Mastering Your Relationship With Food
Feroshia R.J. Knight, MA, PCC
Food and I, we go way back. Some of my fondest memories include outings with family and friends to local Italian eateries. Pizza is as American as baseball. Sure, it originated in another country, but it's ours now. It's comfort food and reacquaints me with the childhood feelings of happiness and belonging, not to mention fullness, because who doesn't want to pig out to the max when the smell of pizza dough permeates the nostrils? Snort.
Perhaps this affinity for pizza explains why I can have lunch at my desk with a couple slices of (or a whole personal-size) vegetarian pizza, and never rise from my chair. Why would I? My happy feelings are but bites away, along with the subconscious nostalgia of camaraderie and contentment. Plus, with vegetables on top, an entire healthy food group is accounted for, I'm sure.
The real benefit is that you can get a whole lot of work done if you never leave your desk, right? But is gorging over the keyboard in attempt to climb the promotion ladder really a benefit?
Surely, you know the answer to this already. Never leaving your desk is unhealthy, especially when you're downing a meal high in salt, sugar, or empty calories. No matter what the nostalgic value of the food, not allowing your body the break it needs from the grind of work activities is a no-no. The ruse is that you're more productive when you can stay at it uninterrupted; but the reality is quite different. Here's why:
- The food we eat at our desk is frequently the worst food for our bodies. Fast food, in particular, causes unhealthy weight gain, especially around our middles—the hardest pounds to shed. This is Basic Self-Sabotage 101.
- The sedentary nature of sitting at a desk for hours encourages your circulation to slow to a snail's pace and your arteries to clog like a beaver's dam. Getting up and moving is the best way to maintain your fitness and well-being while working off that tub of ice cream you just scarfed.
- The post-lunch slump. The sudden drop in energy level from eating foods that first spike your glycemic load, only to crash them later, leaves you fuzzy headed, apathetic, and ready for a nap—not to mention, less than enthusiastic about the 9-to-5 gig sponsoring your slump.
The consequences of not taking a lunch break, eating vast quantities of unhealthy foods at your desk, or failing to physically get up and walk around during the day all conspire to make you less productive and less healthy. Here are five strategies for managing your relationship with food while you're at work:
- Plan ahead. If you're eating in, take time the night before (or even the weekend before) to prepare healthy foods that taste good too, and travel well.
- Go to the lunch room or get out of the office. Give yourself the gift of a change in scenery and a refreshed attitude. Put yourself first. Devote time and energy to your own care and feeding.
- Whatever's on the menu, eat slowly and allow food time to digest. You'll be better able to gauge when you're full and prevent over-eating or bingeing (and the resulting few hours of incredible discomfort).
- Don't wait too long to eat. If you bypass the lunch hour, you're more likely to scarf down whatever's in front of you when you finally do eat, just to kill the hunger pangs. You know what comes with that, right? A large serving of guilt and regret.
- A little help from your friends. Get a lunch partner whose goals are in sync with yours. Have that person ping you when it's time to break for lunch. Reciprocate the favor, and build on the momentum derived from living a healthier lifestyle through better food choices.
Your number one priority is self-care. Managing your nutrition and hunger needs ensures you're more clear headed and quick thinking—which should get your boss to notice you faster than a cheese-stuffed pizza explosion in the microwave.
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