Healthy eating at work?
The right diet is becoming more and more important when it comes to health. It plays a significant part in how fit and active a person feels. Especially in everyday working life, choosing healthy dishes in the canteen is not easy. Lunch or snack is often eaten quickly and thoughtlessly due to lack of time. Although they fill you up for a short time, they do not always provide the desired nutrients and vitamins. During working hours, however, it is important to get off to a concentrated and powerful start after eating. This is possible with a diet that primarily contains fresh and healthy ingredients. In this article, we provide information about “healthy eating at work” and provide you with tips and tricks for employees and employers.
Workplace nutrition and problem factors
Most people spend a large part of their lifetime at work. The effects on health are significant. Especially when it comes to healthy eating, the right approach is not always necessary. Eating greasy food in the company canteen, eating curry sausage at the stand or ordering fast food are common ways to make use of the short break and satisfy hunger. This eating pattern becomes a habit in everyday life and can be the trigger for many diseases, including overweight, diabetes and cardiovascular problems.
Especially while working, the focus should be on increasing well-being through a balanced and varied diet, with meals that are freshly prepared and contain all important nutrients and vitamins. This applies to snacks in between meals as well as main meals or drinks. Instead, four factors are responsible for poor eating habits:
- stress
- time pressure
- unbalanced diet
- lack of exercise
Everyday stress leads to a too quick and incorrect selection of foods that are eaten too hastily. time pressure promotes this behavior so that, instead of a relaxing break, the snack or chocolate bar is eaten directly at work, a very inadequate substitute for fresh meals. Die unbalanced diet It's a matter of habit. The daily breaded schnitzel or curry sausage is tasty, but it is also heavy on the stomach afterwards and also contains only a few vitamins and nutrients. Instead of the brain receiving energy, the body then needs it for digestion, which requires strength and concentration. lack of exercise, which is particularly problematic in everyday office life and during sedentary work. In connection with the wrong diet, excess weight can easily develop, which promotes further complaints and illnesses.
Healthy eating — what does it include?
Especially during breaks between working hours, it is important not to eat too heavily and to be full at the same time. What is actually healthy can easily be summarized under the term balanced diet. This means that the food should be rich in protein, whole grains and fiber, contain a portion of fruit and vegetables and provide the important vitamins and nutrients. Drinks such as mineral water, smoothies and juices are also included so that the body absorbs plenty of fluids.
In addition to the main meal of lunch, smaller snacks are useful, which are eaten throughout the day and thus appease cravings. Instead of a simple chocolate bar or a bag of chips, experts recommend healthy snacks and smaller dishes that are not too heavy on the stomach. After breakfast, it can be salads, fruit, a yogurt, a juicy sandwich or a bag of nuts. A combination of several healthy ingredients is very good for feeling fit and powerful. You shouldn't eat on the side, but take a short moment to eat the snack. Whole grain bread or fresh vegetables are also filling as a portion and provide the important vitamins and minerals.
The right balance between diet and work
The type of food intake depends, of course, on the work itself. A physically demanding job requires a different diet than concentrated work at a desk. Especially in the office, performance lows are inevitable when there is a lack of exercise and barely any time for healthy snack stays. It is important to adapt the diet to the activity and refrain from eating heavy foods and fatty dishes.
Shift work also makes things more difficult healthy eating at work. This is particularly true for professionals who work at night. At this time, the body switches to rest and slows down digestion. It is therefore important to eat light meals, such as salads, vegetable soups or wraps, especially here. After the night shift, it's worth having a light breakfast to prevent the feeling of hunger before bed. For all times of the day, on fresh and nutritious food access to feel strengthened and recharge your batteries.
Eating stress and frustration makes you sick
Working life is usually hectic and stressful. You rush from one appointment to another, have deadlines, business meetings and customer meetings. In between, there is hardly any time for dinner or a trip to the canteen. Meals are postponed until later and cravings set in. That's when you're in the mood for greasy and sweet things.
Often you don't eat at all because you have an appetite, but because you feel exhausted and rushed. This can promote eating habits that contain a lot of fat and sugar and are known as stress or frustration eating. It is recommended that you plan your diet at work wisely and take time to eat. During meal breaks, it is important to consciously switch off from the hustle and bustle and eat the food and snacks in peace.
Increased performance through healthy ingredients
A healthy diet is the decisive success factor. It not only improves well-being and makes you feel full and happy quickly, it also increases vitality, concentration and performance many times over. Good fiber, omega-3 fatty acids, lots of vitamins and minerals are found in whole grains, fruits, vegetables, fish, and lean meats. Foods that contain a balance of all important nutrients taste delicious, are light and provide the body with energy. After that, it's easier to get back to work and overcome the dreaded performance lows.
Especially at work, planning a healthy diet crucial for productivity. The composition of a balanced and nutritious breakfast, delicious and healthy snacks in between meals and a high quality lunches With delicious ingredients, this promotes high-performance work and replaces dishes that are heavy on the stomach and promote excess weight. It is also advisable to drink a lot, preferably mineral water, juice spritzers and tea.
The canteen meal — how healthy is it really?
Modern companies that keep an eye on the health of their employees are increasingly focusing on mobile canteens, water dispensers and fruit and salad bars. You can easily determine how good a company canteen actually is:
- Are there different menus available?
- Is there a wide selection of salads and vegetables?
- Are fish dishes and vegetarian and vegan dishes on the menu?
- Are there tasty side dishes with the main courses?
If you can answer the questions with yes, the canteen is geared towards a healthy diet. If these points are not available, you should look for an alternative or expand your current catering option to include a mobile canteen. Talk to your supervisor and talk openly about your wishes (or those of the employees).
Tips for designing workplace nutrition
Not every company has a canteen or cafeteria to offer. Employees then usually buy lunch in snack bars, bakeries, in the supermarket or at the sausage and grilled chicken stand. Even companies that have a canteen do not offer healthy food at the same time. Sumptuous dishes of no particular quality, which are cooked for the mass of employees, are common.
However, wholesome food is particularly crucial for performance at work. The following tips will make it easier for you to take the fastest path to a healthy diet:
- It is worth making sure that the dishes contain good nutrients.
- Choose your lunch dish in the morning. This prevents a hungry trip to the canteen, which often makes the stomach decide and does not always make the healthiest selection.
- Lean meats, fish dishes and vegetarian dishes are very good.
- You should avoid greasy, fried, breaded or gratinated dishes, as well as creamy and heavy sauces.
- To satisfy hunger, low-fat side dishes are good, including rice, boiled potatoes, or salad.
Modern mobile canteens offer all of this, such as Foodji, which make it possible to order food completely digitally and also tailor the menu to vegetarians and vegans. Here you can order hot and cold dishes via app and reserve desired dishes, which are then kept cool and served by the vending machine. With Foodji, feel-good catering comes straight to your workplace, with a wide selection of fresh and delicious meals. Learn here More about Foodji's offerings.
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