Guest Post: Office Living: How to Shop for the Desk Life!

Posted by Jennifer in dieting | 5 comments

I would like to thank Dana for writing a guest post for my readers today. Dana is a contributing writer for a culinary arts website where you can browse schools and the latest trends in the culinary arena.

Office Living: How to Shop for the Desk Life

There’s no two ways about it: starting a new diet is hard. You aren’t just changing the way you eat; often you are also engaged in changing the way you think and the way you live (if you accept the notion that you are what you eat). You have to learn to look at food in a new way, depending on what motivates you. Some foods can become your enemy while others are your new best friends. You often have to cut back on dining out (or stop altogether), learn to prepare and cook a whole slew of new recipes (or at least alter some of your favorites), and start keeping track of what you eat (including counting calories, points, or whatever complicated system will tell you when you’ve had enough). And all of this can be time consuming and frustrating.

Now factor in a desk job that makes it difficult for you to eat right. Between a schedule jam-packed with meetings (does no one take an hour for lunch anymore???), lunches with clients (for some reason, restaurants frown on you bringing your own food), and late nights chained to your desk (when you should be cooking a healthy meal), you’re beginning to despair that you’ll ever get your diet on track! And yet, there are a lot of ways you can stick to your diet even when you’re stuck at your desk.

1. Prepare, prepare, prepare. If you find that you are too rushed in the morning to prep your foods for the day, or that by the time you get home at night all you can do is think about hitting the hay, then take time to make and pre-package foods on the weekend. Buy snacks like fruits, veggies, or nuts in bulk and pack them into individual-serving-size baggies so you can grab them on the go. And cook useful items like grilled chicken or fish so that you can throw them in a salad or slap them on some bread when you’re in a rush.

2. Set a timer. You don’t want to let yourself get too hungry throughout the day, so set the alarm on your desktop or cell to go off at certain times of day to remind you to grab a snack. This way you won’t hit mid-afternoon without eating and end up splurging at the vending machine. As a bonus, small meals spread throughout the day will keep your energy level fairly consistent and help you avoid highs and lows that can leave you bouncing off the walls or snoozing on your keyboard.

3. Schedule in lunch. If you find that your calendar keeps populating with lunchtime meetings, simply fill in a daily lunch-hour for the month so that you make sure your diet stays on track and you take a breather during the day to keep your stress level down (you emotional eaters out there know what I’m talking about!)

4. Order salad (dressing on the side). If you can’t squirm out of a lunch meeting at a restaurant, embrace the idea of “first do no harm”. Get yourself a small salad to tide you over until you can get back to the office and have your real lunch.

5. Share your secret. Sometimes the best way to stick with a diet is to have a buddy for support and encouragement. So tell people at work what you’re up to (they’re bound to be a bit more understanding if they know why you’re blowing off margarita Mondays) and see if anyone wants to join you in your quest to become the healthiest, happiest, best version of you!

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Thanks Dana! Those are some great tips! I think it is hard to stay on track when there are so many food distractions through out the day. My office has 2 luncheons every week and the leftovers are put on the counter. My new rule which I have followed very well this year is that if it isn’t a fruit or veggie, I’m not eating it! So far, so good!

What office tips do you have?