To think it’s really difficult to keep healthy ? ITS NOT OUR FAULT !!

I agree with some of what you've said in terms of working lives making it harder however I take a pot of fresh soup with me to work and an apple to have for lunch - plenty of fresh soups aren't full of cr*p and we have some sort of air fried meat or fish with salad mon to Fri for dinner - takes 15-20 mins tops to prepare, some of which is just waiting for the air fryer to finish. Weekends we eat hot meals, take aways, other treats etc as we choose but I don't find it hard to keep healthy during the week. If I'm in the office I make a sort of overnight oats to take with me for breakfast which is porridge oats, banana, fat free greek yoghurt and raisins. I eat this mon to Fri and then have whatever I want at the weekend

I’m sorry but 9-6 is not a “long shift”. It’s a standard working day.

I’m not following why you can’t spend a half hour cooking when you get in at 7.

Look up The Batch Lady - she will be your guru. She prepares everything down to sandwiches, soup, sweet treats, main meals, puddings and freezes them to make everyday eating better food so much easier. It needs some investment in terms of ££ and time to get started but her methods really are the way to go in the scenario you describe

Batch cooking

Slow cooker

Rice cooker

Well stocked freezer is your friend

And simple meals eg omelette

Soup / leftovers / salad for lunch

If you are on a very limited budget then I agree it is more difficult and takes a lot of planning and weekend prep. Have a look at those steam fresh bags of veg or have garden peas or sweetcorn that can be microwaved quickly with no prep. The plain microwave rice packets are just rice and a bit of oil so UPF free. Jacket potatoes or sweet potatoes can can done in the microwave in minutes. Most meat can be cooked quickly in the oven, we regularly have chicken or salmon with a bit of seasoning chucked in the oven in a foil parcel.

Do you have time at the weekend??

I mealplan for 4 weeks at a time, and then batch cook each of the meals, 6 dinners and 7 lunches freezing the extras so I just need to pull what I need for the day out in the morning.

The meals are balanced and healthy and it works out a lot cheaper than buying "beige" food out and about.

Things like stews, chilli, meatballs in tomato sauce, Shepherds pie even a yummy Thai green curry for dinners. Then I've made a variety of breakfast rolls and wraps for lunch, which admittedly do taste better warmed up but cam be eaten cold.

Then every 4 weeks I change it up a bit and look for different meals that I can freeze in portions (use bags rather than tubs to store, takes a lot less room, and remember to label with date).

It does mean that you need to dedicate one day every four weeks to cooking, but for the rest of the time it literally takes minutes to have a tasty meal on the table.

I know it's hard. My colleagues bring in lovely salads and soups for lunch but I'm too tired to do that when I get home and I'm cooking dinner for the family, doing laundry etc. I do make a sandwich and then have that with fruit (and the occasional biscuit!) for lunch at work.
What I do do, is batch cook at the weekend so we have healthy dinners. For example, on Saturday I might make a big curry, then on Sunday I'll make something like a shepherd's pie or vegetarian lasagne. I'll either freeze the meals or put them in the fridge to be eaten during the week. I always put loads of vegetables in the meals.
I also walk to work, one hour each way, so I do feel I get sufficient exercise. I know not everyone can do this if they work too far away or have time pressures. However, I'd highly recommend it if possible. It makes a huge difference to my health and weight.

I do agree with OP, I think it’s harder to eat healthier here. I’ve lived in some Asian countries where you can easily grab a healthy freshly made smoothie as a snack if you’re commuting! I used to work in a school in an Asian country and the school lunches were both delicious and nutritious so apart from coffee that’s all I had at work!

It’s very different from here. especially outside of major cities.

Re. People finding it harder to exercise, when I first moved to my apartment there was a gym I went to 5 minutes up the hill! It’s now closed and I ended my membership before it closed anyway, because I found it easier to work out at home.

I bought a walking pad for less than the price of an annual gym memberships, I use it while watching tv and I regularly follow short YouTube aerobics video or just dance around my house. Even 15 minutes before and after work and any steps you can do at lunchtime can make a difference if you haven’t been doing any exercise before. Also have a little dumbbell set and an exercise mat.

I will probably eventually go back to the gym but it’s not necessary.

Oh and I WFH most days and have done since 2020, I find it so much easier to eat healthier WFH. When I go into the office sometimes I don’t even bother eating until I get home again unless I have enough time to grab an M&S lunch from one of the connecting stations. The work canteen/staffroom is just full of vending machines with crisps and chocolate. I might pack a lunch if I went to the office regularly but I don’t.

