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7 Ways to Make Your Desk Job Healthier office work cubicle paleo diet-min

7 Ways to Make Your Desk Job Healthier

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In an ideal world, none of us would have jobs in offices or at desks, and we’d all have the day free to roam the land, walking miles to hunt for tonight’s dinner or digging in the vegetable garden. Sadly, real life isn't that simple – and many of us rely on the jobs we have to provide ourselves with good quality, healthy foods to put on the table of an evening.

We know the health impacts long periods of sitting at a desk can bring about, so here are seven things you can do to make this kind of work healthier.

1.       Take a movement break every hour

If your job forces you to sit still for most of the day, it’s important you take the time to move as often as you can. Try and schedule a five minute ‘movement break’ every hour, where you go for a walk and stretch. This will help to counteract the negative impact on your posture and muscle alignment of long periods of sitting down.

7 Ways to Make Your Desk Job Healthier office work cubicle paleo diet-min

2.       Walk to work

If you’re lucky enough to live within a reasonable distance to your workplace, why not walk (or even better, run) there once or twice a week?

3.       Take the stairs

Simple things like taking the stairs instead of the lift can make a real difference, especially if your office is located on a high floor. If you can, why not incorporate some stair sprints into your breaks?

4.       Take lunch outside

Whenever the weather allows, take yourself outside for some fresh air in your lunch break. It will give you a much needed break from technology and artificial light, as well as give you a real boost of vitamin D.

5.       Get a light filter

If you’re concerned about the levels of blue light you’re taking in by staring at a computer, why not try a blue light filter for your screen?

6.       Stand up / treadmill desks

Your boss may take some convincing on this one, but why not recommend standing / treadmill desks for the workplace?

7.       Grounding mats

Grounding, or earthing, mats are brilliant if you want to get more connected with the earth. They slip under your desk easily – read more about them here

There we have it – seven simple ways to make your desk job much healthier. Have I missed anything? If you work in an office, what steps do you take to make it a healthier environment?

Free food office workers paleo diet-min

Free Food?

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Over the last few years, every company I have worked for has supplied some kind of food. Most commonly free fruit for all employees on a weekly, but usually a daily basis.

Most companies have also supplied unlimited free soft drinks (i.e. cans of coke and other fizzy drinks) and a few offices have even offered free breakfasts in every kitchen. Free breakfast usually consists of a huge range of different types of bread, “healthy” margarines, spreads and jam. There is also typically a wide choice of breakfast cereals and of course, skim milk to pour over the cereal.

Free-Fruit-Cereal-Bread-Corporate-min

Paleo Food?

Whilst it’s nice to have things provided for free, unfortunately, on a Paleo Diet, nothing typically provided in an office environment is “proper food!” The fruit tends to be the fruit highest in fructose (and also cheapest), such as apples and bananas – never berries, which would be a good on occasion.

The breakfast foods on offer are all very high in refined carbohydrates, which cause a big spike in blood sugar levels – and then a crash soon after eating; making a rapid return to the refined carbs very likely. On top of the effect on blood sugars, bread and cereals are all grain based. This means an inflammatory reaction in the gut as well as having an acidic effect on the body. Not an ideal choice.

Unfortunately the typical office food on offer needs to be easy to store and prepare; bread and cereals couldn't be any easier to store – and are ready to eat as they are. These types of foods are also very cheap for a company to provide and popular with the low-fat-healthy-whole-grains conventional wisdom crowd.

Paleo food would be a lot harder for a company to provide in a work place environment. Most of the Paleo options would need to be freshly made and made with good quality ingredients; not very realistic in an office setting.

Until beef jerky, kombucha and bacon are common place in the office, I’d rather go without the free food and bring in my own.

Does your employer supply any food or drinks? What do they provide – is anything Paleo?

Free food office workers paleo diet-min

Paleo lunch ideas suggestions primal diet recipes-min

Paleo Lunch

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Last year I got pretty bad about bringing my Paleo Lunch in from home.  This meant, most days, I went to one of the many food courts near my office.  Whilst I always went for the Paleo, gluten-free options – roast meat and vegetables or salad for instance, it really wasn't the best option.  I'm careful with the ingredients I use and how I cook things.  If I make it, I know exactly what’s in it.  When I eat out, it’s probably a fair bet that the meat isn’t organic/ free range/ grass fed.  The meal could even have been cooked with seed oils – if not it’s likely to have come close to foods that have.  Food I buy in the city is always served in far too large portions – this is either a waste of food, or leads to me eating far more than I should!  The other issue with buying lunch in the city is the cost – I’d usually end up spending $10 a day on a not completely Paleo Lunch.

I therefore decided to start bringing pre-prepared lunches into work every day.  I'm normally really busy during the week, so need minimal effort each day.  As good as a salad would be I know I’d run out of time to make it – and end up having to buy lunch.  I have a fridge and microwave at work (I don’t even own a microwave at home, but in the absence of a gas stove, a microwave will have to do) – this means home made frozen lunches are a good lunchtime solution.

Paleo Lunches -680-min

Last Sunday I had a huge cooking session where I made soup, beef hash and bean-less chilli, giving me a few different options to pick from each day.  I used the largest pots I had to ensure I was making as much as possible.  Once finished, I separated the dishes out into individual sized potions and froze them.  I managed to make enough for 20 lunches in just a couple of hours of cooking.  I take lunch out of the freezer in the morning, run to work – and by lunchtime it’s just about defrosted.

Other than microwaving my lunch, the only thing I'm not happy about is freezing the food in plastic bags.  Whilst the bags I use contain no phthalates, polycarbonate or use Bisphenol A (BPA) – it’s still plastic.  Glass or metal containers would be an option, but might result in freezer burn.  I’d also be concerned about my lunch leaking over my suit as I run into work – not to mention the fact my tiny running bag wouldn't have space for a bulky container.

This solution is working well for me – but perhaps you have an even better lunchtime routine?  How do you keep your work/ school/ home lunch paleo?

Paleo lunch ideas suggestions primal diet recipes-min