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Diet Wreckers in Your Desk
Are office snack attacks and stress breaks ruining
your diet? These 4 makeovers show you how to kick bad habits.
by Karen Cicero
What was it today? A doughnut from the dozen you brought in for the
whole crew? Candy from the vending machine? Microwave popcorn stashed in
your desk drawer?
Whatever you ate, you have company: Recent studies, including two from the
American Dietetic Association, show that more than a third of office
workers have breakfast alongside their keyboards; as many as two-thirds
regularly munch on lunch in their offices; nine in 10 snack on the job;
and 7 percent even have dinner desk-side.
Corporate America seems to be turning into a giant kitchen, where eating
on the job has become a necessity for the time-crunched and stressed. The
average "lunch hour" has shrunk to 36 minutes--and chocolate has
become a bottom-drawer staple (its feel-good endorphins make tension
easier to handle). But the number one reason for desk-side dining is
hunger.
"Most office food isn't satisfying," says Baltimore nutritionist
Colleen Pierre, RD. "Doughnuts, coffee, pastries, and candy give you
temporary energy, but you're hungry a few hours later." It doesn't
take long for the quick fix to become a pattern. So Prevention
tried an intervention.
First, we found volunteers at four work sites who let us rummage through
their desks, briefcases, office kitchens, and coat pockets, leaving no
crumb uninspected.
Then Pierre gave the volunteers an office makeover--a corporate
downsizing, if you will. Here's her analysis and habit-breaking
strategies.
The Group Nosh
The Haystack Group, Marietta, GA
Resumé
"A sweet tooth is a job requirement here," admits Stefanie Long,
director of public relations, who shares this consumer research office
with six others. Not a single one is on a diet, and all enjoy the same
kinds of food. "When we chow down, we do it together. It's a social
experience," says Holly Cline, an account manager.
Desk-Side Dining
Most of the crew eat breakfast and lunch at the office. Once a week, the
company's founder, Bonnie Ulman, brings in a baker's dozen of mini Cheddar
muffins. "I believe in taking care of the staff," she says.
Other days might begin with sharing takeout Chick-fil-A Chicken Biscuits
(buttermilk biscuits with a fried chicken patty) or bagels and cream
cheese.
"Despite the fact that the coffeemaker is going all day and we just
got an espresso machine, one of us goes to Starbucks--sometimes twice a
day--with an office order for tall mochas, lattes, and hot apple
ciders," reports Cline. On stressful days, she says, they drink
larger, 16-ounce cups of their caffeinated drink of choice with an extra
shot of espresso.
At least three times a week the group returns to Chick-fil-A for lunch,
bringing back fried chicken sandwiches, fries, and Cokes. Alternatively,
they might hit Taco Bell for Zesty Chicken Borders Bowls and an occasional
Nachos Supreme. Or they'll go for chips and sandwiches from a nearby deli.
Occasionally, they organize a potluck lunch. "At the last one, the
chocolate-covered strawberries were the biggest hit," recalls Long.
Between the sugar and caffeine highs and lows, the entire office usually
slumps around 3 pm. Their solution: chocolate. Last fall, to celebrate the
completion of a book Ulman wrote, the group enjoyed two 3-pound bags of
M&Ms and a pound each of Hershey's Kisses, candy corn, and candy
pumpkins. After 3 days, only a handful of Kisses remained. "Once
someone brought in apples, but they rotted in the fridge," says
Cline.
"Work is the place to be bad," says Long. "No one here
judges anyone. When you mention to someone that you ate half a bag of
Oreos, they tell you it's okay because they did, too."
Office Overhaul
Pierre says: Everyone should agree to have a breakfast that delivers more
nutrients and fiber in fewer calories than chicken biscuits, muffins, or
bagels with cream cheese. The caffeine in all that coffee is increasing
everyone's stress hormones. Reaching for candy is a natural response and,
because chocolate is also a stimulant, it fuels hunger.
Ulman would do everyone a favor by passing up the Cheddar muffins and
bringing in a fruit basket to put near the printer or wherever people
gather.
