Why Work Snacks Are The Enemy Of Weight Loss

October 17, 2018 Ashley 0 Comments

Sure: food is a fabulous perk of going to work.

But just how many extra calories do you think those board room donuts, free pizzas at meetings, and random snack baskets from clients add up to? Go ahead. Take a guess. I’ll wait. Well, thanks to the tendency toward caloric underestimation bias, you probably just low-balled that figure. But, if you guessed somewhere above a grand, then you’re absolutely correct. According to the CDC, it’s 1,277. Weekly. Need a weight translation for that to matter? Done: that’s nearly 20 pounds you’re packing on per year from birthday cake, vending machines, and the other unfavorable food choices made on the go through the workday. Yes, freebies are sweet. But all the complimentary noms we receive do, in fact, have a weekly price tag – calorically speaking.

And why?

Is it just because they’re empty calories? Starchy carbs? In part, sure. But, really, it’s likely causing a rise on your scale for the same reason road trip munchies, movie theater goodies, and the dinner ingredients (you sneakily snack on prior to the actual meal) pack on the pounds. We tend to mentally diminish them. (Just like you did with that 1,277 number up above.) See, when you sit down to a planned meal, all contained on a plate, two things are happening. First, you have a specific serving size in front of you. There’s nothing you can easily reach for more of (like you can when canister of candy corn or a box’ve Papa John’s is sitting out). Second, a designated meal time forces you to focus on the fact that you’re taking in calories. The spotlight’s on supper. Even if you’re doing it kinda mindlessly (AKA while watching T.V.), that’s a passive enough activity – compared to the high stress factor of performing paid tasks that let you “forget” you’re on your fourth helping of that toothsome blueberry crumble Linda brought in. It’s simple. When we grab snacks from a platter in the middle of a meeting or keep reaching for more morsels of mixed nuts in the middle of a car ride, we tend not to tally our calorie count. We almost feel justified, as we’re being productive or in a state of discomfort. What’s more, in a high stress environment, we’re likely to overdo it as munching sends a mental signal saying that we’re safe. And, since these aren’t “real meals”, we tend to “forget” about them later when we’re trying to decide on the table sized steak or the slenderizing salad.

So what’s the fix?

To nix the work nibbles. Just don’t do it. I look at free food, for the most part, as being toxic to weight loss. A non option. I mean, don’t get me wrong: it’s super sweet of you to bring in goodies for everyone. But, unless you brought a broccoli and baby carrot platter, I’m probably gonna politely decline. (Because I dunno how to moderate whatsoever when it comes to scrumptious stuff.) And, before I catch hate, the other side of this is obvi not to starve yourself all day. (Let’s not be extra here; abstaining from unhealthy food choices does not an anorexic make.) I’m just saying that it’s easy to succumb to some terrible food choices when we’re stressed. Case in point? A fellow student who just left our exam today saying, “Why am I eating skittles?! I have a beautiful, well balanced sandwich in my car!” It was rhetorical. She knew she was stress snacking. The candy was being offered from our well meaning instructors. But, if you just set a rule against it ahead of time, then you won’t have to worry about it later when your wits are on the fritz.

And that rule should be easy to recall – seeing as we learned it in our youth.

So, instead, plan ahead.

Have something equal parts savory, satiating, and weight loss (or just generally health) friendly at the ready. Already feeling resistance to that perfectly doable and reasonable piece of advice? I hear ya. I struggled with this too. So many people claim they “don’t have time” to do that. (Including me, before I made it a priority.) Honestly, I promise that the only reason you’re resisting it right now is because it’s just not part of your routine. (Yet.) All ya gotta do is start a day at a time. Do it tomorrow. Then repeat it the next. That way, you’ll slowly stamp it in to your regimen. Struggling to remember? Or set enough time aside to do it? No problem if you’ve got a smart phone. Simply set an alarm to remind you to pack it the eve before and another alarm to remind you to take it with you to work each day. Before you know it, it’ll be second nature. What’s more, your first step in a healthy direction will bleed over into other areas of your life as well.

So, if that 1,277 figure seems big, let it motivate you so that your figure won’t be.

Pack your own healthy snacks and you won’t pack on the pounds!