Is Your Office Making You FAT?
Do you receive mass emails on a regular basis notifying you of pizza, doughnuts, cake and god knows whatever else in the break room? Do you use that as an opportunity to get away from your desk and do some socializing with your co-workers? Then your office could be making you pack on unwanted pounds.
It's bad enough you have to slap on the blinders when passing by the vending machine but now you have to deal with peer pressure from colleagues that want you to self indulge in their unwise food decisions. According to Psychology Today The co-worker that brings in sweets but never eats them or the one that bullies colleagues into eating every last morsel of the homemade cupcake are just two examples of office feeder behavior. Some office feeders have a disordered relationship with food and can't seem to enjoy sweets so they force them on others and act slighted when proffered food is rejected. And then there are those office feeders who seem to take pleasure in sabotaging co-workers healthy stance, thinking that their own ability to resist tempting sweets makes them more attractive or powerful in the eyes of others.
Does this mean you can't have a slice a cake to celebrate the birthday of your favorite cubicle buddy? Not at all, it just means you have work a little harder to train your mind to fight temptation that is at your finger tips on regular basis. Below are five my tips for ways to deal with office food temptation.
1. Politely decline: If you have a hard time being around junk food without reaching for it yourself the best option is to avoid it all together. If co-worker asks why aren't partaking, you can always blame it on work, I am sure your boss can't get mad at you for that!
2. Join the fun wisely: The easiest way to stop yourself from noshing on foods you will regret is to already have full stomach. Drink plenty of water during the day to avoid hunger pangs that might encourage you to sneak in to the break room for that piece of cake. Also have a piece of fruit handy, while your peers delight in the velvet cake you can opt for a banana or apple. You will be happy you did when you slip into your two piece this summer.
3. Give your indulgence a healthy makeover: There are always options for making something healthier while satisfying cravings. The easiest option is taking a small portion whether it's cake, pizza or pie! The hardest thing to do is not go back for seconds! Always have a stash of fruits, veggies and seeds at the office, this will help you to make over any unhealthy treat. For example scrape off the frosting on cake and add blueberries or add kale to the top of half a pizza slice!
Nadia
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