I didn't find it particularly difficult when I had a similar (lack of!) work-life balance. I don't cook every night anyway. I prefer to make a big pot of something a couple of times a week and then take it for lunch to reheat at work or have for dinner at night. I also often look at healthier ready meals in supermarkets to take for lunch. Lids does "high protein" range of ready lunch-type meals.
I think it is more about making conscious effort to plan and think differently. I often also load up my slow cooker in the morning and come home to a ready-made stew.
Although, if you don't like eating leftovers, it makes the whole thing unmanageable.

They're pretty average imho. And I'm not rich enough to be spending the better part of £10 on salad every day!

Batch make salads in containers for lunches, you can make cold potato salads, pasta salads, noodles etc with lots of fresh salad and vegetables.

Its harder work to eat healthily when you're very busy. No question. For the reasons you point out. It took lockdown for me to crack it and hybrid working to help me maintain it. That said, I like to think that whatever my life looks like I'd prioritise it now as my gift to myself. I'm getting on now and if I want my health to hold (and if it doesn't, then that will impact everything) then I have to make it a priority. So on my work days, I take a couple of pieces of fruit in my bag and a salad pot. Then if I have to have a beige roll for bulk, at least I've got my nutrients in. I don't see healthy eating as a virtue BTW, and something to blame people for if they don't. I see it as putting myself first and making sure I do this for me, regardless of conflicting demands.

The only time I've eaten healthily is by doing "meal prep Sunday" and making lunches for the week ahead. It's cheaper too than eating out

The 'quick' food available in the UK is mostly awful. Cold shitty sandwiches etc.

It's not that hard to prepare your own lunch though. I do it a few times I week I refuse to pay for crappy Pret lunches.

And yes I arrive home at 6/7pm and start cooking right away! I don't sit down first interrupts the flow. Fish/chicken and veg, or simple veg curry or pasta etc only takes about 30-40 mins start to finish. I don't use jars or ready meals. I don't call it 'eating clean' though lol it's just normal food

It's not imo.

I work similar hours.

Meal prep is done on Sunday - usually chicken, seasoned and cooked in the airfryer in under 30minutes or sometimes dinner leftovers.

Most people i work with also come in with a packed lunch.

Just have to be organised.

I know what you mean OP. I have really focussed on cutting out UPF this year which has essentially chained me to the kitchen, if it wasn't for the fact I work a very flexible job from home I'd find it really difficult to have the mental and physical bandwidth to do the amount of work it requires to meal plan, shop and cook non processed food for 4 people 3 times a day. I'm not saying it's not possible, but it would be much harder, I still have time to go to my hobbies in the evening or have downtime, if I was dealing with a long commute, or couldn't stick a loaf of bread on during a break or my online shop in my lunch break, I'd definitely cheat on food before my own downtime.

Yup, the DC are now old enough to be left in the evenings, so I thought I'd go and combine the weekly shop with a swim at the local pool.

All evening sessions (which used to be very popular) cancelled 😪

👍

@Jumell

Some ideas for batch cooking/freezing (all from scratch, no packets), anything with sauce is generally good for freezing:

Bolognese
Beef winter stew
Nigerian spicy chicken stew
Beef Raj curry
Chilli con carne
Pork and cider stew
Chicken curry

I freeze them in individual portions in old plastic takeaway or Lurpak tubs in case DH and I have differing ideas of what we want for dinner.

I always batch cook listening to a podcast or audiobook so I can zone out 🙂

Edit: Slow cookers are also a great, prepare the night before and then just turn it on before you go to work and come home to a lovely meal.

Watch Chris Van Tulleken's documentary on the food industry on iPlayer - it's called Irresistible. You'll understand why you struggle with UPFs and hopefully it will motivate you to make some changes.

Where I do think it's not easy to keep healthy is the issue of fitting in regular exercise around a busy work life. There are 24hour gyms springing up now, but at the same time, the available hours at my pool are increasingly constrained because they've got a number of swimming academies teaching children to swim taking up the pool. It's a university pool!

I don't think it's difficult to cook food normally at home and bring it in to the office. YABU to be relying on whatever you happen to be able to buy around your workplace.

There are challenges if you work long hours, but I think a lot of people really over-egg them tbh. If you’re going to buy a sandwich anyway then it’s barely any more work to make one at home and pack some fruit.

There are loads of healthy, quick dinners which don’t involve peeling carrots and potatoes at 7pm: steaming vegetables. There are even plenty of healthier convenience foods available from most supermarkets if you really can’t find more than five or ten minutes to make your dinner: rotisserie chicken, pre-cooked salmon fillets, pre-made Spanish omelettes. Those with steamed vegetables or salad and something like couscous which you can make in seconds, or pasta salad which you can make a big bowl of and eat a few days in a row is fine. Sure, maybe it’s not quite as good as cooking from scratch, but it’s just as quick and easy as a ready meal or beige food.