Lots more of us are working from home or doing a combination of working from home and working from the office. All of this brings disruption to our routines. While lots of people have mastered the work routine, many have told me that they find it difficult to manage what they’re eating when they’re working from home. I know that many of us are struggling with trying not to overeat and struggling with maintaining enough energy to stay focused and productive while trying to balance many life roles, including work.
This week, I had the opportunity to interview Sam Miller as part of our wellness webinar series at work. Sam is a registered Nutritionist and Certified Sports Nutritionist with a BSc in Nutrition from Bournemouth University in the UK. He is currently Head of Nutrition at Pure Fitness, based in Hong Kong. In our 30-minute conversation, we discussed how to lead a healthy lifestyle through the choices we make around nutrition, focusing specifically on how we can stay healthy when working from home, what foods help us to stay alert and focused, and how to make good food choices when eating out. Here are the top ten key points that I took away from our conversation:
1. Structure your day to include food
We naturally spend a lot of time planning work, family time, social activities, and holidays. But how often do we plan what we’re going to eat to sustain our daily energy? Whether working from home or from the office, planning meal choices for the day is key to stopping you getting hungry and then over consuming your daily calories by making bad food choices. For example, on a “normal” day, you might have breakfast at 8am, lunch at midday, a snack at 4pm and dinner at 8pm. However, if you’re planning on having late night calls, delay your breakfast time so that you can eat later in the day without overeating.
2. Calories are key, but it’s how you maximise them that makes the difference
Consider how many calories you want to consume in a day and work backwards to work out your portion sizes. Prioritize lean protein, and space it out throughout the day. Protein uses calories to digest and looks after your muscle mass, as well as keeping you fuller for longer. If you prefer to follow a vegetarian diet, incorporate tofu, beans, lentils and also consider a protein supplement. Continue including carbs but consider smaller portion sizes and replacing white carbs with wholegrain ones. Bulk up your plate with colourful steamed vegetables as these contain fantastic nutrients and contain fewer calories than the carbs.
3. Meal prep with the family to eat more healthily and save money
Making simple meals from scratch gives you more control over your ingredients and, ultimately, what you’re putting in your body. Get your children involved too so that they can develop good habits about healthy food from a young age. Prepare simple meals with a good balance of protein, fibre, healthy fats, vegetables, and carbs. Social media is rife with people baking bread and cakes with their children. While this is lots of fun in moderation, it can create bad habits in the longer term. Consider baking more nutritious snacks with the children such as fruit/nut-based snacks that don’t have such heavy sugar content. For ideas around how to make healthier versions of your favourite restaurant foods, click here.
4. Manage your food environment
There are going to be days when you don’t have any food prepped, or don’t have time to cook. It’s totally fine to buy pre-prepared food for your lunch or dinner but take some time to research healthy food options locally so that when the time comes, you make good choices rather than defaulting to pizza, curry, or a Chinese takeaway. Lots of restaurants list their calories online so this should help you come up with a go-to list.
5. Liquid calories count too (sorry!)
All calories count, even if they are in liquid form! Coffee is fine in moderation but, if you take milk, consider the type of milk you use as if you have a large latte with full fat milk and caramel syrup, this could be the equivalent of a meal in itself! And, of course, alcohol counts…
6. Don’t forget to stay hydrated
There are so many benefits to staying hydrated, including the impact it has on our energy levels and cognitive abilities. We often don’t get enough water throughout the day because we forget to drink it! One tip is to keep an empty bottle of water on your desk as a prompt to drink more, ensuring you have the full bottle to hand. Consider keeping a bottle of water on your bedside table and drink it before you get up to start your day well. Including a slice of lemon will give your digestive system an extra boost.
7. Eat mindfully so that you know when you’re full
Step away from your workspace and any type of screen when you eat. Enjoy the eating experience and connect with the feelings of fulness to avoid overeating. It’s OK not to clear your plate if you’re already full. There is a great course on LinkedIn Learning which explores how you can have better breaks and downtime during your work day to help you maintain your focus for longer. If you have access to LinkedIn Learning, search for “The Mindful Work Day”.
8. Make better choices when eating out
While you may not always have control over the restaurant choice, there are some small things you can do. With meat, chicken breast (without the skin) is often the leanest option and, if choosing steak, opt for the fillet or the tenderloin. Fish is often a good choice too. In all cases, steamed is better than fried, ask for any sauces to be on the side, make sure you include vegetables, and ask for them to limit the oil or butter they use for cooking. If you are having a shared meal, ask the waiter to recommend how many dishes you need for your group size so that you don’t over order and therefore overeat! If you ensure that around half of the dishes you order are vegetable-based and ask for them to come to the table first, you’re more likely to fill up on those and then not overeat on the more calorie dense foods that follow.
9. Aim for 7-9 hours of unbroken sleep each night
If you read my blog post from last week on Mental Health, you’ll know the importance of getting a good night’s sleep in supporting our overall wellness. Here is the link to a fantastic podcast from Harvard Business Review called The Science behind sleep and high performance.
10. Look after your whole self to fight illness
There is no magic pill to “boost” your immune system and, if anything, any supplements that claim they do this can often do more harm in the longer run. Looking after yourself is enough. Get enough sleep, build exercise into your daily routine, eat a varied and balanced diet, maintain a healthy weight and manage your stress through yoga, meditation, etc. There is a great course on LinkedIn Learning which explores the benefits of meditation and sleep to reduce stress and enhance productivity. If you have access to LinkedIn Learning, search for “Arianna Huffington’s Thrive 01: Discovering Meditation and Sleep”.
I hope these simple tips will help you to think differently about nutrition, especially in a time where your normal routine has been disrupted. If you would like more information about the services offered by Pure Nutrition, please click here. For those of you based in Hong Kong, Sam also runs a community in a Facebook group called The Ate 52 where he regularly posts useful hints and tips about nutrition, as well as sharing recipes.
Big Thoughts, Little Thoughts and Everything In Between 