Uncategorized - AnnaTheApple

July 10, 2015

Staying fit and healthy at work

Ahh wouldn’t it be nice to be a professional athlete where it’s your job to keep fit and healthy? The high end ones having access to round the clock coaches, physios, masseurs, lucrative sponsorship deals, nutritional advice, high quality training camps…well, I could go on.

The reality though is that most of us have regular 9-5 jobs (give or take a few hours before all you teachers start harassing me for underplaying the sheer number of hours you do…;-)). Fitness for most of us has to play second fiddle. We have to get up ridiculously early to squeeze in gym time or a workout, or wait until we finish and go in the evening. I know for me it’s a juggling act and I don’t even have kids to worry about!

In fact research shows that 80% of adults in the UK don’t exercise enough. It’s a sad but not entirely surprising statistic in this day and age. Those who do run or try and keep fit are the minority. Gym memberships get wasted, running shoes get dusty and general day-to-day life can really just make you forget or not want to get a sweat on.

What’s clear for me though is that the more I exercise, the better I feel. Yes it sucks when my alarm goes off at 5am but once I’m up and out there I feel fantastic, and afterwards you can’t help but feel euphoric, strong and a little smug.

But not everyone is a morning person or has the motivation to work out after work. Personally I really have to motivate myself in a big way to run after work. And there’s no way I’d go to the gym. I just don’t fancy it and have probably found a million excuses why not to go that evening.

So when can you squeeze it in then? I’m lucky that in my office we have a shower and a gym (albeit a very tiny one). So if I fancy a quick strength session or a run I know I can without having to worry about ponging the office out.

I do think it’s important to incorporate fitness or at least some movement into your day. Most of us are at work for 8-9 hours at least which is basically the significant portion of your daily life really (as sad as that is!)

And another study showed that people who sat for the longest during the day had a 112% increased risk of getting diabetes, a 147% risk in experiencing cardiovascular events and a 49% increased risk in death from any cause compared to those who sat the least. This bolsters my argument for why I have a standing desk.

And why I take regular walking breaks to get a drink or go to the bathroom (the perfect cycle of events really…) to make sure I hit over 12,000 steps for non-running days. I love my Vivofit for highlighting with the Dreaded Red Line when I need to walk a bit more.

Yes I am showing off my nail varnish as well 😉

SimplyHealth has once again provided some great tips on keeping fit in the workplace by outlining some incentives and initiatives for encouraging a businesses’ employees to have a more active lifestyle. I would argue that it is in an employer’s best interest that they keep their employees healthy and fit. Not only does this provide a good environment to work in but it’s likely people will be more productive and take less sick days. Anything an employer can do to encourage its employees to being fit is a big win in my eyes. I just hope more companies take the initiative to do things like cycle to work schemes, standing desks, organised exercise, etc.

Well, we can hope!

How do you keep healthy and fit at work?

Does your company do anything to encourage you to be healthy?

**Full Disclosure: Simplyhealth asked me to write an article regarding how to promote fitness at work with links to their website. The links are not affiliated but I will receive a related gift in return.**

June 30, 2015June 30, 2015

Having a healthy workspace

I work in an office environment that’s dominated by desks and computers. Sadly this is typical of many people’s workplaces nowadays. So much is done using computers and so much of a person’s day is spent sat down.

OK this is great for productivity and I’m not saying we should throw our computers out the window and go back in time…but it’s really not conducive to a healthy lifestyle when the majority of your day is spent on your bum.

Not only that but the office environment seems to be a breeding ground for unhealthy snacks…the biscuits, the vending machines, the cakes (“because it’s Tuesday” <—love those days…). And the fact that to do any form of exercise you need to do it in your own time – what little of it is left after your work hours and commute.

I worked out I spent over 10 hours every day sat down. I was horrified. I run, I lift weights, I walk my dog, I walk at lunchtime…how am I still spending 10 hours a day sat down?? Two hour’s worth of commuting and then the time at work sat down in front of my laptop is how – and that’s not counting any sofa time in the evening. Last year I seemed to go from injury to injury with my running and I was desperate to do anything to stop this cycle. Amongst other things, I decided to create a healthier environment for myself at work. After all, I spend a good chunky of my life there.