For lunch, cut back the fast-food trips to once or twice a week--and make
better choices at the restaurants. At Taco Bell, for instance, the Bean
Burrito has about half the calories and a third the saturated fat of the
Zesty Chicken Border Bowl plus dressing.
On the remaining days, try the soup and salad bar at a nearby supermarket
or organize a weekly potluck lunch and limit desserts to fruit.
If the Starbucks trips give people a much-needed break, skip anything
topped with whipped cream and go for the steamed cider (180 calories) or
decaffeinated, fat-free lattes (120 calories plus 35 percent of the
calcium DV).
The Out-of-Balance
Eater
Amy Brown, Chatsworth, CA
Resumé
This 37-year-old mom and public relations manager/editor for a corporate
communications firm starts her day at 5 am, when she shares a breakfast of
raisin bread with her toddler daughter. Brown leaves the house by 6, is in
the office by 7, and works through lunch, eating her midday meal at her
desk so she can head home by 4:40 pm.
"I do most of my eating at work," she says. "I cook dinner
for my family, and have an artichoke myself because I'm too full from what
I ate at the office."
Desk-Side Dining
"When I get to work, I usually take a scone or muffin from a tray
that someone brings in for morning meetings," says Brown. When there
are no pastries, she reaches into her desk drawer for her stash of almonds
and crackers. Brown also keeps salad ingredients in the office fridge.
To complete her lunch, she brings in chicken, barbecued salmon, or other
leftovers from the previous night's dinner. Once or twice a week, she gets
a salad from a gourmet grocery store along with a cookie or brownie.
"I have two or three sweet snacks a day," admits Brown, who
often raids a bowl of peanut M&Ms in the office conference room.
Office Overhaul
Pierre advises Brown: Stop starving yourself of real food. You eat a lot
of desserts, but no balanced meals. Improve your poor eating habits and
set a good example for your daughter by having breakfast and dinner with
her, and eating the foods you want her to enjoy.
Unsweetened instant oatmeal (with a little honey, if you need some
sweetener), milk, and fruit are fast and filling. Stir some chopped nuts
into yours, too. The fiber in the cereal and fruit, and the protein in the
nuts, will help keep you satisfied for several hours, so you won't need
that scone. For a mid-morning snack, keep your favorite low-fat yogurt in
the fridge for a good dose of calcium and to quell your cravings for
sweets.
Bringing lunch from home is a great idea, but your salad needs to be
bulked up in fat or protein to keep you full throughout the afternoon.
Also, if you choose chicken instead of leftover salmon or another oily
fish in the salad, be sure to use an olive oil-based vinaigrette or
sprinkle on some nuts. For fiber, have a small whole-grain roll.
Instead of multi-tasking, give yourself 15 to 20 minutes to concentrate on
your meal. You'll feel more relaxed and satisfied, and therefore less
tempted later by peanut M&Ms. By dinnertime you'll be hungry enough to
enjoy a meal with your family. Keep dried fruit in your desk drawer and
fresh fruit in the fridge for a mid-afternoon snack.
The One-Track Snacker
Vickie Spang, Los Angeles
Resumé
The consummate professional, Spang, 53 and single and a chief marketing
officer for a law firm, often works long hours. She tends to skip dinner
unless she's invited out because it's too much trouble to cook for herself
at the end of the day. "If I'm really hungry, I'll microwave a bag of
popcorn when I get home."
Desk-Side Dining
Spang stashes Skippy Super Chunk Peanut Butter in her desk drawer (there's
another jar in her car and one in her apartment). She helps herself to a
heaping teaspoon for breakfast, another before lunch, and possibly
another, later in the day, if she works late.
Come lunchtime, Spang turns the counter at California Pizza Kitchen into
another office. While she's eating her usual--tortilla soup and barbecued
chicken salad with extra sauce--she does her reading. "I sit at the
counter, read The Wall Street Journal, and open interoffice
mail," she says.
Spang mostly drinks bottled water, but on an occasional morning, she'll
have a V8 before work. "I don't like vegetables much, so this
helps," she says. One thing you won't find in her office: a candy
dish. "I read in a professional magazine that it sends the wrong
signal; you seem more like a mom than a professional," she says.
