Nutrition Tips For The 9-5 Worker

You spend the majority of your waking life at work, that's the reality of things. You are not alone in finding it hard to ensure you are consuming nutritious food during your working day. I have had many consultations as an online fitness coach where the person I am speaking to always finds they do not know what to do regarding their eating habits at work. They are either undereating or eating low-nutrient-dense food. 

What is nutrient-dense food?

When I say low-nutrient-dense food, I am referring to the nutritional value that comes with that meal. A packet of crisps can be 175 calories, two apples equate to the same amount of calories. You have been told that calories matter and they do. But you also need to consider the quality of the nutrients you receive in those calories. A packet of crisps tends to be quite high in carbs and fats, whereas an apple will be higher in carbs and vitamins. 

The nutritional quality is higher for the apple than it is for the packet of crisps, which is why I would term the packet of crisps a low-nutrient-dense food.

Your daily intake should consist of nutrient-dense foods, I will never advise you to cut out food groups or avoid sugar as I do not do that myself unless a specific food does not agree with my body and I consume sugar because quite frankly, it is delicious. The choice to exclude food groups and sugar is completely down to you.

I do not want you to get the notion that you should aim to only eat nutrient-dense foods because that would be extremely unrealistic, however, reducing the amount of low nutrient-dense foods and incorporating high-quality nutritious meals as a replacement will not only benefit your physique and strength, but it can also improve your performance during your working day and training sessions as food is essentially a source of energy. 

Tracking Calories

The best way to get a clear understanding of the nutritional quality of the food you are consuming is by tracking calories. Tracking gives clear, objective information on the foods, snacks, and drinks you are consuming to help build your understanding and knowledge of your diet. 

That being said, you may not be able to track your calories via an app due to different reasons. You could be a parent, work a hectic job pattern, or lack the time to measure out food. Tracking calories is not the be-all and end-all. I have had clients who do and do not track calories and both types have seen great results towards their individual goals.

You can still improve your nutrition outside of tracking calories, your habits are what make a big difference to you being able to achieve your goals, and nutrition is just another type of habit. Here are some ways in which you can improve your nutritional habits whilst at work.

Snacks

Be smart with your snack selection, there will be times when you really want that Twix or my personal favourite, galaxy bar, and that is fine, that will not be the straw that broke the camel's back. But consistently going for the higher sugar option will be. When selecting snacks for work, aim to go for a snack that has a good amount of protein (15g>) from what I have noticed in my time training, food sources that are high in protein tend to have other good nutritional elements too.

When snacking at work, aim to keep it to a minimum and eat them when you start to feel hungry. Ideally aim for 2-3 snacks a day, as you want the bulk of your calories to come from your food.  Homemade snacks can always be an option too, you are more aware of the nutrients and calories as well as it is a cost-effective approach to your nutrition.

Snack recommendations:

• Trek bars 

• Fruit

• Grenade bars

• Peperami bites

• Urban fruit 

• Rice Krispie square

Packed Lunch 

Taking a packed lunch to work is one of my main methods with online fitness clients, it is simple yet very effective. Your lunch does not have to be a culinary masterpiece, as long as it is containing the essentials you need to help benefit your training and performance. Have proteins and carbohydrates as a non-negotiable in your lunch then look to add in other things such as fruit or a sugary substitute.

You do not have to aim to do this every day, if you can then that will be even better. But you always need to be realistic with your situation, at least aim to be doing this 3 out of the 5 days in the work week. If you work from home then you have much more opportunities to cook nutrient-dense foods for your lunch and dinner.

Foods in the supermarket are all labelled with nutritional values, but when you are cooking for yourself you can ensure that you are getting the nutrients you need, in a cost-effective manner. 

Protein supplement 

There is a stigma around supplementation, understandable as there are many out there, however, the two I will always stand behind are protein supplements and creatine monohydrate. Protein supplements are a great tool to help you get more protein into your diet. Especially if your diet does not allow you to get in high quantities of protein such as vegetarians and vegans. 

When in the flow of work it is easy to forget to eat, having a protein supplement in the form of a drink, a bar, a cookie, or whatever new protein-based snack there is, will only benefit you and help you with your progress. Protein is key no matter if your goal is fat loss, muscle gain, or performance focus. It’s a prime source for muscle development. 

If you are not a fan of mixing milk with your protein shakes then you can opt for a clear whey option. These are very tasty and taste more or less like juice. Working in an office I would recommend going for a clear whey option as you will always have a means to water and it also offers less fat through mixing it with water rather than milk or other dairy or non-dairy products.

Conclusion

These are some of the methods that I have tried and recommend to online fitness clients who also struggle with their nutrition at work. If you have other means which you feel work great for you then keep implementing them and feel free to share them with me, I am always keen to learn new things. 

I hope you find this useful 

Till next time 

Myles