Apr

22

Weekly Roundup

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A few articles I thought would be of interest:

http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20070418/hl_nm/usa_restaurants_dc_2 - An interesting article about how difficult it is to pick healthy food at a restaurant. Relates back to my earlier post about going out to lunch. In short, don’t do it. If you can bring your own lunch, you’ll be much better off.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20070419/hl_nm/heart_sodium_dc_1 - Another article from Yahoo about people’s salt intake. Next time you reach for the salt shaker, think about this one. Also, most unhealthy snacks have way too much salt.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/6547659.stm - From the BBC news, a story of a man who went from obese to the Boston Marathon. I found it interesting that even at his heaviest, he still saw himself as thin. That’s very similar to my own experience. It took something bad to shock him into realizing how unhealthy he was. For him, it was being unable to play with his niece. For me, it was difficulty climbing the stairs.

And finally, I wanted to include one non health related link. The following blog helped inspire me to start my own blog. It’s about finances and money management and is written by a man who found himself in a horrible financial state. Rather than giving in he started looking for ways to manage his life a bit better.

He did a lot little things. Some worked, some did not. Enough of them combined to make a difference until, a few years later, he found himself almost out of debt and with a healthy savings and investment portfolio. Now that he’s doing better, he’s sharing what he learned with others through his blog. He doesn’t preach major lifestyle changes or get rich quick schemes, he just gives a whole bunch of smart advice on little things you can do to manage your finances better.

Having read Trent’s blog, I realized this was exactly the situation I was in a few years ago with my health. I was out of shape but I refused to admit it. When I finally tried to fix the situation, I tried many little things until I gradually got my life back on track. Reading Trent’s blog inspired me to write 60in3 as a way of sharing everything I learned with other people. Like him, my attitude is that there are no get rich schemes. There are no miracle diets or 6 week exercise plans that will give you six pack abs. It’s just a lot of little things you can do to change your life. Not all of them will work for you but enough of them together will make a difference.

So without further ado, I give you, The Simple Dollar

http://www.thesimpledollar.com/


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Apr

20

Snacking at work; good or bad?

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Thisentryis part 5 of 5 in the series SERIES - How to be healthy at work

We’ve been talking about being healthy at work over the past week. We’ve covered a few ways to stay physically active as well as healthy eating habits for lunchtime. Today we’re going to talk about one of the worst, and possibly best, things you can do for your health while at work, snacking.

The Problem

For most people, snacking is a problem. Even worse, it’s a problem they’re not aware of. Offices have a lot of snack sources and it’s hard to avoid them all. There’s the morning bagels, the afternoon leftovers from the sales meeting and that jar full of chocolates on your coworkers desk. Where ever you turn, there are snacks, and most of them are bad for you.

When people look at their daily food consumption, they rarely remember to add in the snacks. But these little additions to our calorie intake can add up to quite a bit. If you expect to get healthy, you can’t go around adding extra stuff to your diet without considering it. So let’s look at some of these snacks in greater detail.

Bagels - Did you already have breakfast that day? If yes, then why are you adding another bagel to it? Bagels can have hundreds of calories in them even without the cream cheese. Plus those calories have ZERO nutritional value. Just have a healthy breakfast and avoid the bagels.

Leftovers - Same thing. Did you not have lunch or are you not planning to have lunch? Stick to your own food. No need to add someone else’s leftovers to it.

Chocolates - Ah chocolate, my kryptonite. I’m going to be a bit of a hypocrite and tell you that you should avoid the office candy jar, but I have issues of my own with this one. It’s the one bad habit I’ve been unable to break. So do as I say on this one and not as I do and stay away from the candy jar.

Soda - Here’s another bad example of snacks most people forget about. The average office worker drinks two or three cans of soda or juice a day. Many offices even give these out for free. This translates to about 400 to 500 calories a day of completely empty calories. You get no nutritional value out of these. All you get is a caffeine addiction and some sugar. Drink water, it’s cheaper and healthier.

