Catch ‘em young is a phrase liked as much by the present day management guru as by the lifestyle diseases that have lately started plaguing people early in their careers. Long hours, hectic schedules, and daunting deadlines characterize today’s workplace like never before. While the rapid economic growth in recent years has boosted our incomes, it has also triggered excessive physical and emotional stress leading to unhealthy diet and lifestyle. Bulging belly, stiff neck, back pain, indigestion and other gastric disorders are a common occurrence among the working people today.
Most executives are well aware of healthy eating and lifestyle norms but they find it difficult to put things in practice.Try these tips to ensure that your body gets optimum supply of calories and nutrients.
Breakfast like a King
Breakfast is the most important meal of the day. It should account for almost a third of the daily energy requirements. However, most people skip breakfast for various reasons – eating late at night and hence not feeling hungry in the morning, running late for office, or the misplaced believe that skipping breakfast will keep them slim, The result is an empty stomach that causes acidity, fatigue, and hunger. Often, the multitasking executive satiates this hunger by drinking readily available soft drinks tea/coffee, munching chips/cookies, and eating junk food.
It is advisable to have a wholesome breakfast with adequate amounts of cereals, fruits, dairy products, and nuts. If you are short of time, try to have a glass of fulfilling and nutritious liquid like lassi, buttermilk,juice, shake, etc. along with a whole fruit (banana, apple, orange), cereal bar, or boiled egg before leaving home for the day. Make sure to supplement this with a healthy snack after reaching office or with an early lunch.
Lunch like a Prince
Most people skip lunch because of their tight schedule or because they do not relish packed tiffins which become cold and unappetizing by lunch time. For such people, it is better to carry food that tastes good when cold and yet is fulfilling and healthy, e.g., boiled sprout chat, lemon rice, curd rice, stuffed parathas, masala idly, vegetable sandwich, etc.
Eating something for lunch, however small, is advisable as it helps avoid hunger induced overeating later in the day. If you miss your lunch for some reason, try to make up for it by eating a snack as soon as you can. Teatime is important. Even if you are not hungry, try to have a cup of tea/coffee/milk with a few biscuits or a fruit, This will keep hunger away till dinner.
Dine like a Pauper
Dinner should ideally be light and eaten at least an hour before going to bed. People who work late can divide their dinner into two parts – take a light snack like fruit chat, nuts, salad, buttermilk, yoghurt in the evening and then the usual dinner later at night. Evening snack helps prevent loading up on calories at night. If you have to go out for dinner, have a bowl of salad, curd or a fruit just before you leave. This will help control oily starters which are delicious but dangerous for heart and health. At parties and team dinners, ask for salad as a starter.
The key is to eat at regular intervals and not to let the body starve. Hunger is not your body’s signal to eat; it isa panic cry for a missed or inadequate meal. And if you miss your meals regularly and still do not feel hungry as often, probably you are already a victim. It’s time to see your physician