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by Susan Burke
Temptation and Sedentary Jobs: Double Trouble
decent article - most of us know the details - but the stats are interesting!
Best diet intentions are often waylaid by the workplace environment. Vending machines are stocked with sugared soda and teas, candy and snack bars, fried chips, and little else.
It seems like daily someone has a birthday or some other special day that must be celebrated with cookies and cakes. Someone drops off donuts or bagels or the Girl Scouts are selling cookies.
How many times have you bought candy from co-workers collecting for their kids' sports teams or clubs?
Most workers are “trapped” at their desks, sedentary at their computer terminals, never leaving their seats except for an occasional break or to take a quick lunch.
A study in the August 2005 issue of the American Journal of Preventive Medicine shows that those workers who sit more weigh more, and those who sit longer have a 68 percent increased risk of being overweight or obese.
Although creating a healthy work environment helps both worker productivity as well as lowering company costs, whether or not your company makes it convenient or easy to eat right and stay fit in the office, YOU can take charge of your health at work, as you would at home.
After all, you’re spending at least as many or more waking hours at work than at home. Make them healthy hours.
The National Institutes of Health Obesity Education Initiative’s Guide to Behavior Change recommends that you take a close, unwavering look at your habits and see where and when you overeat. This may be the most important thing you can do to accomplish weight loss.
If you usually grab that donut when the office manager brings them in on Fridays, avoid the kitchen. If the vending machines are too tempting for you, then avoid them and bring your own snacks.
As you control what you eat and change your “grab-and-go” habits, you’ll look better and feel stronger.
Eat breakfast. People who eat breakfast do better on tests, have better concentration and energy, and are less likely to overeat during the day. If you don’t like to eat first thing in the morning, have a convenient snack when you get to work.
If I’m running late, I bring dry cereal and stir it into a cup of nonfat, sugar-free yogurt. A couple of hard-boiled eggs and a piece of fruit are convenient, nutritious and satisfying.
Snack. Schedule mid-morning and mid-afternoon snacks. Alison Tanner, eDiets’ Chief Strategist, always brings healthy snacks to work. She says that avoiding vending machines’ tempting candy bars and chips is easy because she brings her own low-sugar protein bars and fresh fruit.
If you’re not prepared to succeed, you can easily succumb to a snack attack and add a few hundred unwanted and non-nutritious calories in just a couple of bites. Those mid-afternoon slumps are when you’re most vulnerable, so have healthy ammunition at hand. If you don’t have access to a refrigerator, a small cooler with an ice pack will do the trick.
Great Cooler Desk Snacks (can eat for breakfast meal, too)
Container of nonfat, sugar-free yogurt. For breakfast, stir in a cup of unsweetened cereal that you bring in a separate baggie.
One small piece of fruit or cup of cut-up fruit, melon or berries
One cup of low-fat cottage cheese
Half a sandwich. Try half a pita filled with turkey, low-fat cheese or sliced tempeh
Baggie of baby carrots or mix of crunchy vegetables
Dry Baggie Snacks
One cup of mini shredded wheat or favorite non-sugary cereal - i like fiber one
Small box of raisins
One cup of peanuts in the shell (equals about an ounce of peanuts) or one ounce of almonds (about 22 almonds) or walnut halves (about 14 halves)
Package of oatmeal (if you have a microwave or hot water source)
Air-popped popcorn (make your own at home and bring to work)
Rice cakes (optional: add a teaspoon of no-sugar-added jam)
Eat lunch at work. Bring your lunch; don’t order in. Bringing lunch saves you money, and you eat more healthfully. Use the time you save to take a walk. Your eDiets Convenience or Combination plan shows you which healthy frozen entrees fit into your meal plan.
Your meal includes a piece of fruit and a dairy serving for balance, which you can eat as a snack a couple of hours after lunch to keep blood glucose stable through the afternoon.
Get a buddy. A work buddy who’s also health-minded is great support. He or she will motivate you to keep on track. Have a quick lunch and then walk for the remainder of your lunch hour. Start a workplace lunch group and meet daily for your afternoon stretch break.
