Whatever you were eating at work, you have company: Recent studies, including two from the American Dietetic Association, show that more than a third of office workers are eating breakfast alongside their keyboards; as many as two-thirds regularly munch on lunch in their work offices; nine in 10 snack on the job; and 7% are even eating dinner desk-side. Corporate America seems to be turning into a giant kitchen, where eating on the job has become a necessity for the time-crunched and stressed. The average “lunch hour” has shrunk to 36 minutes—and chocolate has become a bottom-drawer staple (its feel-good endorphins make tension easier to handle). But the number one reason for desk-side eating is hunger. More from Prevention: 7 Ways To Work Out At Work “Most office food isn’t satisfying,” says Baltimore nutritionist Colleen Pierre, RD. “Doughnuts, coffee, pastries, and candy give you temporary energy, but you’re hungry a few hours later.” It doesn’t take long for the quick work fix to become a pattern. So Prevention tried an intervention. First, we found volunteers at four work sites who let us rummage through their desks, briefcases, office kitchens, and coat pockets, leaving no crumb uninspected. Then Pierre gave the volunteers an office makeover—a corporate downsizing, if you will. Here’s her analysis and habit-breaking eating strategies.
The Group Nosh
The Haystack Group, Marietta, GAResumé “A sweet tooth is a job requirement here,” admits Stefanie Long, director of public relations, who shares this consumer research office with six others. Not a single one is on a diet, and all enjoy the same kinds of food. “When we chow down, we do it together. It’s a social experience,” says Holly Cline, an account manager. Desk-Side Dining Most of the work crew eat breakfast and lunch at the office. Once a week, the company’s founder, Bonnie Ulman, brings in a baker’s dozen of mini Cheddar muffins. “I believe in taking care of the staff,” she says. Other days might begin with eating takeout Chick-fil-A Chicken Biscuits (buttermilk biscuits with a fried chicken patty) or bagels and cream cheese. “Despite the fact that the coffeemaker is going all day and we just got an espresso machine, one of us goes to the coffee shop—sometimes twice a day—with an office order for tall mochas, lattes, and hot apple ciders,” reports Cline. On stressful days, she says, they drink larger, 16-ounce cups of their caffeinated drink of choice with an extra shot of espresso. At least three times a week the group returns to Chick-fil-A for lunch, bringing back fried chicken sandwiches, fries, and Cokes. Alternatively, they might hit Taco Bell for Zesty Chicken Borders Bowls and an occasional Nachos Supreme. Or they’ll go for chips and sandwiches from a nearby deli. Occasionally, they organize a potluck lunch. “At the last one, the chocolate-covered strawberries were the biggest hit,” recalls Long. Between the sugar and caffeine highs and lows, the entire office usually slumps around 3 pm. Their solution: chocolate. Last fall, to celebrate the completion of a book Ulman wrote, the group enjoyed eating two 3-pound bags of M&Ms and a pound each of Hershey’s Kisses, candy corn, and candy pumpkins. After three days, only a handful of Kisses remained at work. “Once someone brought in apples, but they rotted in the fridge,” says Cline. “Work is the place to be bad,” says Long. “No one here judges anyone. When you mention to someone that you ate half a bag of Oreos, they tell you it’s okay because they did, too.” Office Overhaul Pierre says: Everyone should agree to have a breakfast that delivers more nutrients and fiber in fewer calories than chicken biscuits, muffins, or bagels with cream cheese. The caffeine in all that coffee is increasing everyone’s stress hormones. Reaching for candy is a natural response and, because chocolate is also a stimulant, it fuels hunger. (Check out 6 Unbelievably Bad Fast Food Breakfasts.) Ulman would do everyone a favor by passing up the Cheddar muffins and bringing in a fruit basket to put near the printer or wherever people gather. For lunch, cut back the fast-food trips to once or twice a week—and make better choices at the restaurants. At Taco Bell, for instance, the Bean Burrito has about half the calories and a third the saturated fat of the Zesty Chicken Border Bowl plus dressing. On the remaining days, try the soup and salad bar at a nearby supermarket or organize a weekly potluck lunch and limit desserts to fruit. If the coffee runs give people a much-needed break, skip anything topped with whipped cream and go for the steamed cider (180 calories) or decaffeinated, fat-free lattes (120 calories plus 35 percent of the calcium DV).
