In the first part of this blog on learning how to prevent weight gain at work, drinking lots of water, working at a standing station and bringing healthy snacks to work were the three tips covered. Here are three more ways to stay healthy during the work week….
Do mini-workouts throughout the day
If going to the gym for 90-120 minutes a night is impossible or sounds like the last thing on Earth you’d want to do, no problem. It’s actually healthier to break up your periods of movement into different mini-routines.
Take two minutes to climb up a few flight of stairs, then go back to work (seated on an exercise ball or standing at an upright workstation; see part 1). Repeat 4-5 times or so during the day.
Short bouts of exercise may result in weight loss and produce similar changes in cardiorespiratory fitness when compared to long bouts of exercise, says a study in the International Journal of Obesity and Related Metabolic Disorders.
In fact, some studies conclude that short bursts of exercise are healthier than one prolonged workout. A study in the British Journal of Sports Medicine concluded that even if you manage to exercise for at least a half hour every day, if you’re sitting the rest of the day, you’re at more risk of dying prematurely (another reason to get a standing desk).
Eat Breakfast Every Day
Many busy worker-bees don’t have time to make a healthy breakfast. Grabbing a donut and a gulping a large cup of coffee on the way to work is a much faster and easier way to provide the brain with a bolt and jolt of energy.
But skipping breakfast has been proven to lead to weight gain. When you don’t eat a balanced breakfast (oatmeal with a handful of blueberries and sliced almonds, sweetened with a tbsp. of honey, for example), you end up compensating later in the day--often at night--for calories.
Instead of eating starches that convert into sugar early in the day, if you skip breakfast, you’ll likely have a craving for high-starch foods at night like regular pasta.
(It’s ok, though, if you have a craving at night for noodles, thanks to calorie-free Miracle Noodle!)
A study in Obesity Research concluded, “Eating breakfast is a characteristic common to successful weight loss maintainers and may be a factor in their success.”
Eat Protein, Fat and Carbohydrates at Every Meal
Perhaps the biggest factor in preventing weight gain if you have a sedentary job is to eat all 3 macronutrients at breakfast, lunch and dinner. Macronutrients is a fancy dietetic term for proteins, dietary fats and carbohydrates.
For lunch and dinner, make sure the bulk of your carbohydrate intake comes from vegetables (though not from white/mashed potatoes and corn as these both easily convert into sugar). Yes, veggies are a carbohydrate. In between meals, you can have a serving size of fruit (another carbohydrate) combined with a handful of seeds or nuts.
Salads and veggie stir-frys are an easy way to get adequate fiber and vitamin intake. Getting enough fiber will help you stay full. Add a lean piece of fish or healthy meat (healthy meat is processed with no antibiotics or chemicals like nitrates) to your salad or veggie stir frys.
Take one day a week, say Sundays, to prepare a very large serving of Miracle Noodle veggie stir-fry. Use Pyrex containers to store leftovers and simply heat up in the microwave at work.
Combining all 3 macronutrients at every meal will prevent cravings!
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