Dining out. You don’t have to overeat or go off your program. Your eDiets meal plan has a “fast-food” option that shows members how to dine out healthfully. We don’t recommend eating out daily, but if you're pressed for time or just in the mood for a quick breakfast, lunch, dinner or snack, knowing what you’re going to order ahead of time helps you stick with the program.
Identify your “danger zones.” Learning new behaviors takes work and commitment. Decide on your goals and then identify behaviors that hold you back from achieving them.
Get UP! Get up out of your seat and walk around at least every two hours. Every couple of hours, do some chair stretches. The eDiets fitness plan shows you how to perform armchair stretching exercises.
Get a pedometer and increase your steps daily to reach a goal of at least 10,000 steps. Rob Hamilton, eDiets’ Chief Financial Officer, wears his pedometer every day and makes a point to add steps daily.
If you drive to work, leave home 10 minutes earlier every day and before walking into the office, walk around the parking lot for 10 minutes. Do it again when you leave work. Of course, park in the far end of the lot to add steps to your day.
Always take the stairs. Even if you work on the 100th floor of a huge office building, take the elevator to the 90th floor and walk up 10 flights. That’s like having a built-in gym in your own office building.
Drink water. Cool, clear water helps keep you regular, is good for your complexion and takes the edge off your appetite. Keep a half-liter bottle at your desk and one in the refrigerator (or your cooler), and drink often.
Exercise before work. Aerobic exercise is the calorie-burning exercise, and resistance training helps you tone up and build lean muscle, which helps you maintain your weight.
Alison suggests working first with a personal trainer to show you the ropes. Once you get used to the routine, follow up with a couple of sessions to keep you motivated, challenged and fit.
Rob hits the gym before work at least two to three times a week and works out with a personal trainer, too. He said that he’s changed his diet as a result of his experience and has more energy than ever. He’s motivated to continue.
Stretch. Every hour, stand up, breathe and stretch. It will relax you and help you focus on your body and your health. Find some great stretching exercises on eDiets.com’s Fitness Plan. Stretch three times each day. The stretch will take you all of two minutes, but the effects last for a couple of hours.
You CAN lose and maintain your weight at work by adopting healthy habits.
Temptation and Sedentary Jobs: Double Trouble
decent article - most of us know the details - but the stats are interesting!
Best diet intentions are often waylaid by the workplace environment. Vending machines are stocked with sugared soda and teas, candy and snack bars, fried chips, and little else.
It seems like daily someone has a birthday or some other special day that must be celebrated with cookies and cakes. Someone drops off donuts or bagels or the Girl Scouts are selling cookies.
How many times have you bought candy from co-workers collecting for their kids' sports teams or clubs?
Most workers are “trapped” at their desks, sedentary at their computer terminals, never leaving their seats except for an occasional break or to take a quick lunch.
A study in the August 2005 issue of the American Journal of Preventive Medicine shows that those workers who sit more weigh more, and those who sit longer have a 68 percent increased risk of being overweight or obese.
Although creating a healthy work environment helps both worker productivity as well as lowering company costs, whether or not your company makes it convenient or easy to eat right and stay fit in the office, YOU can take charge of your health at work, as you would at home.
After all, you’re spending at least as many or more waking hours at work than at home. Make them healthy hours.
The National Institutes of Health Obesity Education Initiative’s Guide to Behavior Change recommends that you take a close, unwavering look at your habits and see where and when you overeat. This may be the most important thing you can do to accomplish weight loss.
If you usually grab that donut when the office manager brings them in on Fridays, avoid the kitchen. If the vending machines are too tempting for you, then avoid them and bring your own snacks.
As you control what you eat and change your “grab-and-go” habits, you’ll look better and feel stronger.
Eat breakfast. People who eat breakfast do better on tests, have better concentration and energy, and are less likely to overeat during the day. If you don’t like to eat first thing in the morning, have a convenient snack when you get to work.
If I’m running late, I bring dry cereal and stir it into a cup of nonfat, sugar-free yogurt. A couple of hard-boiled eggs and a piece of fruit are convenient, nutritious and satisfying.
Snack. Schedule mid-morning and mid-afternoon snacks. Alison Tanner, eDiets’ Chief Strategist, always brings healthy snacks to work. She says that avoiding vending machines’ tempting candy bars and chips is easy because she brings her own low-sugar protein bars and fresh fruit.
