Eating habits have become a matter of concern, especially on the parameters of quality, freshness, and pattern. And while you are not eating the right food, what adds to the trouble is desk dining for office goers. Professionals in every part of the world are ramping up on the same lines. Thus, it is critical to know about the right way to eat well at work.
It is not only a matter of less enthusiasm to eat at the working desk but there’s more to add to the woes. Perhaps more serious consequences are the ones you don’t really ponder. Desk dining can lead to poor nutritional choices, and going one step ahead, to food-safety issues as well. Let us pin down a few.
Drawbacks of Desk Dining
Lack of focus
Desk dining means you are not focusing on food as well as work. This is an invitation to low productivity and wasting nutrition. And what makes the situation worse is overeating. When there are already long hours of sitting at desk, you are bound to gain weight.
Lack of essential activity
Desk dining prevents you from getting up and walking a bit in office. A little bit of walking, stretching and pumping blood in between work hours is essential. The body can get stiff, prone to aches and joint pains and can also suffer from stress and lethargy. Break the sedentary lifestyle. Use this boon of the lunch hour as a tool to follow the right way to eat well at work.
Lack of hygiene and food safety
A more dangerous outcome of desk dining is leaving food at the table for a few hours. It might infect your food with bacteria. People practicing desk dining forget that the desk needs proper cleaning. Just turning the keyboard upside down and dusting off the stuck up food crumbs. It needs proper sanitisation.
5 Tips for Desk-Bound Diners
So what do the desk dinners do to minimize the impacts of this corporate vice, and follow the right way to eat well at work?
1) Bring your lunch
If you have to eat at your desk, be it so. But make sure you get your own lunch, packed well with nutrients, vitamins, fiber and protein. Keep away from calorie laden, expensive and non-energetic foods right from the eateries.
Read more: Bring Back your Energy – Meet 5 Energizing Foods
2) Walk at every opportunity
If you must eat at your desk, compensate with movements and walks in the other parts of the day. Like maybe you can just walk to the water cooler and drink water rather than sipping from the bottle. And ensure that there is some physical activity post your office hours.
3) Disinfect your desk
It takes only 3-4 minutes at most. Wipe your desk area properly with disinfecting wipes every day. And that includes your phone, your keyboard, your mouse and desktop. Also, keep a small bottle of hand sanitizer in the desk.
4) Invite a friend to eat
It’s important you let your productivity and creativity take a break from the monotony and grow. So, don’t leave that break while lunch to interact with your colleagues, if they are able to join you.
5) Be mindful while you eat
You can eat better by paying attention to what you are eating bite after bite. Make sure you keep a track of proportions while desk dining.
Conclusion
Desk dining takes away quite a slice from your health, energy and spirits. Don’t make it a habit. Follow the right way to eat well at work. Desk dining is essential is one thing and it is convenient. Don’t make it a habit. Take every chance at getting away for lunch, relax the body and senses a little, and get that air and sunshine. Eat with friends, visit the cafeteria, or relax with a magazine. Make it happen. Eat well when at work.