Have you ever tried to work when you were overstressed, overtired and eating too many fast food meals because you just didn’t have the “time” for healthy alternatives? Chances are, your work productivity level decreased even though you probably thought saving that little bit of extra time allowed you to accomplish more work. The truth is a diet of fatty, fried, processed foods can slow us down, and stress makes it more difficult for us to cope with crazy project deadlines. Well, what if I told you that even when you’re bogged down with work, skipping a healthy lunch or even just a quick, 10-minute daily workout is hindering you from being the best, most productive employee you can be?
Research shows that healthier workers are more productive workers. According to a study from the Health Enhancement Research Organization (HERO), employees who opted to eat healthier meals and those who exercised on a consistent basis, performed better at their jobs and also missed less work days than their overweight, unhealthier peers. Many of today’s companies have taken notice of this trend and are trying to increase employee productivity by offering their team members wellness programs. Some are even utilizing convenient, easy-to-use mobile apps to help workers lead healthier lives.
We found three awesome, healthy iPhone apps that will help even the busiest professional get fitter, eat healthier and improve work productivity in just minutes a day.
1.) Healthy Recipes by SparkRecipes – SparkPeople
Cooking healthy meals at home and taking the leftovers to work will not only save you time, but trim your waistline, too. Eating healthy, whole foods with good-for-you vitamins and minerals will also give you the natural energy boost you need at the office.
The free Healthy Recipes iPhone app by SparkPeople, allows you to browse over 190,000 healthy recipes, save your favorites, watch cooking technique videos and provides a counter for calories, carbs and 10 other key nutrients for each recipe that’s uploaded. Many of the recipes can be completed in 30 minutes or less. So, the next time you’re at the grocery trying to figure out what to make for tonight’s dinner or tomorrow’s lunch, simply whip out your iPhone and browse this super simple app while you shop.
2.) Pocket Yoga – Rainfrog, LLC
You don’t have to be a seasoned yogi to reap the healthy rewards of practicing yoga poses. Not only will yoga calm your mind, but it can help you lose weight, strengthen your muscles and increase flexibility. Doing just a few yoga poses each day will help relax your nervous system and decrease your stress level.
The Pocket Yoga iPhone app by Rainfrog, LLC, makes it easy to inject small bouts of fitness and wellness into your busy workday. This app will allow you to practice yoga at your own pace in the comfort of your own home — and even your office. Choose between voice and visual instruction to guide you through 150 different poses. There’s even a dictionary offering descriptions and health benefits of each pose, a function to log and track your progress and much more.
3.) Fooducate – Diet Tracker & Healthy Food Nutrition Scanner – Fooducate, Ltd.
Knowing what’s in your food is half the battle when it comes to adopting a healthier lifestyle. Sometimes, even when we think we’re cooking more healthily we’re actually not due to chemical additives in our food, hidden sugar and artery-clogging trans fats.
The Fooducate iPhone app by Fooducate, Ltd., will help you eat more healthy, whole foods, lose weight and track your healthy eating progress while you’re on-the-go. This free app will tell you what’s in your food, offers healthy alternatives, shows you the food’s nutrition “grade,” teaches you about the pros and cons of eating certain products and more. While you’re shopping at the grocery, simply scan food items to find out if you should purchase or put them back on the shelf.
Tell Us What You Think
What other healthy iPhone apps would you add to this list? We want to hear from you! Give your recommendations in the comments or talk to us on Twitter!
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