Easily the hardest thing about making a body composition change and staying healthy is healthy eating whilst holding down a 9-5. Or 8-6, or 7-7 as most people do.
1. Make it the Night Before
This is the biggie. This is the most important thing you will ever read. This is the most important thing you will ever do. This right here is the difference between getting the result you want or complaining about the results you don’t get from the work you didn’t do. You simply cannot eat healthy by relying on buying food from the shops surrounding your work. The majority of it is shit. Admit it. I work next to two food courts and there’s almost nothing to eat. Carbs and cheap food everywhere.
People just can’t seem to do this though. “i don’t have time” is the usual excuse i hear. You may think that’s harsh but honestly suck it up. If i gave you $500 every day you brought your 4 meals to work do you think you’d be able to find the time to make it? Exactly. You’d have $2500 every week guaranteed. You’d find the time because all of a sudden it has value. You’d leave work early or get to work a tiny bit later wouldn’t you? Cause all of a sudden there was something in it for you. Does your health and fitness goals have value??
Below is what most lean people do. Every day. And guess what. Yes it takes time to prepare. But that involves putting you and your health first. And the bottom line is if you want to be healthy, strong and lean your going to have to bump yourself up your own priority list.
2. Take Leftovers
Don’t want to make anything at all? Just cook enough dinner so you have leftovers for lunch the next day. Put them in a Tupperware container after you’ve eaten at night and you’re ready to go. Simple
3. Use a Blender
Many office-bound people forget that a blender is an easy accessory to keep in a desk or in the company kitchen. In a minute, packaged meal replacements can be made quickly and are way better for you than most of the stuff at the food court. Or you can make sure there’s a tub of high-quality whey protein powder, frozen berries or cacaoa in your office kitchen fridge. Packet of chips avoided
4. Think Outside the Box
One person’s unusual is another person’s delicious. If you’re the type who gets bored with leftovers and whey protein, experiment. I’ve found cutting up an apple and eating it with a single serving of tuna adds crunchiness and sweetness to the tuna that makes it a tasty snack for me. You might think thats gross. But so be it. Ditto with celery. A single serving can of tuna can be gotten almost anywhere and also goes great with that baked sweet potato you made last Sunday.
5. Move Temptations Away
If your office is like most workspaces, there’s probably a basket full of treats lying around somewhere – chocolates, pretzels or other sugar-laden temptations that someone “thoughtfully” brought to work to share. The simple solution is to move these treats away from you so you can’t smell them or see them. Hospitals are the worst for this. Tables of absolute shite!
This is a real photo sent to me by an overnight nurse of what her colleagues bring to work to eat in 1 night. Can you imagine how much discipline she has to have to not eat this when its 3am and she’s feeling tired…
The saying “out of sight, out of mind” is a cliché for a very good reason: It’s true! Remember, your number one goal is to minimize the number of temptations that surround you, as that’s the easiest way to guarantee that you won’t get off track.
See you in the gym!
Brad Stocks
Personal Training Bondi Junction