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Work-gain
September 12, 2007I haven't really had a chance to make it to the market this week for groceries, so I stopped in at the local gas station this morning to grab a meal-in-a-can for breakfast.
At the counter, the lady who helped me check out looked at my can and said something I bet a lot of us can relate to-she told me that since she's been working there, she's gained some weight and she thought she might start drinking her breakfast as well.
I know I gained a bunch of weight when I went from walking around at school every day to sitting at a desk at work every day. She said she had access to candy and sodas and doesn't move around a whole lot.
For many, stationary jobs are part of life. In fact, I bet you could find some sort of correlation between the proliferation of computers and the rise in obesity and related illnesses. We're also pretty much guaranteed to find food whenever and wherever we are-no failed hunting parties keeping us from a decent meal! So these two factors have combined into a "perfect storm" of weight gain in America.
The solution to this problem is simple-for as much as we sit still every day at work, we've got to be that much more active before or after work, or even during our lunch break. You don't have to slave away at the gym for an hour every night. You can do yard work, house cleaning, ride your bike with your kids, the possibilities are pretty much endless.
And there are ways you can increase movement during your work day-get up and walk over to your coworker instead of e-mailing or calling her. Take two 10-minute walks around your building during the day. Take frequent stretch breaks in front of your screen so you can still be there to get work done but you also get the benefit of stretching, a very underrated activity. I've even seen some folks in New York go so far as to set up a treadmill at their desks. More power to you if you can get that going!
Another work-related weight issue that caught my attention happened yesterday here at the paper. A fellow editorial employee, Andy Newberry, won the company-wide employee of the month honor. Traditionally, whoever wins the award brings back a tray of "goodies" to the rest of his or her department. Usually those goodies are donuts, pastries, and other devilishly good but terribly unhealthy breakfast items. But not yesterday. The trays contained bananas, yogurt and a few donuts. So I say Bravo! to both Andy and whoever decided to give us healthy breakfast alternatives.
Posted by Stacy Horany at 08:52 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)