I created my own standing desk. I used odd boxes from home (or around the office) to lift my laptop and monitors to the right height. It’s not perfect it works for me!

I currently dual-use a laptop and a computer (hence the second keyboard)

Since Christmas I stand at my desk from 9am until the end of the day (5pm or 6pm). Though after my lunchtime walk I sit down for lunch as a break (plus I make enough mess eating lunch sat down as it is…).

It’s not easy and it was certainly really hard work at the beginning. I had to keep sitting down for 30 seconds every so often to take a break. But now I’m a standing pro 😉 You do still have to make sure you have good posture though – no slouching!

And yes, my work colleagues thought I was mental. They did seem curious and aware that sitting wasn’t a great thing to do all day but alas, none have followed suit…yet.

But there are other, perhaps less revolutionary, ways to turn your office into a more healthy place. Simplyhealth have a great article HERE on tips for being healthier at work, such as:

Have fruit and healthy snacks to hand
This is a hard one but instead of having a communal biscuit tin, have a communal fruit bowl instead that everyone contributes too. When 4pm comes along I’m always fancying something sweet and tasty, but instead of that being a cake or biscuit I have an apple and a banana. I find it far more filling.
Take the stairs
If you’re on the ground floor maybe try using the upstairs toilet (if possible). I tend to go to the loo so many times during the day because my bladder is the size of a walnut and I drink loads of water, so those extra steps help.
Organise group exercise
It’s easier to exercise when you’re with other people who are motivated to exercise; it spurs you on. Perhaps start a lunchtime running club (runching!) or organise to go to Zumba together after work. Making it social really helps.

For more tips, see Simplyhealth’s article.

The thing is, you’re at work for a pretty long period of time every day, every week, every year. Yes this sucks but unless you’re a millionaire, that’s life. Making the experience a bit more healthy will do you big favours physically and mentally. Even if you exercise regularly if you’re sat down at work all day, not moving, eating rubbish then it’s pretty much like eating a McDonalds and ordering a Diet Coke. Being healthy is not just what you do in the gym after all!

How healthy is your work environment?

What do you snack on at work?

How long do you sit every day?

**Full Disclosure: Simplyhealth asked me to write an article regarding a healthy workspace with links to their website. The links are not affiliated but I will receive a small related gift in return.**

June 24, 2015

The value of mum

When I was growing up I wasn’t at all aware of everything my mum did for my sister and I. My dad was in the Navy when I was born and as such was often away at sea for long stretches of time, leaving my mum effectively as a single-parent.

When I speak to her now about it she tells me it was hard, tiring and she missed my dad. My grandparents lived up north while we were down south in Portsmouth so there was no help there either. But my mum never sounds resentful about it or angry. She just says it as it was. It was life, you got on with it.

When my my dad left the Navy my mum was able to go back to work. She’s a trained nurse and worked one night shift a week at a local nursing home and in the week would work in a school. I remember on Saturday mornings I had to be very quiet playing or watching television as my mum would have just got back from the nursing home and was sleeping. But she’d be up and about soon enough to look after us again. The mum’s job never ending.

It was important for my mum to go back to work as she loved nursing and had her qualifications that she’d worked hard for. Though I’m not saying being a stay at home mum is bad at all, but personally I’m glad my mum went back to work as it made her happy and set a great role model for me that I too could work and have a family.

Don’t get me wrong, my dad was (and is) fantastic at being, well, a dad. But his work and commute meant he was out early and back late. My mum was the one who made the lunches, cleaned the house, made dinner, ferried us off to gymnastics, swimming or Brownies, washed and ironed our clothes and kept the peace between two squabbling little toe-rags.

Interestingly, Legal and General Insurance did some research on what is the true value, in monetary terms, of the value of a mum:

“…for unpaid child care and household tasks alone, Dads are worth £23,971, while Mums are worth £31,627”

Source

That’s incredible – if only that was the case, eh! But let’s be honest, a mum’s value can’t be denoted by a single monetary figure. Personally my mum is the person I go to when I need someone to comfort me and make things “better”. My dad always gives me a rational way of looking at things with sound advice, but my mum is the one who may not have the answers to my problems but has a way of calming me down and making sure I can see clearly again.

She’s always been there for me, no matter how many mistakes I make or how many tears I cry. And she’ll always be my first choice for an afternoon tea date, or a quick coffee, or a meander around the shops.

