We at Time Out know from personal experience that a mere two-minute sojourn in the sun right now can turn even the most composed person into a mess, and so work lunches can become a calorie-filled nightmare over a sedentary summer. While takeaways are a saviour in the hotter months, chowing down on manakish at your desk will do your waistline no good, so read on to find out how to make healthy choices when ordering in…
Step away from the desk
Yes you’re busy, but spending your entire lunch break sitting at your desk shoving food into your mouth is bad for you in more ways than one. Firstly, as Kathleen Farren from Zest 4 Life points out, ‘It take 20 minutes for your brain to recognise that you’re full, and you need to eat mindfully. Also, eating while stressed [as in while checking emails and discovering even more work] hinders digestion because the stress diverts your energy away from the process of digestion.’ Also, desks are bacteria breeding grounds that don’t often get cleaned – we’ve all heard statistics about phones, but keyboards are even worse for bacteria, and eating on top of them only worsens the situation. We recommend finding a spot in your office to eat – the canteen, or somewhere upstairs (don’t take the lift). Just this five minutes of movement and a change of scenery will refresh your mind.
Don’t carbo load
You’re not about to run a marathon, you’re just fuelling yourself to sit at a desk for the rest of the day. Kathleen says, ‘If you eat big meals you get tired because the digestive system has to work harder – so choose salads, soups, wholegrain sandwiches and wraps with healthy fillings. Try fruit and nuts for snacks, and always make sure to have a healthy breakfast at home so you’re not too hungry at lunch.’ Eating breakfast sounds like an obvious tip, yes, but so many people still don’t do it (and, no, a curry puff picked up from Emarat at 8am on the way to work doesn’t count).
Be prepared
There’s a reason this is the Boy Scout motto. There’s no way that when waking up at 8am, needing to be out the door at 8.15am, you’ll have time to pack a healthy lunch. Dedicate half an hour on a Saturday to planning your lunches, and then go to the supermarket and get stocked up. Buy a bag of wholegrain bread (which you can leave in the freezer to keep it fresh – take two slices out every morning, and by lunchtime it will be defrosted), a box of turkey for a filling and fodder for healthy snacks – carrots, raw almonds (Elle MacPherson swears by them) and green tea. Also, when cooking dinners, why not make an extra portion and then take it in for lunch the next day. Just be sure to pack it before you sit down to eat, otherwise you’ll be in danger of just eating the whole thing, and double portions are a diet no-no.
Enjoy movement
Move as much as you can during the day. Why not create a ritual? Every time you get up to go to the bathroom, do five squats (in the cubicle, or else you might look weird), set a timer on your outlook every half an hour to remind you to stand up and get a glass of water and stop sending your colleagues emails – simply walk over to their desk and talk to them using the power of the human voice.
For more tips from Kathleen visit www.zest4life.eu or call 050 227 3153
