The average working adult spends 46 hours a week at work, according to a survey by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. And in our tech-driven 24 - hour society that relies on a power supply and an Internet connect, more and more people spend their day on the job sitting in front of a computer. Add up the amount of time you sit at work combined with the amount of time you sit during your commute, eating meals, and in front the TV, and you’ve got trouble.
Just because there are candy bars, soft drinks, and packages of those chocolate-covered mini donuts in the vending machine doesn’t mean you have to buy them. And even though there are more than a dozen fast food restaurants in less than a mile from the office doesn’t mean you need to hit those places for lunch like you’re trying to win the customer of the year award. You can eat healthy at the office, and you should. Here are some things you can do to improve your eating habits at work:
· Eat Breakfast: Start your day right by eating a healthy breakfast at home. If you’re in a hurry, make your own breakfast and bring it with you. In a study published in the Journal of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics, researchers found that people who were trying to lose weight were more successful when they ate a healthy breakfast, kept a food diary, and brought a healthy lunch to work.
· Make Your Own Lunch: If you have a desk job like 86 percent of working Americans, you can’t afford to go out to eat in more ways than one. The average lunch costs about $10. If you go out to eat five days a week, by the end of the year, you will have spent nearly $3,000 on French fries, cheeseburgers, and soft drinks. But that’s beside the point. The average fast food meal with a soft drink contains more than 1,000 calories and high levels of sodium and sugar that can lead to weight gain and other health problems. Instead of risking your fortune and your health, make your own lunch at home with healthier options for less money.
· Eat Healthy Snacks: When you’re stressed out trying to troubleshoot a problem, close deal, or meet a deadline, your brain hardly recognizes when you’re snacking in the middle of all that chaos. That’s why you can show up to work with a full bag of chips, and around 11 a.m., you realize you’ve already polished off the entire bag. If you’re going to eat healthy at work, ban the chips, candy bars, soft drinks, and any other high-calorie, nutrient-poor snack food you might have a craving for. Replace those unhealthy snacks with nutrient-dense options that you can enjoy without the added, fat, sugar, and calories. Most office vending services will also provide a couple healthier food options, so be sure to check for or request some more nutrient-rich snacks.
· Drink More Water: This may well be one of the most simple and important things you can do to improve your eating habits at work. Drinking water helps you feel full, contains zero calories, and aids in hydration needed for proper brain and muscle function. Keep a water bottle with you, and fill it up at the water cooler at least once a day. Aim to drink at 40 to 64 ounces of water a day for best health.
To sum up, say goodbye to office junk food found in the vending machine. Stock your office with healthy snacks like nuts and seeds, unsalted popcorn, fresh fruit, vegetable slices, whole-grain breads and muffins, and low-fat yogurt. Instead of mindlessly snacking throughout the day, schedule a 5 to 10-minute snack break to eat one of these healthy snacks, and then get back to work.
When you make the effort to eat healthy at work, you’ll save money on going out to eat. But better than that, you will improve your health and reduce your risk for disease.
[Source: https://www.consumerhealthdigest.com/weight-loss/how-to-eat-healthy-at-the-office.html]
1. Find all the words related to food. Divide them into two major categories: «Junk food» and «Healthy food».
2. Match the words with their opposites
| Nutrient-rich | To be indifferent to |
| hydration | alcohol |
| Weight gain | To be lighthearted |
| Soft drinks | Weight loss |
| To have a craving for | dehydration |
| To be Stressed out | Nutrient-poor |
3. Do you know the meaning of the words in bold? Try to explain those you know in English. Check the meaning of the unknown words and make true sentences with them about yourself.
4. Pick the words from the text which you associate with the office work. Explain your choice.
5. How do you think you have a will power not to snack too much throughout the day in the office? What can you do to improve the situation, according to the text?
6. Translate the sentences R-E.
1. К сожалению, я не веду здоровый образ жизни, такова моя работа! Каждый день я выматываюсь и ем вредную еду, вроде батончиков, пончиков, покрытых шоколадом, газировки.
2. Она всегда спешит, поэтому у нее нет времени поесть, она покупает что-нибудь в автомате с едой и бежит на встречу.
3. В нашем "автоматизированном" обществе сложно взять себя в руки и изменить свои пищевые привычки. Однако, я пытаюсь улучшить свой рацион. Я веду дневник, куда записываю все, что я съела в течение дня.
4. Он работает в офисе, поэтому он целыми днями сидит перед компьютером и мало двигается в течение дня. Но это не суть. Он может с легкостью опустошить пакет чипсов за 10 минут! К тому же он не придерживается здоровой диеты, а питается высококалорийной, не содержащей полезных элементов пищей.
5. Сегодня мне надо постараться закрыть сделку, так как от этого зависит моя зарплата.
6. Чтобы чувствовать себя хорошо, нужно вести здоровый образ жизни: заниматься спортом и питаться правильно, то есть употреблять продукты, содержащие большое количество полезных веществ.