Where will you be having lunch today? Are you lucky enough to have an office canteen, or a local greasy spoon? I suspect a staggering 50% of you will be staring at your screen whilst munching your lunch, a sandwich from the local deli!
In a recent survey a staggering 52 % of people said if they stopped for a lunch break they ate their lunch at their desk, over the key board. Inclement weather had little to do with their choice; instead they simply felt unable to take an hour out of their day for lunch. Furthermore 20% of people actually felt too pressured to take a break at lunch at all.
Lunch is an essential break in the day, just as breakfast is an important way to start the day. By midday or latest 1.00 pm the body needs to be refuelled and brain needs time to absorb the effects of lunch. That break period enables you to approach the afternoon workload in a significantly better mood and work more effectively when you return to work.
If you work in an office, walking away from the desk is vital, getting some fresh air is even more important, particularly if it’s bright weather or sunny, the body needs all the Vitamin D it can get and the fresh air will oxygenate the body, which is another form of fuel. It does feed the mind and gives you a fresh perspective on your work load. The mild exercise and change of scenery will also mean you will be less tired at the end of the working day.
How many of us just shovel food into our mouth without it looking at what it is and actually tasting what you eat. That’s probably the critical word ‘taste’. Leading psychologists say that taste satiates the body’s desire for nourishment, if food taste good you will remember it and are less likely to crave snacks and comfort eat. On the other hand eating at the desk leads to negative calorie load, you don’t quite taste anything or appreciate that you have eaten, as you are invariably distracted by emails and work. Since the lunch has no pleasurably experience to recall on, we will end up feeling hungry more quickly or eat more in the evenings.
So remember, Lunch is much more than a pit stop, it is essential to give the brain a break and feel fresh again.
Take a break
Get some fresh air or change of scenery
Make a commitment to do something, go for a walk, run, swim, catch up with friends, network
Eat something memorable and take your time over it.
Kumud Gandhi – Founder of The cooking Academy Cookery school
Kumud Gandhi is a Nutritional Food Scientist bestselling Author, Broadcaster, and Keynote Speaker on the subject of nutritional health for productivity & performance in the workplace. In 2010 Kumud founded ‘The Cooking Academy’ a cookery school that focusses on cooking for nutritional health and wellbeing. Kumud regularly presents to international audiences on a variety of topics such as ‘Eating for Immunity and a Lifetime of Wellness’. She is an expert in the field of Wellness in the Workplace and works with organizations to create transformational change in employee health & well-being through nutrition and health coaching.
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