From Desk to Dumbbells!
A Simple Guide to Health and Wellness at Work
You’ve done it! You landed your dream job in a swanky high-rise, complete with a sleek desk and an office chair that screams “executive.” But as you settle in, you realize that maintaining your health in this cubicle kingdom is no small feat.With your life now centered around work, dedicating time to maintain your wellness can seem like a daunting task. One look at the seasoned pros around you, sporting the dreaded "banker belly," and you know it’s a fate you’re determined to avoid.
Between endless emails, back-to-back meetings, and that ever-tempting break room filled with snacks, keeping fit and focused requires strategy. Here’s how to manage your health without sacrificing your career ambitions or too much of your precious downtime.
Keep It Simple Stupid (K.I.S.S.)
In the bustling, commercialized world of health and wellness, it's easy to be overwhelmed by the myriad of options and fall prey to trendy supplements being pushed by snake oil salesmen. Cut through the bull-crap by focusing on these three pillars:
- Diet
- Exercise
- Sleep
Pillar 1: A Convenient, Healthy, and Affordable Diet
We’ve all been there. Your stressful job has taken over your life and the last thing you want to think about is packing a meal for work. Lunch rolls around and you cave, hopping on a Seamless order that will leave you feeling lethargic and your wallet feeling a bit lighter than it should.
Here is your playbook broken down into simple rules:
Focus Your Meals Around Protein: Protein is key for muscle repair (making your muscles grow), satiety ("feeling full"), and overall energy levels. Aim to include a source of lean protein in every meal. Options like chicken breast, turkey, tofu, or fish are all excellent choices. Not only does protein keep you full for longer, but it also helps stabilize your energy throughout those marathon workdays.
- Pro tip: Include a mix of fast-digesting proteins (like eggs or lean meats) and slow-digesting options (like cottage cheese or Greek yogurt) to fuel your body at different times of day.
Cook Things that You Like: Dieting should NOT feel like a chore. By experimenting each week and cooking foods that you enjoy, you’ll remain excited about eating healthy and stay on track. Consistency is the key to success!
Snack Correctly – The 10:1 Rule: It is important to be realistic and plan for cravings in between meals with healthy alternatives to the chips and cookies you’ll find in the office cupboard. A general rule of thumb to follow is that a good snack will have roughly 1 gram of protein for every 10 calories. For example, if a snack is 80 calories, you would want it to have roughly 8 grams of protein. This is not an easy rule to follow, but it serves as a good benchmark to follow when possible. Here are a few of my favorite 10:1-friendly snacks:
Trader Joe’s Icelandic Style Skyr Low Fat Cherry Yogurt: Trader Joe’s Icelandic Style Skyr Low Fat Cherry Yogurt: This yogurt is a good source of casein, a slow-digesting protein that helps keep you full longer, making it a perfect snack for busy office days (Cooperman).
The Only Bean Dried Edamame: A great vegan alternative!
Babybel Light Cheese: Delicious, portable, and it is fun to play with the wax!
Pillar 2: A Workout Routine for YOU
During the week, finding time for workouts can be a real juggle. If you opt for a morning routine, it often means trading in precious sleep hours, which (as we’ll discuss soon) are essential for recharging. Conversely, after a long day at the office, you might find yourself drained and lacking the motivation to hit the gym. The question becomes: how can we maintain consistency with working out in this environment?Choose the Right Form of Exercise: Everyone is different, so there is no one-size-fits-all solution to exercising. When determining what type of exercise is right for you, there are two primary considerations.
- What do you enjoy?: Exercising should not be a chore. Find a form of physical activity that you find enjoyable and it will be much easier to work out consistently.
- What are your goals?: There is no better motivator than progress. If you are motivated by looking strong, muscular gains from lifting weights will fuel your desire to pick up the dumbbells.
Find an Accountabili-Buddy: After choosing how you want to exercise, the next step is to find a workout partner. A study from the University of Aberdeen shows that having a workout partner can significantly increase the amount of exercise you do, compared to working out alone (Rackow). Having a workout partner will make it harder to hit the snooze button, helping you to stick to your goals.
Pillar 3: Catch Some Zs!
Ah, sleep—the closest thing we have to a magic elixir for health and performance.
Skimping on it can turn even the best job into a grind, not to mention its impacts on cognitive function, immune system strength, athletic performance and even long-term risks like heart disease and diabetes (Colten). Here are some of the most important factors to nail your sleep routine and feel like your best self:
Have a bedtime: I hate to say it, but your parents were right all along. Going to bed around the same time every night syncs your internal clock, also known as your circadian rhythm (Akacem). This makes it easy for you to enter into deep sleep, reviving you after each of your busy work days.
Put Down the Red Bull!: Love your late afternoon java? It might not love you back come bedtime. Even if you are able to fall asleep after consuming caffeine, it has the power to impact the quality of your sleep. In fact, research has shown that a moderate dose of caffeine can impact your sleep as much as 6 hours before bedtime (Drake). In short, drink your cup of joe in the morning.
Now, it's your turn!
With these three pillars, staying healthy at your desk job becomes manageable, not overwhelming. It’s about small, intentional changes that fit into your routine without sacrificing your productivity or personal life. Now, the choice is yours: Will you start by prepping meals, committing to a workout plan, or setting a consistent sleep schedule? Whatever you choose, start today. Your health—and your career—will be better for it.
For the Over-Achiever — Additional Resources
- A sample diet plan I made for those looking to start meal prepping linked here
- Meal Prep For The Week In Under An Hour | Sweet and Sour Chicken
Works Cited
Colten, Harvey R., and Bruce M. Altevogt, editors. *Sleep Disorders and Sleep Deprivation: An Unmet Public Health Problem*. National Academies Press, 2006, www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK19961/. Accessed 22 Sept. 2024.
Cooperman, Tod. "Greek Yogurt as a Good Source of Protein?" *Consumer Lab*, 9 May 2019, www.consumerlab.com/answers/greek-yogurt-protein-muscle/greek-yogurt. Accessed 22 Sept. 2024.
Drake, Christopher et al. “Caffeine effects on sleep taken 0, 3, or 6 hours before going to bed.” Journal of clinical sleep medicine : JCSM : official publication of the American Academy of Sleep Medicine vol. 9,11 1195-200. 15 Nov. 2013, doi:10.5664/jcsm.3170
Dresp-Langley, Birgitta, and Axel Hutt. "Digital Addiction and Sleep." International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, vol. 19, no. 11, 2022, p. 6910, https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph19116910.
National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute. “How Much Sleep Is Enough?” NHLBI, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, https://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/health/sleep/how-much-sleep#:~:text=Language%20switcher&text=Experts%20recommend%20that%20adults%20sleep,or%20more%20hours%20a%20night. Accessed 23 Sept. 2024.
Rackow, Pamela, Urte Scholz, and Rainer Hornung. "Received Social Support and Exercising: An Intervention Study to Test the Enabling Hypothesis." *British Journal of Health Psychology*, vol. 20, no. 4, Nov. 2015, pp. 763-776, doi:10.1111/bjhp.12139, PMID: 25854295. Accessed 22 Sept. 2024.
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