Well-being at work: 4 tips for eating well during the workday

In both yoga and Ayurveda, it is said that your body knows what is good for you and that you should listen to its needs and its rhythm. It is important to distinguish between the needs of your body and those of your mind, which is subject to emotions and impulses.

The Yogist Diet combines the teachings of yoga and Ayurveda to unleash all the energy you need to stay in shape and optimize your well-being at the office…and everywhere else. It can be summed up in a few simple rules that are easy to incorporate into your busy life. In the tradition of yoga, it is based on a diet that keeps the body light and the mind clear: a lacto-vegetarian diet, with an emphasis on whole grains, fruits and vegetables, legumes, nuts, and dairy products.

Good digestion is key to good health, and what you eat affects your energy levels, your sleep, your back pain, and even your creativity and ability to manage stress at work. A sluggish digestive system and a bloated stomach can cause back pain and make you irritable. The first thing a yogi does every morning upon waking is to relieve their bowels (yes, you read that right—go to the bathroom!).

Before breakfast, this is the first habit you should adopt to eliminate waste. How?

With some lemon juice, fruit, cooked vegetables, fiber-rich whole grains, and a few chair yoga exercises—twists in particular are excellent for boosting digestion. Eating cooked vegetables and drinking a hot herbal tea the night before can help. As a general rule, opt for cooked foods that are easy to digest. In the evening, avoid heavy, complicated dishes loaded with sauce, as well as salads and raw vegetables, which can cause bloating. In the summer, go for salads—when your digestion is at its best—but only for lunch.

Before going to bed, you can also try the Diamond Pose, a yoga posture known for promoting bowel movement and relaxing the body: in bed or on a mat—if you don’t have knee problems—sit on your heels with your big toes touching beneath your buttocks, your knees together, and your back straight. Stay in this position for about ten minutes, breathing deeply.

Yoga, in accordance with the principle of non-violence, prohibits the killing of other living beings and presents arguments—physical, spiritual, psychological, moral, and even macroeconomic—in favor of a vegetarian diet. Here are a few of those arguments.

In yoga philosophy, meat and “dead” foods in general are considered “tamasic” foods—that is, putrid, impure, inert, or tasteless. They make those who consume them lazy, weak, and negative. They exacerbate their tendency to suffer from chronic ailments and fill the mind with dark thoughts. Yogis believe that what you eat affects not only the state of your body but also that of your mind. Have you noticed how, when you’ve overeaten or are having trouble digesting, you feel sluggish and less enthusiastic? Yogis therefore avoid “dead” and “impure” foods in favor of “sattvic” foods—fresh and full of energy—which improve the body’s strength and resilience, as well as overall energy levels.

In this system of thought, the physical body is formed through food, and our entire life can be seen as the result of the interaction between food and life, matter and energy, and the food itself and the one who eats it. The mind, on the other hand, feeds on the essence—the most subtle part—of food. If the food is pure, the mind has the right elements to develop a strong mind, a sharp intellect, and a precise memory. Yogis judge a person’s mental strength by their food choices: not only “you are what you eat,” but you choose foods that reflect your level of mental strength. When you reach for sweets or comfort food, it is impulse and stress that are expressing themselves, not the rationality of a calm and detached mind.

Eating less meat and animal products is good for the planet… and it also means less inflammation, better digestion, fewer toxins, and more energy. Numerous scientific studies have shown that cholesterol, uric acid, and the additives and preservatives found in meat are responsible for a wide range of diseases. A diet high in meat is believed to contribute to high blood pressure, heart problems, joint pain… Antibiotics, pesticides, and other chemicals used on farm animals enter the body of those who eat them in the form of residues.

Yogis point out that animals are fed plants and grains that contain the nutrients necessary to produce protein. Humans who eat meat therefore consume “second-hand” protein, whereas vegetarians consume protein-rich foods and plants directly, which allow them to create living tissue. Animal protein is not essential for good health. There are many other sources of protein—plant-based ones—that are often underestimated.

Legumes such as soybeans, tempeh, tofu, lentils, beans, chickpeas, split peas, and green peas are packed with protein. Grains such as buckwheat, spelt, wheat, quinoa, oats, millet, bulgur, rice, corn, and barley are easy-to-cook sources of plant-based protein. Finally, spirulina, pumpkin seeds, peanuts and pistachios, sunflower seeds, almonds, flaxseeds and chia seeds, walnuts, and cashews—which are easy to sprinkle on food or enjoy for breakfast or as an appetizer—help prevent deficiencies. If you make sure to include at least one food high in amino acids essential for protein synthesis from the list above (and there are many others) with every meal, you’ll keep your body energized throughout the day.

Finally, did you know that certain green vegetables are excellent sources of calcium that your body can easily absorb? More and more elite athletes have switched to a vegetarian diet and reportedly achieved unprecedented energy levels as a result.

It’s crucial to be able to tell the difference between hunger and the urge to eat. As much as possible, avoid eating when you’re stressed or automatically reaching for treats to reward yourself for an effort or to comfort yourself at the end of a long day at work (you’re not a trained dog!).

Don’t live to eat, but eat to live. Eat whenever your body tells you to, not just because “it’s mealtime.” Don’t wait until you’re starving either, or you’ll end up grabbing the first chocolate bar you see in the vending machine. If you’re prone to cravings, keep healthy snacks on hand, such as a handful of almonds or a banana for that mid-morning or mid-afternoon snack.

Whether at the office or elsewhere, it’s essential to avoid disrupting your blood sugar levels. This ensures optimal energy levels, without cravings or energy crashes. When you eat foods with a moderate glycemic index (brown rice, whole-wheat pasta, fruit, etc.), digestion breaks them down into glucose molecules, which are then absorbed into the bloodstream and raise your blood sugar levels (glycemia).

If you are healthy, the pancreas responds to this increase by secreting insulin, which helps “burn” this glucose and convert it into energy. If, on the other hand, you consume too many “sugary” foods or foods with a high glycemic index—such as white bread, pasta, breakfast cereals, candy, and other processed foods high in sugar. These release sugar into the bloodstream very quickly, causing a spike: in response, the pancreas releases larger doses of insulin, which cause blood sugar levels to drop below normal.

The result: decreased attention and concentration, fatigue, and lethargy (which you may have noticed after a lunch that was too heavy or too rich), mood swings, and cravings for even sweeter snacks (it’s a vicious cycle: sugar begets sugar!) and long-term consequences for your body: chronic inflammation, weight gain, obesity, and diabetes, cardiovascular disease… The goal is to eat low-glycemic-index foods and cut back on added sugar in your coffee, processed breakfast cereals, white bread, sodas, and bottled fruit juices…

And if you really can’t get enough of sugar? Go for a piece of fruit or a handful of dried fruit. Go for freshly squeezed, seasonal fruit juices, dried fruits like dates (Medjool dates have a real honey flavor), maple syrup, bananas, or brown cane sugar for your snacks and desserts—in short, natural sugars that will satisfy your hunger quickly.

It’s crucial to be able to tell the difference between hunger and the urge to eat. As much as possible, avoid eating when you’re stressed or automatically reaching for treats to reward yourself for an effort or to comfort yourself at the end of a long day at work (you’re not a trained dog!). Don’t live to eat; eat to live. Eat as much as possible when your body tells you to, not just because “it’s mealtime.”

Don’t wait until you’re starving either, or you’ll end up grabbing the first chocolate bar you see in the vending machine. If you’re prone to cravings, keep some healthy snacks on hand, like a handful of almonds or a banana, for those mid-morning or mid-afternoon hunger pangs.

As you can see, workplace well-being can be summarized in four points:

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