Coach AB here from CrossFit MASS to talk to you about surviving the office when people bring in temptations.
You’re back in the office Monday morning making an effort to bring your lunch and stay on track to reach your health goals. But people are bringing in snacks, treats, and things that they’re trying to get out of their own house after a weekend get together.
This can be a pitfall when these food choices are in your environment and wearing down your willpower.
The truth about snacks is…
Snacks are more calorically dense. If you are continuously snacking throughout the day, it can add up to be way more calories than you realize or are even expending throughout the day. Remember that bag of chips you ate on autopilot? How are they gone so fast!?
Yes you may be on a workout routine, but you’re never going to outrun your mouth if you’re just eating more calorically dense items.
Snacking also may also be an indicator that you’re not eating enough within your main meals. That’s something we’ll look at in a moment.
Here are a couple tips to survive the office when temptations are all around.
Tip One: Close your office door.
Or position yourself in a way where you can’t see people getting snacks or going into the break room. If you’ve ever had a co-worker ask if you want something from the break room, how do you respond? You can politely say, “Thanks for thinking me, but I’m all set.” No harm done.
If you’re allowed to wear headphones, use them to tune out people traveling in that direction. If allowed, of course.
Tip Two: Make sure you’re eating enough.
Try to notice behaviors in yourself when work gets busy and you decide to skip lunch. You simply won’t eat enough during your workday and are more likely to give into those office temptations because of ravenous hunger and stress.
Journaling how you feel after a meal or day of eating can help show that you’re not eating enough or don’t make eating a priority at work when things get crazy.
If you’re unsure if you’re eating enough, book some private time to chat about food here.
Tip three: Plan ahead.
Meal prep is always a great way to do this. But here’s the deal – when you’re bringing your own snacks, you’ll want to bring a little bit more in so that you don’t just eat all your food at once. We’ve all been there where we brought food to work and eat it all before our lunchtime. You have to plan ahead for more snacks than you think. So make sure that you have something in your workspace, like some nuts and berries, something that you can keep off to the side.
Tip four: If you’re craving, ask yourself some questions.
Dig deeper into how you’re feeling.
“Am I really hungry, or is this stress caused by work? Am I just bored because this project is pretty terrible to work on?”
You do need to listen to your hunger cues, but you also may have to separate what your mind is telling you and how your body reacts. I suggest you take a walk, clear your mind, come back to your desk. If you are truly hungry, break out that snack pack that you planned for.
Tip five: Eat lunch away from your desk.
I’m guilty of this as well, with back-to-back appointments and eating while answering some emails, as I’m sure you can relate.
Take the time to breathe, sit away from your desk, and enjoy your food. If you slowly chew your food you’re going to feel fuller longer as well as more satisfied – not to mention this helps with digestion!
The real big takeaway is – Snacking is okay, but we want to make sure it’s just not deterring you from reaching your goals. Snacking away is really the number one thing that’s going to take you down if we’re really not paying close attention.
Have questions? Shoot me an email at ab@massstrengthandconditioning.com – I’d love to hear from you!
