About two months ago, I decided “enough was enough”, I was carrying a few stone in excess weight (we’ll call it three) and I decided to kick my office diet into touch.

Working as a web and graphic designer, I spend an awful lot of time sitting down, as I’m sure many of you do. The serious lack of movement, coupled with the long hours involved in work, running a business and crazy eating habits (no breakfast, hot wrap or roll at 11, fizzy minerals in the afternoon, chocolate, crisps, supposed “high energy” foods, craving for that “bit of sugar” to get me from 3pm to 5pm…) had taken their toll on me.

January 2008

I was tired in the afternoon, tired again in the evening, my sleep was interrupted which would leave me cranky on certain mornings. The tiredness was having an impact on my work, on how I earn a living. Being tired in the morning meant it took longer to settle into the day. Being tired in the afternoon could have an impact on my day-to-day office work. Being tired in the evening meant that any freelance opportunities or hobby work would suffer.

March 2008

Flash foward two months and I’ve dropped two of the three stone being carried (still with a month to run to tackle the third one - like any project, I set myself a deadline or a goal date). I’m also eating a breakfast - a simple bowl of cereal and a vitamin C drink (tablet dissolved in water, slow release over the day) so I’m that bit perkier in the morning and I can work through to lunch time with great ease.

At lunch time I shut off for a half hour to actually have a lunch. I feel it’s important to actually sit down and enjoy your lunch, rather than wolf it into you while pouring over code (or like I mentioned here in trying to get some freelance work done). A fresh lunch will see me through to 6pm with no probelm. Top it off with a decent home-cooked meal and I’m set to go for the evening (to the extent I found myself putting in two nights at the weekend to 5:30am and 4:45am respectively without batting an eyelid).

Things You Can Change To Boost Your Energy In Work

• If you’re a heavy coffee or tea drinker, try cut down a cup or two. Better still, why not switch to green tea? It’s pure, has a surprisingly great taste and it’s also good for the digestive system.
• Leave the junkfood behind. For the first two years of working for myself, I had recycle bins full to the brim with Diet Coke cans or Coke Zero cans, any fizzy mineral. Now I’ve got a bin full of empty water bottles.
• Ditch the sugar, ditch the salt. There’s little taste difference between a packet of regular sweets and sugar-free sweets (think Polo mints), or between regular milk and skimmed milk, full fat yoghurts and low fat yoghurts… you get the picture.
• Take breaks! No client is worth killing yourself over to get a job done. If you take regular breaks (10 minutes in the morning, ten minutes in the afternoon - outside of your lunch) you’ll find the brief down time can awaken your senses a bit and recharge your vital batteries.

They’re only small things and you’ll be surprised at the ease which you can make changes to your diet - even the smallest of changes can give you an energy boost during the day!

Think about it - you’re saving money by not stocking up on junk food, you’re eating healthier, you’re sleeping better at night, you can work more hours in the day (or get more work done in your work hours during the day) and ultimately you’ll earn more money as a result!

Update April 1st: Welcome to all Stumbleupon visitors! If you want to see what I’ve done with my eating habits since January, why not stop by Weight Nation to see what I’ve eaten and changed in order to get more energy at work.

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