The Out-of-Balance Eater
Amy Brown, Chatsworth, CAResumé This 37-year-old mom and public relations manager/editor for a corporate communications firm starts her day at 5 am, when she shares a breakfast of raisin bread with her toddler daughter. Brown leaves the house by 6, is in the office by 7, and works through lunch, eating her midday meal at her desk so she can head home by 4:40 pm. “I do most of my eating at work,” she says. “I cook dinner for my family, and have an artichoke myself because I’m too full from what I ate at the office.” Desk-Side Dining “When I get to work, I usually take a scone or muffin from a tray that someone brings in for morning meetings,” says Brown. When there are no pastries, she reaches into her desk drawer for her stash of almonds and crackers. Brown also keeps salad ingredients in the office fridge. To complete her lunch, she brings in chicken, barbecued salmon, or other leftovers from the previous night’s dinner. Once or twice a week, she gets a salad from a gourmet grocery store along with a cookie or brownie. “I have two or three sweet snacks a day,” admits Brown, who often raids a bowl of peanut M&Ms in the office conference room. Office Overhaul Pierre advises Brown: Stop starving yourself of real food. You eat a lot of desserts, but no balanced meals. Improve your poor eating at work habits and set a good example for your daughter by having breakfast and dinner with her, and eating the foods you want her to enjoy. Unsweetened instant oatmeal (with a little honey, if you need some sweetener), milk, and fruit are fast and filling. Stir some chopped nuts into yours, too. The fiber in the cereal and fruit, and the protein in the nuts, will help keep you satisfied for several hours, so you won’t need that scone. For a mid-morning snack, keep your favorite low-fat yogurt in the fridge for a good dose of calcium and to quell your cravings for sweets. Bringing lunch from home is a great idea, but your salad needs to be bulked up in fat or protein to keep you full throughout the afternoon. Also, if you choose chicken instead of leftover salmon or another oily fish in the salad, be sure to use an olive oil-based vinaigrette or sprinkle on some nuts. For fiber, have a small whole-grain roll. Instead of multi-tasking, give yourself 15 to 20 minutes to concentrate on your meal. You’ll feel more relaxed and satisfied, and therefore less tempted later by peanut M&Ms. By dinnertime you’ll be hungry enough to enjoy a meal with your family. Keep dried fruit in your desk drawer and fresh fruit in the fridge for a mid-afternoon snack. More from Prevention: Healthy Snack Ideas For Work
The One-Track Snacker
Vickie Spang, Los Angeles Resumé The consummate professional, Spang, 53 and single and a chief marketing officer for a law firm, often works long hours. She tends to skip dinner unless she’s invited out because it’s too much trouble to cook for herself at the end of the day. “If I’m really hungry, I’ll microwave a bag of popcorn when I get home.” Desk-Side Dining Spang stashes Skippy Super Chunk Peanut Butter in her desk drawer (there’s another jar in her car and one in her apartment). She helps herself to a heaping teaspoon for breakfast, another before lunch, and possibly another, later in the work day, if she works late. Come lunchtime, Spang turns the counter at California Pizza Kitchen into another office. While she’s eating her usual—tortilla soup and barbecued chicken salad with extra sauce—she does her reading. “I sit at the counter, read The Wall Street Journal, and open interoffice mail,” she says. Spang mostly drinks bottled water, but on an occasional morning, she’ll have a V8 before work. “I don’t like vegetables much, so this helps,” she says. One thing you won’t find in her office: a candy dish. “I read in a professional magazine that it sends the wrong signal; you seem more like a mom than a professional,” she says. Office Overhaul Pierre tells Spang: You need to start your work day with something nutritious and satisfying. Try a low-fat yogurt, drinkable yogurt, or a piece of string cheese with a few whole-grain crackers or a small whole-grain roll. At lunchtime, since you’re going to California Pizza Kitchen, how about eating pizza once in awhile? Or