There’s no doubt about it—maintaining healthy eating habits is a challenge. The temptations to devour sweet and savory snacks are there every day. If you’re not careful, your health goals can quickly be thrown off track. Perhaps nothing makes it more difficult than the 8-10 hours you spend at work each day. Office break rooms are often filled with snacks that are packed with sugar and fat. It takes an incredible amount of restraint to resist them.
But there’s good news for those trying to maintain healthier eating habits.
The growth of snack delivery services makes it easier for workplaces to provide employees with access to more nutritional foods. Having fresh fruit and low-fat snacks lying around the office is much better than traditional candy and chips. Nevertheless, maintaining proper eating habits is not easy. Here are five ways to keep you on track while in the office.
1. Eat a Good Breakfast
By now it’s common knowledge that breakfast is the most important meal of the day. It gives your body the energy needed to get going and stay productive throughout the day. Skipping breakfast can throw your body’s rhythm of fasting and eating off-kilter, leading to overeating during the day. Probably not the best eating habit to develop. A good breakfast will also help regulate your metabolism.
2. Pack Your Lunch
Time is a commodity these days. There’s always a deadline to be met, which inevitably leads to a shortened lunch break. For many people that means fast food for lunch. And why not? It’s quick and relatively cheap. But talk about a bad idea if you’re trying to establish healthy eating habits. The solution is to pack your own lunch. Not will you be more inclined to prepare healthier meals for yourself, it’s also cheaper.
3. Eat Healthy Office Snacks
Healthy eating habits go beyond breakfast, lunch, and dinner. Most people snack throughout the day, and it does no good to munch on sugary, fatty foods. To ensure you don’t, you can bring your own snacks from home or have them delivered to your workplace through a snack delivery service.
4. Drink Healthier Beverages
Healthy eating habits include the beverages you drink as well. Consuming too many sugary drinks is perhaps even worse than unhealthy snacks because your brain doesn’t register the calories in the same manner. The fullness you get from food isn’t the same as the calories you get from beverages, so you end up consuming more calories overall.
This isn’t to say a refreshing can of Coca-Cola or Pepsi every now and then is terrible. It’s really a matter of moderation. Incorporating healthy beverages into your diet should not be overlooked. Some options include:
• Water
• Green Tea
• Coffee
• Sugar-Free Drinks
5. Keep a Food Journal
There are many benefits to keeping track of what you eat. A food journal not only can assist in your effort to lose weight, but it can provide insight into what foods agitate your digestive system or disrupt your sleep. For those trying to maintain healthy eating habits, a food journal keeps you focused and disciplined enough to help you reach your goals.