My Wellness Workplace Rituals
Workplaces can be tough. Even if you work in the best office with the best perks, it’s still easy to slide into an unhealthy routine. These are a few golden tricks I do to stay balanced during the 9-5 grind…
When I began working as a full time stylist in a 9-5, one of the first things I noticed was how often people snacked. Every few minutes, I’d begin to notice another coworker go and grab a bag of chips from the mini kitchen. And then another, and another, and another. Looking around at peoples desks was a bit like looking inside an elementary school kids lunchbox … empty wrappers, half eaten granola bars, and all the crumbs you could imagine.
I remember in that moment making a mental note. I didn’t want to judge those around me, nor “shame” them for snacking every so often. Because, do you! (And also, workplace jargon around what and the way people eat is a whole other topic… one that deserves it’s own post. Long story short, people are judgy!) But I also wanted to take a second to recognize that I knew I needed to set some boundaries for myself. I knew my body and mind would suffer if I gave in to eating foods that didn’t agree with me, but were convenient. I knew I needed to exercise a conscious self awareness when it came to what I was feeding myself, and when.
This mindset has always come somewhat naturally to me. I am always the one to order something and tweak it to my liking, or in college I was the kid with the stocked pantry of raw almonds, organic oats, and fresh berries that I got on sale from the local Trader Joes. I can’t quite explain it perfectly, but for lack of better words I have always wanted to surround myself with wholesome food. It’s presence is something that seeps into my core — if I eat crap, I feel like crap — and consequently act out, or am more quickly to jump to the negative.
Our daily grind can be stressful, hard, and rather chaotic when you really think about it. It’s no surprise that food is sometimes the last thing on our to-do lists. However after a few years now, I’m so thankful for the boundaries I set myself when I first started. I’m grateful for the foundation that they have given me - a foundation that has led to building more healthy practices into my life and to inspire others. These core practices are things that I have done, and hope that you will find helpful too. Please know that they work for me, but that doesn’t by any means indicate that they will work for you. I highly encourage you to tweak them, or even create your own! Everyone has a different need or structure that works for them. So please, take from these what you will - and hopefully they inspire you!
Prep your desk
Ah, the place we spend most of our time. Why not make it a bit of a second home? For me, this meant stocking my desk with a few key elements such as a grab-and-go snack drawer, a drawer with my go-to salad dressing mixings, and a large water container that I refill constantly throughout the day.
Snacks
raw nuts (primarily cashews and almonds)
nut butters
dried mangos
rx bars
organic oats (for easy oatmeal in the mornings)
granola (I love purely elizabeth)
baby bananas (I get these dried at Trader Joes, they’re SO good and taste like candy)
rice cakes
good seed crackers (again, another Trader Joes find)
Staples
honey (love sweetening my coffee with this when I need a pick-me-up)
cinnamon
salt + pepper
everything but the bagel seasoning
organic olive oil
white wine vinegar
toasted sesame oil
ginger tea
turmeric tea
hemp seeds
chia seeds
Now I know this seems like a lot, but trust me these things go a looooong way over time. The possibilities of these are really quite endless. More likely than not, your office kitchen probably has most if not all of these items. We live in an era of workplace splendor, however if you’re like me and prefer to keep your own stash - this list should take care of the essentials.
If you’ve got a fridge…
If you’re lucky enough to have a fridge at work, or a place in the company fridge - make use of it! I always keep a few items in our work fridge with my name labeled on them.
Fridge Necessities
siggi’s yogurts
oatmilk
baby carrots
cucumber
hummus
berries
organic turkey deli meat
a few hardboiled eggs
Think (a bit) ahead
I am not an avid meal prep person. I don’t organize what I’m going to eat on which days - nor do I pre-pack my work lunches. I wish I did, but life is too short to be in the kitchen for hours on your weekend packing grilled chicken and quinoa into tupperware for each day of the week!
Instead, I’m more of an ingredient prep-er. If I’m making quinoa for a dish the night before, chances are that they’ll be leftovers - so I’ll just pack that into a small container to bring to work the next day. Cut to the next morning, and I’ll grab an avocado, some lettuce and maybe a few slices of turkey and throw everything into a bag on my way out the door. Although it’s not made ahead, I’ve then got the mixins for a little quinoa salad for lunch.
Easy Desk Breakfasts
oats, almond milk, nut butter and a few berries (can be made the night before and stored in the fridge)
1-2 hard boiled eggs, handful of berries
1 siggi’s yogurt, honey and berries
Lunches to Make at Work
avocado toast (grab an avocado on your way out the door and smash over toast or crackers, sprinkle with salt + pep)
pita with lettuce, cucumbers + hummus (I keep a cucumber and hummus in the fridge at work and eat it throughout the week)
quinoa bowl with chopped cucumber, feta and spinach
tomato, mozzarella and basil salad (I literally grab a whole tomato and throw some fresh moz in a tupperware with a stem of basil)
trout toast (I buy smoked trout at Whole Foods and just flake it onto some sourdough toast with avocado and olive oil, sooo good)
yogurt, granola, hemp, chia and berry bowl
Hydrate
One of the biggest struggles I have during the day is making sure I drink enough water. I’m a bit addicted at the moment to La Croix…and while it’s delicious, it’s truthfully not as hydrating for your body as pure water. Studies have proven that carbonated beverages break down key protein barriers in your gut, and can do very harsh acidic damage to the enamel of your teeth. And if that’s not enough, sadly La Croix does have “natural flavors”, which although not directly written out - in fact can be GMO, non-organic, toxic ingredients.
So I’ve been trying to make it a goal of mine to only drink one a day - and keep the rest of my hydrating to pure old fashioned agua. I keep a large canister at my desk and try to refill it at least 3 times during the day. I love squeezing fresh lemon, mint or cucumber into it to add a bit of freshness.
Move
It’s mighty easy to stay in the same place for quite some time! However I try to get up and move every 80 or so minutes. It’s been another goal of mine to get up and go outside to catch some fresh air as well. We’re lucky enough to have standing desks, which is also great! I try to stand once a day for at least a 30-minute increment of work. I find that standing after a meal actually helps me digest my food better than if I sit.
be gentle to yourself!
Chances are, you’re your biggest critic. Try to remember that every single one of us has a different path. What works for Sue won’t work for Jerry. Just because Sue is eating a sleeve of oreos in the team meeting, doesn’t mean that you need to too - although it may be tempting. However if you want some darn oreos, eat a few! But try not to live in a mode of comparative eating, which just means because you see it being done — doesn’t mean you need to do it too. Try to separate the things that your body is actually telling you that it needs, versus the things you’re telling it to want.
Not everyday is a perfect one. Sometimes life is stressful and you just need a cookie. Try to remember that. And hey, pack some cookies in your desk for that moment. It’s not about living in a black and white world of kale-only-all-day, it’s about finding the path that works best for you.