Can you see a trend here? Yes, in general, all snacks are bad for you. So why does my heading say that snacks can be good? Well, because they can be, but then they stop being snacks. What I mean is, your eating habits should consist of more than just breakfast, lunch and dinner. Ideally, you should eat 5 or 6 small meals a day. However, for most working people that’s pretty much impossible. So rather than waste your time and tell you about things you can’t do, I’m going to give you a little tip you can easily implement in your day to day life.

Good Snacks

Assuming you’re like most people and have lunch at about noon and then dinner at around 7 or 8pm, that leaves 7 to 8 hours in which you’re not eating. That’s actually bad for you. It lets your metabolism wind down to a low level. You burn less calories and you end up feeling tired in the afternoon. That’s because your body has no energy with which to fuel itself. This is where snacking comes in. Right around 3:30 or so, try to have a healthy snack. This could be any number of things:

  • An egg or even two.
  • A piece of whole wheat bread with some vegetables and cheese
  • Some rice
  • A bowl of soup
  • A salad

Whatever it is, you’re aiming for about 1/6 of your daily calories. That’s around 300 to 400 for most women and 350 to 450 for most men. Again, your numbers may vary based on your size and daily activities. By the way, if you’ve been reading my blog for a while now you’ll notice a pattern:

  • 1/6 of your calories for breakfast
  • 1/3 of your calories for lunch
  • 1/6 of your calories for an afternoon snack
  • which leaves 1/3 of your calories for dinner.

If you can get that to be your daily routine, you’ll have a very healthy eating plan.

Now if all else fails and you really feel hungry between these times, then find a healthy snack and eat it. This snack should minimize calories and maximize nutrition. That pretty much means a fruit or a vegetable. I keep a box of those small mandarin oranges by my desk. They’re just the right size to get over a momentary craving. I’ve seen other people with a bag of carrots, or an apple. I’ve even seen someone popping cherry tomatoes like they were grapes. Whatever it is, keep in mind that snacking is not free calories. It’s something you need to be aware of and control. Otherwise, you’re just going to ruin all the hard work you’re putting into the rest of your day.

Summary

So there it is, the healthy work day described over the course of one week. I hope you’ve found this information useful. I’ll be back on Sunday for the weekly round up and then on Monday with my new series “Having fun and being active” that will cover some fun activities you can do to increase your activity levels.

Until then, have a good weekend.


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Apr

19

Lunch; your chance to be healthy

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Thisentryis part 4 of 5 in the series SERIES - How to be healthy at work

We’ve been covering health at work this week. So far we’ve talked about ways in which you can stay physically active while still remaining productive. Today, we’re going to talk about healthy eating habits at work.

Overview

For many of us, lunch is one of the two big meals of the day. It’s a chance to take a break from work as well as a chance to socialize with our coworkers. Unfortunately, lunch has also become a chance to overeat or eat things you really shouldn’t. Many people tend to overdo lunch and then head back to work feeling heavy and sluggish. Looking back, I remember whole periods of my life where I would eat massive quantities of food at lunch and then spend the next hour or so dozing at my desk. I was ruining my health and my productivity but I didn’t see another way. So today, I’m going to list out a few options for lunch along with their advantages and disadvantages.

Brown Bag

We all know this one. You simply prepare your lunch at home and bring it in with you. From a health perspective, this can be one of your best options. The reason I say this is that you have more control and information about what you eat when you prepare it yourself. By the way, prepare could be as simple as buying a prepackaged frozen meal. I’m using it here simply to refer to you bringing in your own lunch as opposed to going out to a restaurant.

When you bring in your own lunch you know exactly what’s in it, how many calories it has, how fresh it is and how it’s prepared. You know how much you’ll eat ahead of time and you have complete control over when you’ll eat. So if you’re trying to be healthy above all else, this is the right option for you. Getting premade healthy meals is easy. You can make them yourself or buy them at the supermarket. Bring them in, prepare them at the office and eat. Bringing in meals is also cheaper than going out so you’ll be sparing your wallet as well as your health.

