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Five Easy Ways to Make Healthy Choices at Work

August 4, 2016 By: Courtney @ Eat Pray Run DC31 Comments

Happy Friday! Most of us have sedentary jobs – and we’ve all heard the phrase “sitting is the new smoking.” Personally, I spend a good deal of time sitting while at work and so am constantly trying to make smart choices. For this week’s Friday Five (where the theme is fitness), I thought I’d share five easy ways to make healthy choices at work. Considering we spend so much time at work, this really does matter!  Don’t forget to check out Cynthia and Mar and some of the other folks who link up with us – and please don’t forget to link to your hosts if you are participating! Have a great weekend! 

Five Easy Ways to Make HealthyChoices at Work

  1.  Take the stairs. We have an internal staircase in our office and that makes this easy. Unless I’m carrying a lot of items (laptop, phone, notepad, etc.), I pretty much exclusively use the internal staircase rather than the elevator. It gets me up and moving throughout my day! 
  2. Bring your lunch. I try and do this as much as possible. Inevitably what you bring from home is going to be much healthier (and also cheaper!! bonus!) than going out. Also, I really like my own cooking (call it vein, I don’t care :)) and so I’m typically really excited for what I have for lunch on any given day! 
  3. Walk, don’t call. Instead of calling someone, I’ll get up and walk to their office to ask my question. Bonus, if they aren’t there, I just keep walking and then email them later. I don’t do this all the time, but I’m trying to do better about it! 
  4. Get up to read documents. I’ve been doing this a lot lately. If I have a stack of documents to read or review, I will stand up and walk around my office while reading them, instead of just sitting down idle. It’s an easy way to not be sitting down at my desk and also gets me away from my computer, which helps me to be more productive when actually reading through the documents and not get distracted by email coming in. 
  5. Stock your office with healthy snacks! I have a snack drawer that I fill periodically with granola, air popped popcorn, Kind bars, etc. It is great for the afternoon snack urges and makes it much easier to avoid the candy and cakes that often find their way into the office kitchens. 

How do you make healthy choices at work?

DC-Trifecta-Friday-Five-linkup


Comments

  1. MCM Mama Runs says

    August 4, 2016 at 10:26 pm

    I work from home, so my life is a little different. But I try to drink a lot of water – we have no bathroom on the main floor, so I have to go up or down to pee LOL. I also have been known to walk on the treadmill or ride my exercise bike when on a conference call. But on the down side, my entire kitchen is available to me at all times, sigh.
    MCM Mama Runs recently posted…Surviving the Summer DoldrumsMy Profile

    Reply
    • Courtney @ Eat Pray Run DC says

      August 5, 2016 at 12:04 pm

      When I worked from home, it helped that the kitchen was downstairs and my office was upstairs. 🙂

      Reply
  2. lacey@fairytalesandfitness says

    August 5, 2016 at 12:07 am

    Since I work in a restaurant I am always around food. It is so temping to grab food that is available there. I need to learn to start bringing my own good.

    Reply
    • Courtney @ Eat Pray Run DC says

      August 5, 2016 at 12:05 pm

      Oh yeah working around food so often is definitely challenging!

      Reply
  3. Hollie says

    August 5, 2016 at 6:01 am

    Ha I could have used this post yesterday at work. I think planning is one of the most beneficial ways to eat healthy at work. If you have a plan, it’s a lot easier to eat well.

    Reply
    • Courtney @ Eat Pray Run DC says

      August 5, 2016 at 12:05 pm

      Planning is key, I think!

      Reply
  4. Judy @ chocolaterunsjudy says

    August 5, 2016 at 6:03 am

    I don’t work (at least, not formally), but I have my vivoactive to remind me when I’ve been inactive too long. If I actually move when it tells me to . . . lately when it reminds me I’ve been sitting too long, I get up & do some backwards walking & side foot crosses (kind of a grapevine) so I can work in some hip strengthening very easily into my day.

    Reply
    • Courtney @ Eat Pray Run DC says

      August 5, 2016 at 12:05 pm

      That’s good that you actually get up and move when it tells you to!

      Reply
  5. Wendy@Taking the Long Way Home says

    August 5, 2016 at 7:34 am

    I’m pretty lucky to have a job that keeps me on my feet most of the day. BUT there is food and candy everywhere! The struggle is real.

    Reply
    • Courtney @ Eat Pray Run DC says

      August 5, 2016 at 12:06 pm

      Ah – yes being surrounded by treats can be SO tough!

      Reply
  6. Deborah @ Confessions of a mother runner says

    August 5, 2016 at 7:39 am

    When I worked in an office (way before fitbits LOL) I used to always take the stairs people thought it very odd! I also used to pace around while on the phone it helps! Thanks for the link up
    Deborah @ Confessions of a mother runner recently posted…Knowing When To Pull The Plug On A RaceMy Profile

    Reply
    • Courtney @ Eat Pray Run DC says

      August 5, 2016 at 12:06 pm

      I like standing while on calls or reading docs – definitely helps me!

      Reply
  7. Erica @ Erica Finds says

    August 5, 2016 at 8:02 am

    I love #3 and try to do that when I am in the office. Since I work from home the majority of the time, I have taken to walking around or outside when I am on calls where I have to take few notes. I would also say stay out of the break room when there are extra sweets around. Have a good weekend!

    Reply
  8. Lesley says

    August 5, 2016 at 8:35 am

    I sometimes fall prey to the candy my coworkers keep at their desks, but not all the time. One small Snickers isn’t going to hurt me. Plus peanuts are healthy, right :-p I’ve brought my lunch for years, and it’s such a hassle to deal with parking if I leave campus for lunch, I’d rather stay in and eat what I brought.

