For some of us, managing to dodge the burger order and head to the salad bar at lunch time is the height of adulting. We’re not here to argue with you, you should definitely celebrate the small wins. However, if you keep that up for a year or so, you might start to wonder if there’s another way you can find to squeeze the most out of your lunch break. The good news is there are loads of ways, and here are some of the best.
Get Brilliantly Bendy
Whilst many associate yoga with winding down and relaxing, depending on the poses that you choose, you can be left feeling full of energy and ready for anything. If you have a desk job that requires you to sit for long hours then yoga could be incredibly beneficial for you. This five-minute yoga practice was designed for poker players, but will be helpful to anyone guilty of hunching over a computer for hours at a time. Five minutes of yoga practice is a super achievable goal for even those with the shortest lunch breaks. The biggest hurdle with this energy-boosting change is getting over your self-consciousness. Yoga practice is sometimes laughed at because it seems a bit of a hippy thing to do, but the benefits are well documented. If you carry out your stretches with confidence then, before long, those people in the office who gave you strange looks will be asking if they can join in too.
Pack an Energy Boosting Lunch
Remember what we said about dodging the burger order? You’re absolutely right to do that. Once in a while treating yourself to fast food is absolutely fine, we all have cravings and a little bit of what you like won’t do you any harm. With that said, have you ever finished a burger binge and felt full of energy and ready to go? Probably not. Fatty, sugary, salty foods taste great at the time but can leave you feeling sluggish. Instead of opting for the convenience of takeout, try to get into the habit of packing something healthy for lunch. Salads get a bad rap, but they aren’t all iceberg lettuce and mung beans! A fresh salad packed with brightly colored vegetables and a zingy dressing can be a real treat. If you want to prep for a few days at a time then cut up your sturdy vegetables and pop them into Tupperware boxes. In the morning you can grab the box of salad and pop in your leaves then. Take your salad dressing and some toasted seeds or croutons in a separate container. Making sure you don’t dress your salad until you eat it and mixing in the leaves later means that nothing has time to go mushy, and you’ll have a fresh and crunchy energy-boosting salad ready at lunch. You can also try sweet cream vanilla cold brew.
Steer Clear of Caffeine
Caption: Water and citrus fruits give you a little bit of sugar and a lot of hydration, perfect for boosting those afternoon energy levels.
Whilst it’s very tempting to grab a coffee or a caffeinated fizzy drink when our energy levels are low, it could be doing more harm than good in the long run. The more caffeine we drink, the higher our tolerance becomes. So, what might start as one coffee to wake you up in the morning, could quickly turn into several throughout the day. The problem arises not at the time of drinking, but when you need to get to sleep that night. Caffeine imbibed as much as six hours before bedtime can have a dramatic impact on our sleep. We’re not suggesting that you go cold turkey immediately, but try to cut down on caffeinated drinks and instead have something on hand to drink or snack on instead. Fruit juices, smoothies, and even water with some citrus fruit thrown in can provide a hit of sugar and rehydrate you. Liquids and a burst of energy are generally the things you want to achieve with that coffee anyway, so your cravings will be diminished and you’ll feel a lot healthier for it.
The most important thing to remember if you want your revitalizing lunchtimes to last forever is not to make all of the changes at once. We create habits by building things into our everyday routines, not by totally overhauling them. If you like to watch a television show in the evenings, then try watching it whilst you put together the parts of your salad for lunch. For those who have to start the day with a morning coffee, chop up an orange and a lime to stick in your water bottle whilst you wait for your coffee to brew. Your morning coffee routine doesn’t have to change, but it could turn your afternoon coffee routine into a healthier citrus water one!
