of walking.
Get a Stand-Up Desk
Standing up while working at a computer can have a positive impact on your health and productivity in many different ways. When you stand at a computer as opposed to sitting down, your mental focus will be sharper, you will have better blood flow throughout your body, and you will maintain a better posture.
Stand up computer desks are sold at just about every office furniture store around, and some even come equipped with exercise machines.
Break Up the Routine
Strayboots offers a variety of scavenger hunts and team building activities that will take you and your team out of the office and into the city to stretch up and have a friendly team exercise that everyone will find fun.
People who work for a living often spend more of their waking hours at work than at home, so take advantage of the numerous ways you can work on living a healthy lifestyle while you are at your job.
Boosting your health and well-being is as simple as changing your eating habits at work and finding new ways to be up and mobile while you are there.
