5 Healthy Eating Tips for Busy Professionals
Being a full-time professional can take a hit on food intake. Whether it be consuming too many calories or not eating at all, a meal plan should always be maintained to avoid having eating disorders that can lead to physical and mental problems in the long run. If your schedule is always packed, here are five healthy eating tips you should keep in mind:
1. Make breakfast a priority
Breakfast, not lunch or dinner, is the most important meal of the day and brings numerous healthy eating benefits. This is especially true if you're working on a regular 8 AM to 5 PM schedule or any schedule where work starts in the morning. Eating a full breakfast won’t just give you energy throughout the entire day but also prevents you from overeating during lunch or dinner time. You’ll always be in top shape physically and mentally once you take your breakfast every day.
People usually skip breakfast and load up on lunch instead. Others won’t even consume anything and would rather eat “brunch” as their first meal. Avoid this situation as much as possible and make time to prepare breakfast or even purchase a meal if you’re pressed for time. When either preparing or purchasing, take note of the nutritional value of your meal and avoid junk foods at all costs. You can even do preparations a few days ahead so that you’ll only heat them in the morning once you wake up or take them to work if you’re rushing. Check for recipes online or ask for recommendations from family or friends for breakfast ideas.
2. Pre-portion your snacks
Breakfast isn’t the only thing you can pre-portion but snacks as well. This also prevents you from overeating and munching on junk foods which have become a favorite among workers during snack time. Pre-portioning healthy snacks is something you can do when preparing breakfast or lunch and is even easier since there isn’t a lot of ingredients involved.
Some of the healthy snack options you can go with include fresh fruits and vegetables, canned or frozen fruit, whole grain bread or cereal, low-fat yogurt or cheese, and unsalted nuts, among many others. With the options you have, worrying about what to buy during snack time will no longer be a problem. If the lure of avoiding healthy food is too great, opt to purchase them once or twice a month during your designated “cheat days”.
3. Drink a lot of water
Instead of drinking caffeinated or juice drinks, why not opt with water? It doesn’t cost you a single cent to drink water and you can even consume it wherever you go and any time during your busy schedule. Water also has numerous health benefits and helps wash away all the toxins from your body. Add water to your healthy eating plan by always having a water bottle on your desk and drinking from it as often as you can.
Drinking plenty of water may increase your bathroom trips, but the pros always outweigh the cons especially when it comes to the numerous health benefits. Some of these benefits include normalizing blood pressure, stabilizing heartbeat, preventing constipation, aiding digestion, cushioning joints, and flushing bacteria from the bladder. With the numerous stressors you’ll experience at work, water is one solution that can help you tremendously. Drink six to eight cups of water per day but you can always increase the quantity for as many as you want; the more you drink, the healthier you become.
4. Eat at the same time every day
Rushing meals can oftentimes force you to go with unhealthy food choices. By eating in a strict schedule with whatever diet you’re having (low carb diet, keto diet, Ornish diet, etc.) any day during the week including weekends, the more you can have a balanced diet and avoid eating disorders long-term. A strict schedule doesn’t mean you’ll eat at the exact hour and minute every day. Rather, go with a time frame (an hour or two) where you can finish all of your meals.
Oftentimes, workers eat late when faced with numerous deadlines. Some even have their first full meal when they’re almost done with their shift. Developing these kinds of breakfast/lunch ideas or eating habits can easily lead to obesity and metabolism problems. The last you want to have is suffer from compromised physical health while at work. Remember that medical costs can be high, and all of this can be prevented if you eat right and live a healthy lifestyle.
5. Walk around
Even if you opt for a balanced meal every day, there may still be times that you feel very full. This is where you’ll need to stand up and walk around outside your office premises. Walking after each meal helps with digestion, heart health, weight loss, and even sleep. But remember that walking after each meal doesn’t pertain to doing brisk walking or other types of exercises. You’ll only get an upset stomach if you do this.
Another benefit of walking is that you’ll gain some much-needed energy and brainpower to finish all of your remaining tasks for the day. It’s completely normal to feel tired once you work on very complex tasks (e.g. finishing a project, meeting a client, etc.), but it’s not normal to leave all of your work unattended and go home because you’re stressed out. Walking may not get rid of all the stress but it can definitely help you recharge. Similar to drinking water, walking also helps to cushion the joints and improve blood circulation.
Final thoughts
Eating healthy can be tough if you’re a busy professional but it’s not impossible. A healthy lifestyle is still the most important factor when it comes to having a successful career. The more you incorporate an unhealthy diet, the more you will suffer from health problems which is never a good thing for your career and even your personal life. The five nutrition tips listed above should help you improve or maintain a healthy diet regardless of your stressful job.
