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Burgers, Donuts and Fries Oh! My!

Picture this! You have been doing so well at home for the past week and then you go into work. You find out that your lovely co-worker decided to swing by Dunkin D's and buy donuts for the whole office. You appreciate the gesture on the outside, but on the inside you scream "Why did you do this to me today!" Still you try to pass them up, but your favorite flavor is peeking out of the box. So you give in to not one, but two donuts.

What to do! This scenario happens everyday in the workplace to people who are on a diet. So how you do deal with the temptation? Well it should start before you even get to work. Expect the unexpected. The workplace is full of surprise temptations. Maybe there is a birthday party for a co-worker with cake and ice cream. There could be a client or rep bring a last minute lunch that is made up of pizza and wings. Where I work patients and drug reps alike pop in with snacks and junk food all the time. A drop load of candy is almost certain on a weekly basis. If you have the mind set that you will be tempted, you can do some mental conditioning before you are faced with the food challenge. You do have a choice of sharing with a co-worker, eating a nibble or eating a satisfying breakfast before work to make you less tempted. For the lunch time temptations where most of us get a sugar crash, you can avoid the fast food blvd next to work and bring your own lunch. You can also bring a pre-lunch snack to work so that if you are tempted to eat that catered lunch, you won't binge. Be sure to bring snacks to work that are high protein so you feel fuller longer, like nuts. Try to avoid items high in sugar, simple starches and ones that have no nutritional value. Some of my favorite snacks are high fiber bread with peanut butter and 100% fruit jam, fresh veggies with low- fat cream cheese and low-fat chicken salad over tomatoes. Avoid having any kind of candy, chips, cakes, cookies or pies, they do nothing for you and only make you eat more.

Another thing to consider about diet and the workplace is stress. When we are stressed we tend to eat more and tend to eat way past the full feeling in our stomachs. If you keep all the bad food at your desk it will be too accessible during the time you reach for it. If you must have some junk food, keep it in your car so you have to work to get it or just make it less accessible.

Another strategy is to form a lunch time or break time walk. Walking can help you feel less stressed and help you to eat less. Also at work park far away as possible, take the stairs and get up and walk around when you get the chance. You can also get your workplace involved with a healthy diet. You can volunteer to bring healthy snacks to share with co-workers and maybe they will catch on with the idea. If your boss or supervisor is open-minded suggest the next business lunch to have healthy choices.

In the end the workplace can be a trap for dieters, but if you live smart you can overcome the temptation.

Learn more about this author, Carri Night.
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