Have Less Cheat Days! Pack Lunch to Work, More Often

Fact is that work burns everyone out. It is only human nature to get preoccupied with the tiredness that comes after a full day or some hours of making consistent use of your physical and mental strength. When we are tired, we go for the quickest options - like a burger, a highly sweetened and artificial milkshake, a bottle of fried groundnuts etc. Fruits, after all, need washing and then sometimes, slicing. 

It may seem like too much work to go for healthier options but it is very much worth it to plan your day better, so that within the realistic hecticness of work, you can spare 30 minutes within the day to prepare lunch and/or a healthy snack for the next day. Or you may prefer to prepare the day’s lunch in the morning, before you head out to work. This is fine as well!

Packing your own lunch to work not only helps you eat healthy. It also helps to save costs. If you  eat out often, calculate how much you spend on eating out each day and add that sum to the amount you spend on household groceries, per week. After that calculation, you may feel a little guilty about spending way more than you consciously planned to. 

When you prepare your own work lunch, there is a higher chance that you are packing a balanced meal. Most people tend to have in their fridges or other storage spaces, a healthy mix of vegetables, protein and carbohydrate foods. Such a balance is highly recommended. Based on my personal observation of others and myself, when we eat out from work, we tend to look for unhealthy options because we want the quickest and easiest option, before we head back to work. You may go to the next-door burger place, the pizza plaza across the street or the Mama Put that prepares very good Jollof rice, just to the right of your office building. 

In some developed countries, it is quite expensive to eat organic and healthy foods, compared to buying junk food. In contrast, in Nigeria, for economic reasons, people are more likely to eat organic vegetable and food products, as fast food chains are on average, costly. This does not however, mean that some of these organic options are always the best. Too much of a pounded yam, Fufu or Eba diet can increase one’s chances of getting diabetes.

Whichever part of the world you find yourself, the best option is to eat healthy. Pack lunch to work. Once in a while, you can treat yourself to something different and have a cheat day but at least, 90% of the time, pack your own food to work and please make sure it is a balanced mix. If you do front-line work which tends to be swiftly exhausting, you may pack together with your meal, a snack of fruits or a fruits and nuts mix. 

If you need any assistance on how to make a plan for preparing a healthy work lunch, amidst a busy schedule, you can let us know in the Comments section. We will be happy to help out.

 

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About the author:

Chiamaka Mogo is a Nigerian and the Manager of Engage Africa Foundation's Hitting Home Series. She is also a social justice advocate, blogger (http://blurredcreations.com) and Public Administration graduate from the University of Ottawa, Canada.