Workplace Wellness: 8 Healthy Eating Strategies for the Next Office Party
I’m often asked how to make healthy food choices at office parties, especially when you know you’ll be dealing with a smorgasbord of sugar, fat, and endless carbs during the holiday season. mmm. When is there no seasonal party? What about those delicious desserts and snacks that arrive at the office for every birthday, anniversary, and graduation party? Or the leftover food from home that no one wants because it’s too fat for the family but not for your friends at the office?
Strategy is the key. Just as you need a good strategy to achieve your work goals; You need a good strategy to achieve your dietary goals. The first step is to have one and stick with it. Planning ahead will not only help you survive, but you’ll feel good knowing you’re in control of your food, rather than your food controlling you. If you completely mess up your eating plan, remember to enjoy the celebration and then the next eating plan is to eat a big salad packed with fresh fruits, vegetables, and nuts to get you moving in the right direction.
Here are some tips to help you maintain a healthy weight, while still celebrating the office holidays to the fullest.
1. Make a policy
In many companies, employees are getting together and implementing an exclusive “healthy food” zone. Like many of the schools, there is no candy out loud. Instead of celebrating everyone’s birthday separately with cake and ice cream, throw a big celebration once a month. Instead of cake and ice cream, everyone brings a healthy snack to share. It continues to be celebrated with food and friends. What could be better?
2. Plan ahead
Never go to a party hungry. Bring a snack to work and have it about 30 minutes before the party starts. Looking for ideas? How about an apple or a handful of walnuts, celery with almond butter? Accompany your snack with a large glass of water with fresh lemon. It’s good for digestion and fills you up.
3. Bring the dishes – Think small
Does everyone bring a plate to share? Potluck-style parties? So be the one to bring the dishes and think small! Not only will you carry less food but you will be able to make more trips giving you the feeling of eating more than you really are. So stick to small, dessert-sized plates. Serve yourself small portions and take small bites. Chew more. Some health experts teach that your mouth is like a mini juicer. Chew food 100 times to turn it into liquid. Chewing food carefully increases the ease of digestion as it goes down and makes the food last longer on the plate. Studies have shown that people eat more simply because there is more on their plate.
4. Bring your own food
You don’t have to worry about food at the office party if you bring a plate to share. By bringing your own food, you know there will be at least one healthy dish to choose from. Fruits and vegetables are easy to transport, do not need refrigeration and do not spoil quickly. That makes bringing a plate of fresh fruits and vegetables to share a great choice. Or how about a big green salad loaded with fresh organic fruits, vegetables and nuts? If you’re looking for a recipe for a delicious healthy salad dressing, try this one: cup cold-pressed extra virgin olive oil, cup organic apple cider vinegar, cup freshly squeezed lemon, 1 teaspoon lemon zest, salt and pepper to taste. For the dressing on the salad just before serving. Shake.
5. Enjoy your favorite foods
What is your favorite item at the party? eat that If you don’t love it, leave it. Especially when your favorite food is a carb-heavy dish, eat just a little. Portion control of these foods is the strategy here. Add as many healthy options as you can. It is important to always eat something healthy when you eat something good, not so healthy. It’s about balance.
6. Keep a track record
Keeping track of the foods you eat will help you stay on the path to better health. Writing what you are eating draws your attention to what you are eating. Many of us eat unconsciously. Which means that we really don’t know when, what or how much we eat on any given day. You do not believe me? So what did you have for lunch the day before yesterday? Any easy way to keep track is to make a list of the foods I want to eat, and then “check off” the good foods as you eat them. For example, the list would include 3 fruits, 4 vegetables, 2 ounces of nuts, 36 grams of fiber, etc. This method reinforces the feeling of accomplishment and lets you know what else you need to eat to reach your goals.
Journaling is another method of keeping track. When you use a journal to keep track of not only the foods you eat, but also how you feel at the time you eat them. Keeping a journal helps you stay accountable and more aware of the unconscious eating that sabotages your eating strategy.
Trying to lose weight? There are many studies addressing the weight loss benefits of writing down what you eat. Some say that writing down what you eat can double your weight loss. Weight Watchers has created a weight loss program based on writing down what you eat, keeping a list of target foods, and weekly weigh-ins. According to Weight Watchers, those who documented eating, drinking and exercising every day lost twice as much over six months than people who did it occasionally or not at all.
7. Eat more fruits and vegetables
Fruits and vegetables are low in calories, eliminate fat, fight aging and will keep you healthy. When your diet is full of fruits and vegetables, you wake up better, sleep better, have more energy, and get sick less often. If you are wondering what the new dietary guidelines for fruit and vegetable consumption are, here is a website for you. www.frutasyveggiesmorematters.org When you overeat at the office or anywhere else, be sure to “rebalance” your digestive system and keep food “on the go” by adding a wide variety of fresh, raw, organic fruits and vegetables.
Along with the antioxidants, minerals, and vitamins found in vegetables, fiber is essential for a smoothly running digestive system. When you eat more fiber you avoid constipation problems. Vegetables can help you lose weight, fight diseases and be much healthier. The vegetables with the most antioxidants and fiber are kale, spinach, tomatoes, carrots, broccoli, and cauliflower.
Fruits help flush out toxins that result from a diet of overly processed foods, artificial ingredients, alcohol, junk food, and more. Fruits that “cleanse and regulate” the system are apples, peaches, pineapple, papaya, and oranges.
Amp it up by including antioxidant-rich fruits, such as raspberries, grapes, and cherries, which help minimize damaging free radical damage that occurs after a meal. Eating caloric meals without antioxidant-rich foods like fruits and vegetables can have harmful effects over time. Take a complete food supplement
8. Take a Whole Food Supplement
The food we eat is generally of poor quality and has been stripped of important nutrients. Most of us do not consume enough fresh fruits and vegetables to keep our bodies healthy. Many of us get our whole grains from instant rice, refined wheat breads, pastas, and cereals. We eat a lot of prepared and packaged foods. The Restaurant Association reports that a quarter of Americans eat at fast food restaurants every day. Americans are overfed and undernourished.
The food we eat does not provide our body with the nutrition it needs to survive and be healthy. We are starving our bodies and we are sick. We suffer from diabetes, heart attacks, obesity, and the list goes on and on. Not all supplements are created equal: only whole food supplements fill the nutritional gap. Whole food supplements are made by concentrating foods for use in supplements. The whole food supplement we recommend is Juice Plus+.
So there you have it. Eight quick strategies you can apply starting at your next office party.
Hmm too many? Start with just one and then work your way up. When you’ve just made one, you’re 1/8 of the way there! If you only make a strategy, you are 1/8 better than if you do nothing! It’s the little changes that make a big difference when it comes to your health and wellness. I need help? Seek the help of a dietitian, medical professional, or health coach to help you on your way.