Office Goers Exercise & Diet

Sitting a lot is bad for our health and posture. Someone calls sitting is the new smoking. It still does have a huge effect on our health. Aside from increasing your chances of chronic health problems down the line, prolonged sitting forces your body into uncomfortable positions and postures. Rounded shoulders, neck and back pain, weakened hip and many more the list goes on.

The good news is, there are physical activities you can do, both in the gym and outside of it, to offset many of the hazards of a job. Physical activity translates into brain activity by:

1. Increasing creativity
2. Improving concentration
3. Speeding up learning time
4. Sharpening memory
5. Prolonging mental stamina

These cognitive benefits to exercise on the job is so impactful. That means right after a midday walk you are more mentally prepared to tackle cognitive tasks. Another reason to encourage exercise in the workplace is it boosts mood. Happy employees are more productive and they are better team players.

Effect of Desk Job

Studies show that most desk workers sit for up to fifteen hours a day. This has a terrible effect on your spine, hips and joints.  You are also probably staring into a screen for several hours a day, which has adverse effects on your eyesight. The biggest dangers of prolonged sitting are:

1. Sitting with your hands on a keyboard overextends your back and posterior shoulder muscles, causing shoulder impingement.
2. This position keeps your biceps and chest muscles contracted for hours at a time.
3. You develop back and neck pain due to your lower back and shoulders rolling forwards. This increases your chance of injuries to both shoulders and your back.
4. You develop pinched nerves in your shoulders and lower back.
5. Your hip flexor and quadriceps are locked at a 90% angle, causing them to become stiff and tight.
6. Your vision is blurry and your eyes are under strain.
7. Your metabolism is slowed down due to inactivity.

Action Plan 

At the Gym

1. If you are an office or desk worker your gym time is vital. You should be hitting the gym at least three times a week.
2. Get plenty of Cardio – your lungs and heart need to be kept healthy and you need to mobilize your system to prevent build-up of toxins and metabolic waste.
3. Lift Weights. If you sit all day your metabolism slows down. Having a high muscle content boosts your metabolism, and the most effective way to boost your metabolism is to build muscle.
4. Book a foam-rolling session. Sitting in a typing position shortens your muscle fibers and creates knotted muscles. Foam rolling is a great way to lengthen the muscles back to normal, relieve pain, improve your circulation and release knotted muscles.
5. Do some bench dumbbell presses. This is great because it opens your shoulders back out and strengthens them in the correct position.
6. Talk to your personal trainer. Let them know what your concerns are and let them help you work out a fitness plan to meet your needs.

In and around the office

Set a half-hour reminder on your phone. For every half hour that you sit you should get up for five minutes and move around. Hopefully your office is relaxed enough to allow this. If not consider sharing this article with your co-workers, maybe they will join you! Here are some movements to use during your five minute breaks:

1. Go for coffee, walk to the cafeteria or kitchen for your coffee. You will be moving and resting your eyes.
2. Stretch your shoulder joints back into place. Do this by standing in a doorway with your hands facing up and your arms just behind you against the door frame. Very gently lean your weight forwards. Alternately you can do one side at a time by holding your hand against a wall and turning away from it very slightly. This is a gentle movement and no real pressure should be used. The idea is to gently roll your shoulders back.
3. Yoga stretches. If you have a small space where you can do a few salutes to the sun this will be really great for you. If not at least try to stand up and stretch your arms above and behind you.
4. Open your arms out wide behind you and let your head roll back. Breathe deeply and slowly bring it back up.
5. Run up and down the stairs a few times.
6. Put your head phones on and do some free hands.

Other ideas:

1. Park your car (or get off the bus) further away and walk. Try not to drive any distance that is short enough to walk.
2. Stand up when you talk on the phone.
3. Encourage your co-workers to discuss ideas with you while taking a short walk.
4. Use the stairs instead of the lift.
5. Carry your shopping in a basket rather than pushing a cart.
6. Instead of e-mailing your co-workers, get up and walk to their desks when you need to communicate something quick.
7. Talk to your boss or HR department about getting a table tennis table or something similar for the staff, and then challenge your co-workers to friendly games. A lot of establishments are starting to see the value in interactive tools like this within their teams. This can be a great place to discuss ideas.
8. Get a fitness tracker to help you keep track of how much you are moving in the day.
9. Get away from your desk during lunch time. Get up, go for a walk.