    Reply
  9. Kimberly G says

    August 5, 2016 at 8:44 am

    These are great tips! I have an alarm set on my phone that reminds me every hour to get up an move. This works well (except if I am in a meeting) and reminds me to stop sitting at my desk all day!

    Reply
  10. Jenn @ Run With Sole says

    August 5, 2016 at 9:03 am

    These are all great tips and ones I would use when I last worked in an office. Walking, not calling and emailing was the most important one for me. But now that I’m working in fitness 100%, it’s a little different. I’m on my feet or working out all day with clients so while I don’t have to worry about activity, I do need to pay attention to what I’m eating. I’m starving most of the time and when I get home, I tend to over-indulge because of it. But I’m working on it!
    Jenn @ Run With Sole recently posted…Five Things I’m Most Excited About the Summer Olympics in RioMy Profile

    Reply
  11. Chaitali says

    August 5, 2016 at 9:50 am

    Helpful tips. I’ve taken to pacing when I’m on conference calls to get some extra steps in. Avoiding snacking on unhealthy things at work is the hardest one for me since they have goodies here so often. But keeping healthy alternatives around is a good start.
    Chaitali recently posted…Friday Five – self careMy Profile

    Reply
  12. Emily @ Out and About says

    August 5, 2016 at 10:30 am

    Great suggestions! Some of my coworkers set alarms every hour to remind them to get up and walk around a bit. Another suggestion I heard was to put your garbage bin at someone else’s desk so you have to get up to use it. Someone else suggested using the different bathrooms on the floor instead of just sticking to the one closest to where you sit, LOL. These little things definitely add up over time!!!

    Reply
  13. Mar @ Mar on the Run says

    August 5, 2016 at 11:14 am

    when I worked in an office I always opted for stairs and tried to take advantage of walking instead of calling whenever possible. Now that I work from home, I love going out at lunchtime to do my workouts. It breaks up the day and helps me stay active!

    Reply
  14. Susie @ SuzLyfe says

    August 5, 2016 at 12:13 pm

    I’m doing most o fmy work at WFM, which automatically means I’m making healthy choices…. right???

    Reply
  15. vicki says

    August 5, 2016 at 1:16 pm

    Great tips! I also put a reminder on my calendar to get up and move… I hit snooze for an hour when I get back.

    Reply
  16. Lauren says

    August 5, 2016 at 1:37 pm

    Bringing your own lunch is key. I also actually like wearing my fitness tracker because it reminds me to get up and walk around more, especially on days that I spend a lot of time in front of the computer.

    Reply
  17. Jen@bubblyrunner.com says

    August 5, 2016 at 2:25 pm

    I’m all about bringing my own lunch! Sometimes it’s nice to get out and go to lunch, but I only do that maybe once every other week or so just to get out of the office. And I always have healthy snacks on hand!

    Reply
  18. Rachel says

    August 5, 2016 at 4:01 pm

    When I worked in an office, I always packed my lunch. And my husband does, too. A) It’s so much more cost effective and B) it’s so much healthier!

    Reply
  19. ARiana says

    August 5, 2016 at 4:11 pm

    I sit on a stability ball at work. It’s easy to slump over and lean on the desk though, so I have to stay attentive to my posture. I’ve been doing it for a few years now and I can’t comfortably sit in a desk chair anymore. I usually pack my lunch so I eat at my desk and then use some time on my lunch break to go for a walk when the weather’s nice!
    ARiana recently posted…A Week of Dinner – Part 2My Profile

    Reply
  20. Kathryn @ Dancing to Running says

    August 5, 2016 at 4:15 pm

    I 100% agree with bringing your own lunch. I’ll often make extra of whatever we’re having for dinner so that I can bring leftovers with me the next day. Takes almost no extra time to do so.
    Kathryn @ Dancing to Running recently posted…Friday Five – Potpourri v. 15My Profile

    Reply
  21. Lindsay says

    August 5, 2016 at 6:54 pm

    Do you have any fun lunch packing suggestions? With school starting soon I’m about to have to pack my lunch every day instead of grabbing something out of the fridge. My apple watch goes off every hour if I haven’t stood up which is always a good reminder to get up and move — even if its only for a couple minutes. Since I’m typically chasing around my 14 month old my watch rarely beeps at me.

    Reply
  22. Jenn says

    August 5, 2016 at 8:44 pm

    I work in a running store, so I am on my feet A LOT. However, when I was in the corporate world, I would always take the stairs, bring my lunch most days, and use my actual lunch hour to take a walk around town (if I wanted to get some takeout, this was a good way to do it, too).

    Mr. PugRunner sits a lot at work. His office is maybe 6 miles from our house, so I always try to encourage him to ride his bike there and back (he doesn’t get visitors or clients, so no one cares if he’s sweaty).

    I have never heard that sitting is the new smoking phrase. It’s brilliant.
    Jenn recently posted…friday five: why you should run best damn race + discount codeMy Profile

    Reply
  23. Lauren Boldizar says

    August 5, 2016 at 8:58 pm

    Love these tips! My office is on the 8th floor which makes for ALOT of steps:)

    Reply
  24. Jen @ SprinklesHikes.com says

    August 7, 2016 at 2:45 pm

    Getting up to read documents is a great idea! That’s one I haven’t implemented before!

    Reply
  25. Coco says

    August 7, 2016 at 9:45 pm

    I think we use the same strategies. Taking the stairs is a no-brainer because it’s faster too! I will pace the hallways while proof-reading a document. I think the change of pace (!) helps my brain re-focus too.
    Coco recently posted…Keeping My Eyes On The PrizeMy Profile

    Reply

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