pasta? Or a sandwich? You don’t eat much food at home, so your on-the-job meals need more variety and have to provide more of the fruits and vegetables that you need every day. Some dishes to try: Vegetarian Pizza with Japanese Eggplant (any kid will tell you that veggies taste better when they’re covered with cheese), Broccoli and Sun-Dried Tomato Fusilli, or the Grilled Rosemary Chicken Sandwich (stuffed with tomatoes and romaine lettuce). Peanut butter is one of the best foods to keep in your desk. But instead of eating it plain, spread some on a banana, apple, celery stalk, or carrot. Pick up ready-to-eat baby carrots or apple slices (sold in a bag of five small packages), and prewashed and precut celery sticks. To get more grains, stash some whole-grain crackers in your work desk to eat plain or with peanut butter. Finally, eat something for dinner if you’re working late, or have a late-afternoon snack if you’re planning to skip dinner at home. You could reheat your leftovers from California Pizza Kitchen or buy frozen meals (Tesoros makes a great Penne Toscana and a Chipotle de Azteca—rice with creamy pepper sauce plus grilled chicken, corn, and onions). Or have a bowl of whole-grain cereal with milk and berries. Smart, late-in-the-day snacks include the Athenos Traveler (hummus and pita bread packaged together), a premade fruit smoothie, and a package of sunflower seeds.
The Dorm-Style Diner
Lindsay Morgan, Denver Resumé A 30-year-old newlywed and director of community affairs for a university, Morgan recognizes that she rarely eats healthy foods in or out of the office. “I make a resolution, try it for two days, and then forget about it forthree months,” she says. Why? “I’m happy with my weight. I get good checkup reports from the doctor, and I play in a softball league,” she explains. “I want to do better, but I can’t get myself motivated.” Desk-Side Dining Morgan starts her work day at the office with two cups of coffee with cream and Sweet’N Low. Three times a week, she brown-bags her lunch—often a turkey sandwich with chips or Goldfish crackers, and a can of cola. On the remaining days, she goes to Chipotle Mexican Grill, where she typically orders a chicken burrito with cheese, sour cream, and black beans, washing it down with a cola. In the middle of the afternoon, she reaches into her desk drawer for a family-size package of Wonka Runts or Gobstoppers, hard candies that have been favorites since childhood. She’s also fond of microwave popcorn. “Sometimes I polish off the whole bag for dinner when I work late,” she says. Office Overhaul Pierre advises Morgan: You’re eating like a college student—skipping meals, drinking sodas, and noshing on chips, popcorn, and candy. You may be happy with your weight and health now, but this high-calorie, low-nutrient eating pattern will catch up with you. Instead of trying to make several changes at once and failing, choose one improvement and practice it for a month. That’s about how long it takes for a new behavior to become a habit. Start before you get to work with a breakfast that will keep you satisfied and energized. Try peanut butter on a whole-wheat English muffin, or a frozen whole-grain waffle, toasted and topped with yogurt and fruit. Once you get adjusted to that pattern, work on lunch. Exchange your Goldfish and potato chips for a palmful of smoked almonds. Their healthy fats will sustain you throughout the afternoon. Next, bring in a piece of fruit to have after lunch. Finally, try to cut back on your caffeine. Begin by replacing the cola with bottled water. Miss the bubbles? Try mineral water. Gradually decrease the coffee; replace one cup with decaffeinated green tea for the antioxidants. (And don’t switch the cola for diet. See 7 Gross Side Effects Of Drinking Diet Soda.) While you’re making these changes, buy a few more items for eating at work. Next to your candy, keep an assortment of dried fruits so sweets aren’t your only option. Also stash a StarKist Lunch To-Go kit (which includes tuna, mayo, relish, spoon, crackers, and even a mint) in your drawer for nights when you’re working late. Another alternative: Store an Uncle Ben’s Rice or Noodle Bowl in the office freezer. More from Prevention: Build A Power Sandwich