OK we’re now dangerously encroaching into into vomit-inducing cheese world, but I do think it’s important to take stock of your mum and appreciate her for everything she’s done. Mums are made of some seriously strong stuff and I can only hope that if I have a baby one day that I’ll be like my mum and have a similar relationship to my offspring.

Drinking a well deserved glass of wine 😉

Tell me something amazing about your mum! My mum loves posh handbags and when she’s “finished” with them I get her off-casts!

Did your mum work when you were growing up? I was lucky that my mum worked in a school for my younger years as it meant the hours and holidays worked perfectly.

What do you like doing with your mum? For me it’s all about gossiping with cake!

**Full disclosure: I was asked to write this post by Legal and General Insurance in return for a spa day with my mum. All opinions are my own.**

April 15, 2015

It is what it is

It’s hard when you write a blog that closely follows aspects of your life to know how much you should ‘reveal’ and how much should be kept private and personal.

Like most bloggers I don’t talk about everything that goes on in my life. There are parts that I keep private for whatever reason, as you can imagine. However as much as this can easily be done for some things, for other thing it isn’t easy to (for want of a better word) hide as it’s a large part of my life.

Ben and me have separated. I won’t be going into details (though I will say that no one else was involved). It’s immensely sad and I’m heartbroken. I literally don’t know what the future holds or what happens next. One moment my life was heading in one direction and the next I’m like a boat floating aimlessly in an unknown ocean.

So there we have it. The next few months are going to be a bit…well, weird but life continues and I’m living each day as it comes – whatever that means! What I do know is that I have a lot of good friends and family who are supporting me through this so I’m not alone or wallowing in self-pity or depression.

I suppose it’s a very good job I’m not injured right now. Running is definitely a great escape.

December 30, 2014December 31, 2014

Don’t fear the eggs

Hello! Hope you had a lovely, lovely Christmas 🙂 Normal posting will continue soon, I’m just enjoying my time off at the moment. But I do have a quick post on one of my favourite foods (no not apples!)

I’ve many times expressed my love for eggs. I think they’re brilliant. When I’m all stressed out and don’t know what to cook for dinner, it usually ends up being eggs. A perfect source of protein, it goes with everything and anything and it’s easy to keep a pack of eggs in the kitchen at all times.

There’s always a nit of confusion as to whether to keep eggs in the fridge or not. I’m part of the “out of the fridge” group. I haven’t had any nasty food poisoning yet so finger’s crossed!

Keeping eggs out of the fridge is handy considering a friend of ours gave us a huge amounts of eggs the other day that I’m not sure would have fitted in the fridge. He gets a load free of eggs from work apparently and was happy to palm some off to us. Nice!

Whereas I’m more a scrambled egg fan, Ben loves poached eggs. We used this cool egg poacher and, after a few bumps in the road (we forgot to put the lid on so it took AGES), Ben got some perfectly poached eggs to sit quite nicely on his toast.

I’m not a fan of the poached egg texture though which is a bit random I must admit. I much prefer the crispiness of a fried egg or scrambled egg when it has a million other ingredients in it.

Or a meal that has firmly stuck on our weekly rotation is gammon and fried eggs.

And it has to be a runny yolk. It’s devastating if we overdo our fried eggs, or it splits when cooking. Sad times indeed.

It always irks me a little when I hear people are still harbouring a fear of eggs. Specifically the cholesterol in eggs. The British Lion Eggs has a great website which goes over this misconception about cholesterol (amongst other interesting things to know such as egg allergies). People used to think that you shouldn’t eat so many eggs in a day because of the cholesterol the eggs contain, and this would apparently increase the risk of heart disease in healthy people. But recent evidence suggests this isn’t so as the cholesterol they contain doesn’t significantly affect our blood cholesterol. This is great news for egg lovers like me 😀 We get through a lot of eggs in a week!

Do you eat a lot of eggs?

What’s your favourite egg-based recipe?

Poached, fried or scrambled? I love fried egg but I cannot stand ketchup with my eggs. It really doesn’t go in my mind and freaks me out.

***Full disclosure: I was asked to write this post by the British Lion Eggs in return for the egg poacher. All opinions are my own. The links are not affiliate links.***