Can skilled tradespeople get the calories and energy they need to get their physical work done and still live a healthy dietetic lifestyle?
You bet they can. We don’t claim to be health and nutrition experts at Skilled Trades Partners. But we’ve been in and around the trades for a long time, and we’ve seen just about everything there is to see, including good and bad on-the-job eating habits!
In this post, we’ll weigh in with three tips on healthy eating.
But how many calories does a person performing skilled labor need in a day? We consulted the experts at Good Housekeeping for some advice:
If you’re exercising vigorously for an hour or more per day or working a highly physical job, a women would need between 2,000 to 2,500 calories per day, whereas a man would need 2,500 to 3,000.
Of course, every person’s food energy requirement is different, but that gets us in the ballpark. Now let’s talk about some healthy ways to get those calories that it takes you to get your job done.
What does a healthy lunch look like?
Eat healthy proteins and fats.
There are different foods that contain different kinds of proteins. We know construction is an eat-on-the-go profession sometimes, so sandwiches and tortilla roll-ups are always a staple.
A sandwich with 8-10 oz of chicken or lean beef is an extremely healthy start to a great lunch. Next, add a high-fiber tortilla or two slices of whole-grain bread, a slice or two of cheese, pickles and/or tomatoes, and some mayo or mustard.
We’re up to about 1000 calories and a solid 60 grams of protein (energy). Doing great so far!
Time for some fruits and vegetables.
Stay away from the bag of salty, fatty chips if possible. An 8oz bag of potato chips has 1200 calories in it. That’s the equivalent of eating ten apples! And you get unhealthy saturated fats and half a day’s portion of salt on top of the calories.
Instead, go for the bag of carrots, celery, and an apple, orange, or avocado. Avocados are great because they have a lot of good calories, protein, and fat.
So far, we’re approaching 1250+ healthy calories. That’s about it unless you’re putting in some overtime. 1200-1300 calories gets you through your work day and home in time for dinner. Eat about another 1300 calories for dinner, and you’ve had a good, healthy day of nutritious eating.
But we’re not quite done yet.
Drink plenty of water!
Last but not least, drink lots of water and stay away from the roach-coach! Water has zero calories, and it’s extremely important in your metabolic and muscle-building processes.
Are you a skilled tradesperson looking for the next great gig to sink your teeth into?
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