The downside to bringing in your own meal is that you’ll miss out on some social aspects of work. It’s fun to go out with coworkers. You get to know them and they get to know you. It’s a great way to make new friends and learn more about what people in the company do. The good news is that you don’t have to give this up when you bring in your own lunch. Just set up a “lunch date” ahead of time. Tell folks you’ll meet them in the break room at a certain time. You can even bring some food for your coworkers and make things a bit more social.

Going Out

Going out is the least healthy option you can take. However, since you’re going to do it anyway (I still go out for most of my lunches, let me go over some tips on what to look for.

Portion Size - Most restaurants these days will try to lure you in with large portion sizes. Resist this. You don’t need that much food. Try to eat around 1/3 of your daily calories at lunch. For most women, that means 600 to 800 calories. For most men, that means 700 to 900 calories. However, your numbers may vary depending on your size and lifestyle.

Check Nutritional Information - Most restaurants have these posted or will make them available. And yes, you should read them carefully. Sometimes the foods you think of as healthy are not.

Beware the Extra Ingredients - People buy salads because they’re healthy. Then they add ranch sauce and all of a sudden you have a horribly unhealthy meal. This is the danger of extra ingredients. In many cases, the restaurant’s nutritional information won’t mention calories from these things so you’ll have to keep them in mind yourself.

Watch the Side Orders - That bread you get before the main meal gets there? Don’t eat it. That appetizer? You don’t need it. Those chips and cookie with your sandwich? Nope, you don’t want them. This is another way restaurants will get you. You’ll read the nutritional information on the main course and think you’re doing well, not realizing you just added hundreds of calories with all these side orders.

Drinks - That large soda you just had with your meal could have more than 400 calories. That fruit smoothie? Same thing. That ice tea you dumped the four sugars into had more calories than your average cheese burger! Drink water, it’s better for you and better for your wallet.

A Healthy Compromise

One way to go out to lunch and still be healthy is to go to your local supermarket. Most supermarkets these days have deli counters, prepared food and a place to sit down and eat. You’ll find a huge variety of food at prices lower than a restaurant. You’ll also find a greater amount of information on those foods. One of my preferred lunch destinations is the local Nob Hill Foods. I can buy a few things that will make a healthy lunch and have left overs for a snack later on in the day.

I usually pick up a small salad of some kind or maybe some components to make a sandwich. Plus a piece of fruit to finish things off. I pay the same amount I would at a restaurant but I end up with more food plus I know exactly how much I should eat. That supermarket also has a neat little place to sit down and eat. I often go there with coworkers. We can each get exactly what we want and then sit down together and eat.

Other Tips

  • Eat slowly - Your body takes a while to realize it’s full. So eat slower.
  • Stop when you’re full, not when the plate is empty - Remember, restaurant portions are too large. Don’t try to eat it all. Take some back if you want but stop eating when you’re not hungry.
  • Take a walk - After lunch, take one of your 15 minute walks. It’s a great way to avoid the post lunch food coma.

I can’t tell you what to eat. I can only help you make a better and more informed decision. However, I hope I’ve given you a few tips on how to select a healthier lunch. Tomorrow, we’ll talk about snacking at work.


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Apr

18

The office workout; be healthy and productive

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Thisentryis part 3 of 5 in the series SERIES - How to be healthy at work

We’ve been talking about ways to stay healthy at work. We’ve covered little things like taking the stairs and how you sit. Now we’re going to talk about your workout. Yes, you can in fact workout while you’re working. And no, it’s not the kind of work out that will get you sweating. Here’s my simple workout routine for work.

Exercise 1 - Walking

Yep, walking is a workout. It’s not a very demanding one, but it’s a great way to get out of your chair for a few minutes. I try to take two 15 minute walks every day. Walking is low stress and can be done in your work clothes. Best of all, it can be combined with your work to make you more productive.

I learned this lesson from a previous boss. Each time he wanted to talk to me we would go outside and walk around the building. It’s such a simple little thing but most people don’t think about it. You can have just as good of a conversation while walking as you can while sitting in an office. It’s also a great way to network and get to know people at work. Ask them to take a walk with you. It’s good for them, good for you and good for your body. Walking alone can also be productive since it’s a great way to focus on your goals and daily tasks. Whenever I get stuck while working on a project I take a walk to consider possible alternatives and solutions.