Office Hours Diet

Cut The Junk
Junk food options like namkeens and chips are the ones that are stocked by most office spaces for their employees. While completely disallowing yourself to eat these may not be the solution, it is a good idea to keep a check on the amount you take in one go. Being on junk is the unhealthiest habit possible, so be mindful of it. Limit your starch content intake in the form of pastas, rice and breads too.

Pack Home-Cooked Meals
This is the fool-proof way to make sure you cut down on junk; however much you want to. Getting home-cooked food to your office makes sure the food is healthy and fresh. The food cooked at home best satisfies your taste buds. You can customize it according to your own tastes and preferences. Chances of getting a case of food poisoning from badly-cooked food is severely reduced by eating home cooked food everyday. Freshly cooked food packed in a tiffin box keeps reminding you to finish it first before you go on to any other snacks or drinks. Home food in decent proportions is something which you can always binge-eat, without feeling conscious of overeating.

Stay Hydrated
The importance of drinking water at your work place cannot be overstated. A water bottle at your desk is an absolute must. Make sure you take several big sips before and after every meal, and keep drinking through the day as well. Water has no calories, and helps you stay energized and fresh throughout the day. This is vital especially for those working in air-conditioned offices, as their skin gets devoid of moisture, and thus needs to retain its hydration.

Avoid Cold Drinks
Some tend to consciously avoid junk food in an attempt to watch weight, but it is also important to avoid drinking caffeinated drinks, sodas, energy drinks, packaged juices and lattes. These drinks contain heavy amounts of sugar, which hampers your diet. Extra sugar and cream in your tea and coffee should be avoided. Opt for black coffee or green tea as a viable alternative to cut down on calories as well as boost your metabolism; or gorge on water, of course.


Keep Snacks at Desk
Stock your desk larder with plenty of snacks other than the regular chips and biscuits. This will be an added incentive to eat well, and will prohibit you from reaching out to the vending machine or nearby grocery store every time. Pine nuts, flax seeds and almonds are also good snacking alternatives. The best snacks are fresh fruits and veggies- simply wash and bring them to your work place.

Healthy Eating

If you are still wondering what exactly you can binge-eat during office hours, we have a list of healthy options ready for you-

1. Fresh coconut chunks, which are conveniently available in bite-sized packets in the local supermarket. They are high on fiber and rich in good fats
2. Sweet potato crisps, with no additives or preservatives.
3. Roasted chickpeas, which is low on calories and high on taste.
4. Yogurt, is a great snacking option and has a variety of flavors to choose from. It fills up the stomach with good bacteria and stocks up high on calcium and magnesium.
5. Dark chocolate, is rich in antioxidants and keeps you fresh and energized. Be careful not to eat too much. The kind of dark chocolate that has maximum benefits is the one with close to 98% cocoa content and least milk and sugar.
6. Protein bars, are filling, richly layered, and available in several different kinds of flavors. They live up to their name and supply you with the energy-boosting Protein that keeps you going through the day.
7. Mixed nuts, such as almonds which are high on magnesium; flax seeds which reduce drowsiness and contain Omega-3 fatty acids as well. Roast a variety of these nuts and keep them in a handy jar on your desktop.
8. Fruits, including bananas, apples, oranges, peaches, grapes, and any other fruit which does not require peeling and cutting. A single serving of any fruit is a healthy snacking portion for one person. It is a filling snack and high on fiber and vitamins.

Avoid Overeating

Excess eating leads to weight gain, obesity, heart disease, type 2 diabetes and can cause depression and other mood problems. Excess fat consumption can lead to increased cholesterol levels and blocked arteries, putting pressure on the heart.

Balanced diet
This sounds cliche, but balance is always good. Balancing your diet is all about having a little bit of everything in just the right amount, or better in equal amounts. You may select your own diet contents.

Mandatory Breakfast 
Yes! One should never skip a breakfast. Breakfast, as known is too many, is that one meal that supplies you the most energy and nutrients to survive the day.

Light lunch
Taking light lunch is a good way to keep the fat being stored in the body longer and in bigger amounts since you are basically just sitting the entire day at the office.

Light dinner

You can opt to go for lean meat this time- can be fish, chicken and beef, as long as you don’t eat way too much at night. Just make sure to fill in the space in your stomach to last through the night while you’re asleep.

Takeaway

The above tips can go a long way in guaranteeing a healthy physical and mental makeup. You will be in the position to function better personally and at the workplace.