Tips to eating right with a desk job
Having a bowl of salad is recommended in your daily portions of meals. PHOTOS | INTERNET
What you need to know:
- Such is a case of a 35-year-old mother of four children, including breastfeeding her last born, who believes that negative effects of this way of life are inevitable with her schedule.
- Her office is stationed in an industrial area, where fresh fruits and healthy meals are difficult to avail. “We do have an office canteen where one can buy lunch but it doesn’t have very healthy choices and therefore I made up my mind to bring food from home.”
Sitting in front of a desk all day isn’t a very healthy working lifestyle, but many of us have to abide being in front of a computer all day due to the nature of job.
Such is a case of a 35-year-old mother of four children, including breastfeeding her last born, who believes that negative effects of this way of life are inevitable with her schedule.
Her office is stationed in an industrial area, where fresh fruits and healthy meals are difficult to avail. “We do have an office canteen where one can buy lunch but it doesn’t have very healthy choices and therefore I made up my mind to bring food from home.”
The mother of four routinely carries a thermos to work where she alternates between uji (a thick consistency made by blending oats, maize, sorghum, milk and blue band) and mtori (a thick consistency made by blending beef or chicken with green bananas, onions and a carrot). With this, she compliments her appetite with the office lunch.
“For the past two weeks, I haven’t been giving enough attention in bringing my thermos of nutritious food due to time constraints, which has negatively affected milk production and I have lost weight. This isn’t good news for my last born,” says a concerned mother who is still breastfeeding her nine-month-old baby.
Health experts caution that sitting all day causes all sort of physiological problems that bring about changes in our bodies, and this includes eyestrain, back problems and wrist ache.
To come up with a schedule to counteract negative health effects a desk-job can have, just like the mother of four, Your Health spoke to Doreen Kasubi, a renowned nutritionist based in Dar es Salaam.
Doreen agrees that the urban setting where our work environment is stationed at, poses such challenges, where repeated choices of wrong foods become a habit. Because of this majority of employers miss out on a balanced diet.
“It is recommended that one cuts down their meals into small portions of 5-6 meals a day. Having frequent small meals keeps the body healthier. We need more vitamins and minerals, including fibre from fruits and vegetables and small amounts of energy,” says Doreen.
Along with small frequent meals, Doreen advises Your Health readers on the following tips.
• Cut down on sugars and oils
• Always get up from your seat and have short intervals of walks or stretch ups as long sitting hours can cause pain. And short movements aids in utilisation of energy.
• Alternate using an elevator with a staircase.
• Do a 30-minutes of cardiovascular exercises, if not every day then 2-3 days a week too. It could just be home exercises such as skipping a rope, squats etc. Activities like swimming and cycling are good choices too as it encourages family bonding.
Lunch box tips
Doreen further says that one’s lunch box should contain all food groups though portioning and method of preparation matters.
Carbs should not be more than a fist size, that is 30g per portion/meal. Proteins not more than a palm size per portion/meal, this includes chicken or meat. Include a bowl of salad or a type of vegetable that shouldn’t be overcooked. Have healthy drinks that do not contain added sugars.
Though some of the workers do complain of rushing out to work very early, limiting them to prepare foods from home, Doreen advises foods such as cucumber, tomato, carrot, banana and an apple that doesn’t need preparation and have all the nutritious benefit.