To get the best benefit from walking, try to take one of your walk breaks immediately after lunch. That’s when you would usually go into a “food coma” as your body tries to digest food. Rather than letting your metabolism wind down, rev it up with a 15 minute walk. And yes, you can walk in the rain. Use an umbrella or just walk indoors. Most office buildings have enough space in them to give you some walking room, and in the worst case scenario, you can find an unoccupied conference room and pace a little.

Exercise 2 - 30 minutes stretches

You really shouldn’t spend more than 30 minutes being inactive. That means that every 30 minutes you should do something that gets your body moving. It doesn’t have to be strenuous, it could be as simple as stretching. You just need to get out of that chair and move. I set up a timer in my Outlook that goes off every 30 minutes. It reminds me to get off my butt and do something. Each time it goes off I spend about 30 seconds on some kind of activity and then get right back to work. I find that I have a lot more energy this way and I can stay focused and be more productive.

Here are some examples of things you can do in under 30 seconds to get your body moving.

You can look through the exrx site for more suggestions but the bottom line is, do a quick set of 10. No weights necessary.

Summary

That’s it, that’s the whole office workout right there. Get up and stretch with some kind of exercise every 30 minutes and take two 15 minute walks every day. Assuming you work a total of about 9 hours like me, that’s a total of 39 minutes out of your work day. These aren’t 39 minutes of additional break time, they’re 39 minutes of productivity. Those 30 second stretches every half hour will keep you better focused on your work. Those 15 minute walks are time to work out specific issues, think out solutions or to have a conversation with your boss, coworker or employee. So this is one office workout that can make you healthier AND more productive.


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Apr

17

The inflatable chair; working out while sitting at your desk.

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Thisentryis part 2 of 5 in the series SERIES - How to be healthy at work

This Week’s Topic

This week’s series is about being healthy at work.  Yesterday we covered a small change you can make in your daily routine that will make you more productive and healthier.  Today, we’re going to stay with the topic of being physically active at work by looking at what you can do while sitting down.

The Problem 

If you’re like me, you spend a lot of your work day sitting down in front of a computer.  You probably have an occasional lower back pain due to bad posture.  You might also have problems with your weight due to multiple hours sitting down with no physical activity.  You’ll be happy to know that there’s a solution to both these problems, the exercise ball!

The Solution 

If you’ve been to a gym, you’ve probably seen one of these around.  People tend to do all sorts of exercises on them, from presses to sit ups.  If you don’t know what an exercise ball is, take a look at the following link:

That’s a 75cm ball.  It’s appropriate for someone of my height and weight.  If you’re a bit smaller, you may want to consider the 65cm ball or even the 55cm version. 

How To Use It 

The exercise ball is usually meant for a variety of exercises but all we’re going to do with it is sit.  Simply inflate it, place it in front of your desk and sit down.  You’ll want to be careful at first since there a lot of balance involved here.  Also, you probably don’t want to sit on it for more than 15 to 30 at a time since it’s a powerful leg workout.  I keep a ball under my desk and use it 3 or 4 times a day for about 20 minutes each.  At first, I got a few odd looks from coworkers, but once I invited a few of them to try it, I had more people interested in this simple but effective way to be active at work.

How It Works 

You see, the ball has two benefits.  First, by removing the backrest it forces you to sit upright with your back straight.  So it’s great for your lower back because it eliminates bad posture.  Second, the ball is somewhat unstable due to its shape.  It doesn’t have legs like a chair that will keep it firmly placed in one spot.  That means the stabilization job is being done by your legs.  Every time you lean even slightly, your legs will be working to keep your whole body stable.  You may not feel it, but your legs will be constantly working while you sit on the ball.  In fact, that’s one of the reasons I recommend not sitting on it for more than 15 to 30 minutes at a time. 

Summary

This is another way to stay healthy at work without losing an ounce of productivity.  You’ll feel better, your lower back will thank you but you’ll still accomplish the same amount of work you always did.  Just one more step on your way to a healthier life.


