Nutrition in the Workplace – We are VIP Podcast – Greg McCoy

Proper nutrition is essential for everyone. Gone are the days when healthy food was associated with weight loss only. If you want to perform at your best, stay concentrated, have more energy and live a longer and happier life – you should develop healthy nutrition habits!

The VIP podcast aims to add value to employers, employees, job candidates, and anyone looking to be more productive at work.

In this week’s episode, host Casey Hasten chats with guest Greg McCoy about the importance of good nutrition in the workplace. Greg is the owner of Hidden Gym, a personal trainer and nutrition specialist. He joined the show to share how individuals and company leaders can optimize their organizational success with healthy lifestyle strategies.

Here are some of the most interesting questions that Greg answered.

How do you get people to go to the gym in office buildings?

There’re two types of motivation – intrinsic and extrinsic.

Intrinsic motivation comes from within and it is when you do something just for the sake of doing it. We are intrinsically motivated to do the things we truly enjoy.

Not many people enjoy working out in such a powerful way, especially in the beginning. That’s why extrinsic motivation can push some people to start moving. Offering free stuff in the gym often helps to get people out of their chairs, such as healthy snacks and lunches, smoothies, and coffee. While this is essentially bribery, it is a good way to get people to walk through the gym door and talk to coaches and gym enthusiasts about their goals.

How can nutrition impact productivity?

If you put crappy gas in a high-end race car, it’s not going to run well. It is simply amazing and fascinating how much your body is capable of, so you should treat it like a high-end race car!

Proper nutrition is responsible for two of the most important things for productivity – high energy and mental clarity.

“You are what you eat” might be a cliche but it is a cliche because it’s true. Eating too large meals, or skipping meals and then overeating results in unstable blood sugar levels, energy spikes, and dumps. This decreases productivity and makes us feel sluggish and sleepy.

In order to sustain high energy levels throughout the day, focus on balanced and regular meals, and adequate portion sizes. A balanced meal includes a combination of lean proteins, complex carbohydrates, and healthy fats.

How can employers encourage nutritious eating in the workplace?

There’s a powerful exercise called “Start, Stop, Continue”. The exercise answers the following questions:

• What do we need to start doing?
• What do we need to stop doing?
• What are we doing right that we should keep doing?

On the stop list, stop making it so easy to be unhealthy. Stop providing unhealthy food choices for your employees. Sugary and junk snacks shouldn’t be available in office buildings. If something is easily accessible and tastes good, it will be a lot more difficult for people to resist

On the start side, start providing healthy food choices for the employees. While it could be cheaper to provide doughnuts for breakfast for everyone, is it really a smart idea to get your whole staff hyped for 30 minutes and make them feel bad for the next 2 hours because of the blood sugar crash?

If you want your staff to perform well, make sure there are healthy food options that will guarantee stable energy levels and mental clarity.

Last but not least, if something is already working well, continue doing it. If nutrition information and seminars have a positive impact on your staff’s behaviors, continue providing this education. People should know how to eat right and exactly why this is so important.

What is one health tip you can share to help people make better nutrition choices at work?

A massive weight loss Oxford study found that preparing meals in advance is by far the most effective habit people should adopt in order to stay consistent with their healthy nutrition.

Deciding on what you’re going to eat and making sure that this option is available to you at work can be a game changer. If you’re not into meal prepping and bringing your food to work, you can use food delivery services, or eat at places with healthy options.

Furthermore, you should also have plan B or C, if life gets in the way and you can’t eat what you have planned. Keeping nutritious snacks handy, such as protein bars and shakes, can prevent you from under or overeating during busy times.

Don’t miss listening to the full episode of the VIP podcast with Greg! You will learn a lot more valuable information and tangible tips on how to stay active and have a balanced diet in the workplace!

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