If you’re not prepared to succeed, you can easily succumb to a snack attack and add a few hundred unwanted and non-nutritious calories in just a couple of bites. Those mid-afternoon slumps are when you’re most vulnerable, so have healthy ammunition at hand. If you don’t have access to a refrigerator, a small cooler with an ice pack will do the trick.
Great Cooler Desk Snacks (can eat for breakfast meal, too)
Container of nonfat, sugar-free yogurt. For breakfast, stir in a cup of unsweetened cereal that you bring in a separate baggie.
One small piece of fruit or cup of cut-up fruit, melon or berries
One cup of low-fat cottage cheese
Half a sandwich. Try half a pita filled with turkey, low-fat cheese or sliced tempeh
Baggie of baby carrots or mix of crunchy vegetables
Dry Baggie Snacks
One cup of mini shredded wheat or favorite non-sugary cereal - i like fiber one
Small box of raisins
One cup of peanuts in the shell (equals about an ounce of peanuts) or one ounce of almonds (about 22 almonds) or walnut halves (about 14 halves)
Package of oatmeal (if you have a microwave or hot water source)
Air-popped popcorn (make your own at home and bring to work)
Rice cakes (optional: add a teaspoon of no-sugar-added jam)
Eat lunch at work. Bring your lunch; don’t order in. Bringing lunch saves you money, and you eat more healthfully. Use the time you save to take a walk. Your eDiets Convenience or Combination plan shows you which healthy frozen entrees fit into your meal plan.
Your meal includes a piece of fruit and a dairy serving for balance, which you can eat as a snack a couple of hours after lunch to keep blood glucose stable through the afternoon.
Get a buddy. A work buddy who’s also health-minded is great support. He or she will motivate you to keep on track. Have a quick lunch and then walk for the remainder of your lunch hour. Start a workplace lunch group and meet daily for your afternoon stretch break.
Dining out. You don’t have to overeat or go off your program. Your eDiets meal plan has a “fast-food” option that shows members how to dine out healthfully. We don’t recommend eating out daily, but if you're pressed for time or just in the mood for a quick breakfast, lunch, dinner or snack, knowing what you’re going to order ahead of time helps you stick with the program.
Identify your “danger zones.” Learning new behaviors takes work and commitment. Decide on your goals and then identify behaviors that hold you back from achieving them.
Get UP! Get up out of your seat and walk around at least every two hours. Every couple of hours, do some chair stretches. The eDiets fitness plan shows you how to perform armchair stretching exercises.
Get a pedometer and increase your steps daily to reach a goal of at least 10,000 steps. Rob Hamilton, eDiets’ Chief Financial Officer, wears his pedometer every day and makes a point to add steps daily.
If you drive to work, leave home 10 minutes earlier every day and before walking into the office, walk around the parking lot for 10 minutes. Do it again when you leave work. Of course, park in the far end of the lot to add steps to your day.
Always take the stairs. Even if you work on the 100th floor of a huge office building, take the elevator to the 90th floor and walk up 10 flights. That’s like having a built-in gym in your own office building.
Drink water. Cool, clear water helps keep you regular, is good for your complexion and takes the edge off your appetite. Keep a half-liter bottle at your desk and one in the refrigerator (or your cooler), and drink often.
Exercise before work. Aerobic exercise is the calorie-burning exercise, and resistance training helps you tone up and build lean muscle, which helps you maintain your weight.
Alison suggests working first with a personal trainer to show you the ropes. Once you get used to the routine, follow up with a couple of sessions to keep you motivated, challenged and fit.
Rob hits the gym before work at least two to three times a week and works out with a personal trainer, too. He said that he’s changed his diet as a result of his experience and has more energy than ever. He’s motivated to continue.
Stretch. Every hour, stand up, breathe and stretch. It will relax you and help you focus on your body and your health. Find some great stretching exercises on eDiets.com’s Fitness Plan. Stretch three times each day. The stretch will take you all of two minutes, but the effects last for a couple of hours.
You CAN lose and maintain your weight at work by adopting healthy habits.