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Apr

16

Healthy at work, taking the stairs

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Thisentryis part 1 of 5 in the series SERIES - How to be healthy at work

This week we’re going to talk about being healthy at work. Most of us spend at least 8 hours a day at work. If you add up commute times, that number can grow to 10 or more hours. I usually leave my house at about 8am and I don’t come back until 7pm. That’s 11 hours that I spend driving to work, working, or driving back from work. In other words, I spend almost half my day on activities related to work. If I look at my other activities, work is the one that takes up the most amount of time.

This large amount of time spent on working tends to have a negative impact on health. We tend to think of health as something we do outside of work. We’ll work out before work, or we’ll jog after work. Whatever it is, we never really think of work as the time to be healthy. In fact, many people have unhealthy habit only at work. For example, business lunches and dinners tend to be very unhealthy meals. Also, for most of us, work means sitting in one spot for hours on end. We are completely inactive for a large portion of our day and we seem to think this is the natural order of things.

Well, while I’m not going to suggest you quit your office job and focus on training for a marathon, there are ways you can be healthier at work. All of the suggestions we’ll discuss this week will not interfere with your daily productivity. You should be able to accomplish the same amount of work you’ve done before, we’ll just find ways to squeeze in some extra activity and eliminate some unhealthy habits. So let’s get started with the easiest tip of all. Take the stairs.

You’ll hear people telling you to do this over and over. In fact, it’s almost a cliche for the physically active. However, like many cliches, it does have a grain of truth. Furthermore, it can be used as a tool for explaining the benefits of small changes to your lifestyle.

I work on the second floor of a two story office building. My company has both floors. I frequently have to discuss issues with people on the first floor. At this point I have a choice, I can email them, I can call them, I can take the elevator down to see them or I can take the stairs. All of these options have about the same time investment. Going to talk to them face to face might take a few more seconds than email or phone, but it has the benefit of better communication, so I don’t consider it a productivity loss. In fact, I usually try to avoid phone calls and go talk to someone in person. I find that it builds better relationships, which is important in any line of work. So I end up taking the stairs at least 5 or 6 times a day. Now here’s the question, does this miniscule amount of activity really help? And the answer is, absolutely, and let’s see why.

The act of taking the stairs spends a minimal amount of energy. I’m going to spend maybe 1 extra calorie each time I take the stairs versus staying at my desk. So I spent an extra five calories a day. Doesn’t seem like much, does it? Except I work 5 days a week and about 50 weeks a year. That adds up to about 25 calories a week and about 1250 calories a year. Guess what, a lb of fat is worth about 3000 calories. So I’ve lost almost half a lb just by going up and down those stairs. Even more importantly, our bodies need some activity or else our metabolism slows down. By getting up from my desk and taking those stairs, I’m keeping my metabolism going at a faster rate. That adds even more to my weight loss.

All in all, I’m going to work off about 1 lb of fat over the next year, simply by taking the stairs. Have I lost productivity? Not at all. In fact, I would argue that my work benefits from the face to face communication. I know it doesn’t seem like much, but you have to realize that it all adds up. This is 1lb of fat that you will lose this year with virtually no effort and no time lost. There are dozens of little things like this that you can do to change your life. None of them are drastic, none of them will lead to massive weight loss, but all of them together will add up to serious improvements in your health.

So take the stairs. Don’t sit at your desk, go talk to someone face to face. You’ll be more productive AND healthier.


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Apr

15

My Health Weekend Roundup

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Some articles I thought people would find useful:

 http://health.yahoo.com/experts/weightkoch/13025/surviving-the-food-court - A good article about finding healthy meals at the mall.

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/n/a/2007/04/12/national/a121203D85.DTL&type=health - An interesting article about the effect of genetics on weight.

http://www.cnn.com/2007/HEALTH/diet.fitness/04/05/diet.usa.reut/index.html - In case you didn’t know it, most Americans aren’t very healthy.

http://www.cnn.com/2007/HEALTH/04/04/eggs.cholesterol.reut/index.html - Great article about some common food myths.  There is a bit of information that closely mirrors my advice about vitamin pills as well as good information about eggs.

That’s it for this week.  Next week we talk about being healthy at work.


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