MANAGER MINT MAGAZINE Issue 03 | Page 59

2. Pack your food

Taking 10 minutes each night to prepare healthy food choices for the next day is great for our diets and can also be a huge time saver. Let’s face it, some jobs just don’t allow time for a decent lunch break. Because of this we are inclined to look for quick fixes that result in frequent trips to the vending machine or stopping for something fast and usually unhealthy on the road. Making a conscious effort to prepare food for the day before hand leads to healthier choices and also saves money in the long run.

1. Practice Grazing

It has been shown that eating frequent small meals as opposed to the old adage of eating 3 large meals a day can help our metabolism function at higher rates. When we only eat 3 meals a day, we have a tendency to go crazy and stuff our faces each time. We also tend to notice a quick drop in energy after a big meal (think 5-hour energy commercials that talk about the “2:30 feeling”). This is because by only eating 3 meals, our metabolism is fluctuating all over the place. It’s revved up when we eat because it needs to burn off all the calories and then slows down entirely when we digest because there is nothing in our stomachs. A great way to combat this is through a method called grazing. This is where we eat 5 small meals a day versus 3 big meals. By doing this, we allow our metabolism to always have something to burn off and thus function consistently at a high rate. This, believe it or not, leads to burning more calories. One of the best ways to graze is to have a readily accessible source of protein such as almonds or greek yogurt available. Protein enhances our bodies ability to feel full and can curb our wanting to binge when we get hungry. Almonds are a great choice because they have protein and are also loaded with mono and polyunsaturated fats, which are the “good fats”.