Top tips to keep your health on track if you’re back in the office

With many people now working in an office full-time or a few days a week, the routines of being at home can go out the window.

For a lot of people, the office can be a place where they find themselves falling back into old habits that they'd rather avoid.

Below are some of the ways you can help yourself stay healthy when heading into work.

Find a different route

Our location heavily impacts our eating habits and can be the cue that sets off our food cravings.

If that morning walk to the office features an unnecessary pit stop for a sausage roll, then maybe it’s time to rethink your route. Change your environment and you’ll eliminate the cue.

Be firm but fair

Your colleagues may be keen snack sharers, or like to boost morale by planning team lunches or bringing in baked goods. It's worth thinking about how to handle that, as people around us heavily impact our decisions.

Sometimes an honest chat about your goals is all it will take to help others understand why you aren’t eating birthday cakes. Having the confidence to politely say ‘no’ in certain situations will make a big difference too.

Less snacking, more saving

Anytime you have the urge to go to the vending machine or stick your hand in the biscuit tin, send £5 to your savings account instead. This way you won’t be thinking about what you’re losing, but what you’re gaining.

NEAT up

NEAT (or non-exercise activity thermogenesis) is the calories we burn when not exercising, sleeping or eating. Take the stairs rather than the lift, stand during calls and meetings, or park as far away as you can from the office.

NEAT accounts for approximately 15 to 30% of your total daily energy expenditure, so these changes all add up and can make a big impact!

Pack up your lunch

This is the simplest and most effective approach if you find yourself overeating at work. Forward planning and packing a lunch will not only save you money, but it will also help save calories too.