Office Overhaul
Pierre tells Spang: You need to start your day with something nutritious
and satisfying. Try a low-fat yogurt, drinkable yogurt, or a piece of
string cheese with a few whole-grain crackers or a small whole-grain roll.
At lunchtime, since you're going to California Pizza Kitchen, how about
eating pizza once in awhile? Or pasta? Or a sandwich? You don't eat much
food at home, so your on-the-job meals need more variety and have to
provide more of the fruits and vegetables that you need every day.
Some dishes to try: Vegetarian Pizza with Japanese Eggplant (any kid will
tell you that veggies taste better when they're covered with cheese),
Broccoli and Sun-Dried Tomato Fusilli, or the Grilled Rosemary Chicken
Sandwich (stuffed with tomatoes and romaine lettuce).
Peanut butter is one of the best foods to keep in your desk. But instead
of eating it plain, spread some on a banana, apple, celery stalk, or
carrot. Pick up ready-to-eat baby carrots or apple slices (sold in a bag
of five small packages), and prewashed and precut celery sticks. To get
more grains, stash some whole-grain crackers in your desk to eat plain or
with peanut butter.
Finally, eat something for dinner if you're working late, or have a
late-afternoon snack if you're planning to skip dinner at home. You could
reheat your leftovers from California Pizza Kitchen or buy frozen meals (Tesoros
makes a great Penne Toscana and a Chipotle de Azteca--rice with creamy
pepper sauce plus grilled chicken, corn, and onions). Or have a bowl of
whole-grain cereal with milk and berries. Smart, late-in-the-day snacks
include the Athenos Traveler (hummus and pita bread packaged together), a
premade fruit smoothie, and a package of sunflower seeds.
The Dorm-Style
Diner
Lindsay Morgan, Denver
Resumé
A 30-year-old newlywed and director of community affairs for a university,
Morgan recognizes that she rarely eats healthy foods in or out of the
office. "I make a resolution, try it for 2 days, and then forget
about it for 3 months," she says. Why? "I'm happy with my
weight. I get good checkup reports from the doctor, and I play in a
softball league," she explains. "I want to do better, but I
can't get myself motivated."
Desk-Side Dining
Morgan starts her day at the office with two cups of coffee with cream and
Sweet'N Low. Three times a week, she brown-bags her lunch--often a turkey
sandwich with chips or Goldfish crackers, and a can of cola. On the
remaining days, she goes to Chipotle Mexican Grill, where she typically
orders a chicken burrito with cheese, sour cream, and black beans, washing
it down with a cola.
In the middle of the afternoon, she reaches into her desk drawer for a
family-size package of Wonka Runts or Gobstoppers, hard candies that have
been favorites since childhood. She's also fond of microwave popcorn.
"Sometimes I polish off the whole bag for dinner when I work
late," she says.
Office Overhaul
Pierre advises Morgan: You're eating like a college student--skipping
meals, drinking sodas, and noshing on chips, popcorn, and candy. You may
be happy with your weight and health now, but this high-calorie,
low-nutrient eating pattern will catch up with you. Instead of trying to
make several changes at once and failing, choose one improvement and
practice it for a month. That's about how long it takes for a new behavior
to become a habit.
Start before you get to the office with a breakfast that will keep you
satisfied and energized. Try peanut butter on a whole-wheat English
muffin, or a frozen whole-grain waffle, toasted and topped with yogurt and
fruit. Once you get adjusted to that pattern, work on lunch. Exchange your
Goldfish and potato chips for a palmful of smoked almonds. Their healthy
fats will sustain you throughout the afternoon. Next, bring in a piece of
fruit to have after lunch.
Finally, try to cut back on your caffeine. Begin by replacing the cola
with bottled water. Miss the bubbles? Try mineral water. Gradually
decrease the coffee; replace one cup with decaffeinated green tea for the
antioxidants.
While you're making these changes, buy a few more items for your desk.
Next to your candy, keep an assortment of dried fruits so sweets aren't
your only option. Also stash a StarKist Lunch To-Go kit (which includes
tuna, mayo, relish, spoon, crackers, and even a mint) in your drawer for
nights when you're working late. Another alternative: Store an Uncle Ben's
Rice or Noodle Bowl in the office freezer.
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