Archive for the ‘Health Break’ Category

Beans and lentils (aka legumes) are almost a perfect food: they’re high in protein and fibre and tons of other nutrients and they’re low in calories. Better yet, they’re cheap, especially if you buy them dried – you really can’t get better nutritional bang for your buck. Plus, if you’re organized, you can have them simmering away on the stove (or in the slow-cooker) all afternoon while you work.

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When you’re drowning under too many deadlines and juggling 18 balls in the air at a time, it’s hard to step back and gain perspective. You’re stressed, you’re overwhelmed, and nothing will get done if you don’t do it, right?

I get like this all the time, caught up in the action without letting my brain pause and reset. And it’s really not healthy. I’ve been trying hard, now that the weather has improved (and it’s even been sunny up here in Toronto), to take a lunch break and get some fresh air and a walk, but realistically, that can’t always happen. So I have a few more simple strategies I use to step back and distance myself from my stress and let my body calm down. 

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I’ve been recovering from an injury that’s partly due to running and partly due to lifestyle: overly tight hip flexors (the muscles in the front of your hips). And the tight hip flexors – along with other alignment issues in the pelvic region – are to a great degree a disease of sitting too much, something that’s far too common these days.

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One of the wonderful things about working from home is easy access to your own stocked kitchen, without having to share dishes and fridge space with coworkers. One of the not-so-great things is how easy it is to snack or just skip eating altogether when you don’t have well-defined mealtimes.

I find the best thing to do is to always start with a healthy, on-time breakfast. Then your body is primed for proper healthy meals for the rest of the day, and you’ll have enough energy to last, instead of sitting down at the computer and suddenly realizing come 11:00 that you’re famished and exhausted.

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