Last Updated on September 2, 2024
If you eat whatever happens to be conveniently in front of you at any given point in time and find yourself lagging by the time the afternoon rolls around, it’s more than likely because of your poor eating habits. Your morning coffee, while enticingly tasty doesn’t really help all that much despite the ‘boosted’ high you receive. We’re all familiar with the caffeine rush and yet many of us struggle to break out of the cycle as we’ve learnt to accept this ‘surge’ of energy as part of our 9-5 work structure.
But if we start to take it the concept seriously that what and when you eat and when can make a proven and colossal difference in the way you feel making a change starts to become a more feasible idea for many, we’re talking a significant change in quality of life if you do this right. Here are a couple of quick changes you can make to your eating habits while on the job that will make a world of difference to how you feel and perform, they might sound obvious but implementing them is easier said than done for some of us;
Eat Breakfast Every Day
Some people aren’t breakfast people and that’s totally understandable. If food is the last thing that comes to your mind when you wake up then you’re certainly not alone in your desire to trade the chance of a panned and nutritious breakfast for another ten minutes of snooze button sleep, but food is literally the fuel your body craves and if you’re not starting your day off by fueling up, you’re likely to run out of steam by the time the afternoon rolls around, you’re like a car running on fumes – doing this long term is bad news for the engine!
Start your day off with a fresh piece of fruit (no excuses for missing this as office fruit basket providers like Fruitful Office are becoming increasing popular across the office environment.) Or opt for a bowl of oatmeal in the morning to heat you up before you venture out into the cold. You don’t have to eat an entire plate of hash browns and bacon, but you do want something to get your metabolism going and get your brain running for the day. A final note – your body adapts, it’s amazing in fact. Keep to a routine and soon you will find your appetite in the morning increases significantly as your body really likes fuel to power up for the rest of the day!
No Carbs at Lunch. EVER.
Carbs can be your worst enemy and your best friend, depending on the situation. If you’re planning on running a marathon, by all means carbo-load for an entire week before the event, but if you’re just trying to get through your day, avoid them as much as you can. Carbs will trick your body into a sort of high that will end up with your head on the desk in the middle of the afternoon wishing the day was over. Don’t go the quick and easy route and do pasta at noon. This is not to say to cut them out of your diet altogether of course as the risks of this have been well documented.
Get Rid of Caffeine
I’ve been complaining about it for most of this post so it’s no surprise the final tip is to ditch the Starbucks and opt for a cup of tea instead. Caffeine will give you the same synthetic high the carbohydrates will with even more of the crash afterwards. Though you may be craving a cup when you wake up in the morning, make a commitment to stay away and let your body adapt to life without the coffee devil.
After a few weeks, you won’t need the caffeine to stay even and you won’t feel the crash in the afternoon. Teas like green tea have trace amounts of caffeine that you can use to chase off the caffeine withdrawal headaches if you’re feeling out of sorts during your transition period.
Your eating habits can play a big part in how productive you are at work and in other areas of your life. With a clear mind you’re far more likely to be able to tackle the things you need to in a fraction of the time. And without the caffeine causing you to bounce around the room like a rabbit, you can set your mind to one thing and make it happen. Make these few small changes and your productivity will be through the roof.
