Workplace workout and health tips

I’m going to be a bridesmaid in a wedding in just over two months and it has just hit me: my dress will be here in a few weeks and it might not fit as nicely as I’d like it to! While I don’t want to lose so much weight that the dress no longer fits me [ahem], I would not mind beginning a healthy program that guarantees that my bare arms are toned, my stomach protrudes as little as possible, and my chin and neck regions look long and elegant.

To this end, I’d like to suggest some healthy tips and exercise ideas that you can add to your (work) day. You’ve probably heard of or thought of these before but it never hurts to repeat them:

Who needs one hour for lunch?
No matter how long your lunch period is, I challenge you to slash it in half: spend half of it eating, and the other half walking. I must admit, if anybody had dared suggest this to me even a month ago, I’d have looked out the window and laughed in their face but spring is here and the sun is out. To make this even easier, I suggest you bring in a pair of running shoes to work and leave them there. This conveniently gets rid of the “I don’t have my appropriate footwear” excuse (one that I have used a few times in the past)!

Trade your coffee break for a water break
For those of you who use coffee as a jolt or pick me up, I know that replacing coffee with water probably won’t do the trick. However, if any drink will do, I suggest you trade in that coffee for water, or a beverage many don’t get enough of: milk. These two choices will help with hydration of the body and milk consumption has been linked to abdominal weight loss (see here and here), which is especially important since abdominal fat has been linked to diseases such as diabetes and hypertension.

Create an everpresent fruit bowl
I’m lazy and if I have to choose between eating the jellybeans in my desk drawer, or going to the kitchen, washing an apple and bringing it back to my desk to eat, I’ll reach for the jellybeans every time. So why not bring in a bowl, wash some fruit and keep them on your desk? This way it’s even more accessible than that bag of jellybeans that you have to open the drawer for! And hopefully, replenishing your jellybean supply will become a thing of the past, and you’ll tempt yourself with the bright colours of apples, oranges, peaches, plums and bananas instead. A coworker of mine does this and I have to stop myself from reaching for an apple when I’m in her office.

Take the stairs
Another coworker of mine (did I mention that about 70% of my coworkers are health freaks?) takes the stairs up to our office which is on the 15th floor. Fifteenth. She does this every day and considers it her exercise for the day. I am not yet at that level of fitness but I do know that I could take the elevator to the 10th floor and then climb the remaining flights of stairs if I wanted to. The workout that climbing upwards provides to your gluteals and thighs is worth the panting at the top of the stairs, I promise (and since very few people use the stairs, no one will witness it!). I intend to do this once a week, and hopefully work up from there.

What easy exercise/good health opportunities have you snuck into your day?