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5 hacks to be healthier at work

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It’s almost the end of January and, if you’re like me, your resolve to make 2017 the year you lose those extra 10kg is starting to wane. But it’s not too late! Join me in getting back on track with these tips to keep you healthy and moving during your working week:

Hang out with healthy colleagues

I found this out by pure chance: Choosing who you eat lunch with can make a real difference to your diet. I share an office with a colleague who eats fruit and vegetables with the same gusto as us normal people eat pizza. It’s not uncommon to find her munching on a whole green pepper, followed by a few cherry tomatoes and a boiled egg. She’s also on a modified LCHF diet, so overall, her lunches would put my white bread and muffins to shame.

Being exposed to her healthy choices gradually made me take a critical look at what I was packing for work. Before I knew it, I was choosing salads over white bread, and fruit and yoghurt over a chocolate bar.

Raise your awareness

Last year, I downloaded a free app to my mobile phone that counts all the steps I take during the day. You have to do some fiddly things with the settings at first to measure your step distance and enter your weight, but once it’s there, it’s a constant reminder to keep moving. It’s anyone’s guess how accurate these apps really are, but it was the awareness I was after and it was enough to shock me to into action.

If you’re the competitive type, some of the more sophisticated apps like this allow you to connect with your Discovery Vitality account, so you can set goals and get rewards for achieving them.

READ MORE: 3 ways to be more comfortable in your body

Sound a gong

Once I realised how little I was moving, I knew I needed all the help I could get. Recent studies have called sitting at your desk all day “the new smoking”. Whether that’s the whole truth or not, it’s still alarming enough for me to want to avoid what my colleagues and I now call “oversitting” the office chair.

My job is very sedentary. I use the computer eight hours a day, and occasionally get up off my butt to attend a meeting a few doors away from my office.

When I got back to work at the beginning of January, I Googled free computer apps that would remind me to move. I settled on one that keeps tabs on how long I’ve spent at the computer and sounds a gong at the end of every hour to remind me to get up. The app also provides suggestions for things to do on your break, like “eat a healthy snack”, “walk 1000 steps”, and even “go to the bathroom”.

Although being interrupted while I was in the work zone was irritating at first, I’ve now come to rely on it.

Stand up!

The studies say that standing is better than sitting, so why not get your boss to fund your health kick and order a standing desk? If the budget is really tight, try pitching a Desk Stand to her. It’s a South African product that fits onto your desk and holds your laptop, mouse and an extra keyboard if you want, and allows you to stand while still being able to complete your tasks.

Walking is better than standing is better than sitting

I haven’t implemented this one yet, but it’s on my to-do list. If most of us get an hour for lunch, at least 20 minutes of that could be spent moving, right? Why not start a walking club at work? Bring your takkies, choose some of your slightly-less-irritating colleagues to accompany you, and go on a brisk walk just before lunch every day.

If you’re like me, 2017 isn’t the year we start running the Two Oceans. But with these little steps, we can at least ensure that we don’t pile on the kilos and we keep moving.

What are some of tips and tricks that have helped you to be healthier? Share with us and we could feature your response in a future article.

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