Generous co-workers may leave communal food treats in your office break room. Around the holidays this is particularly common because we all want to share all the great holiday food stuff, and we often just want to get that tempting food out of our own homes.
Do you automatically help yourself when you see free food available? Here are a few tips to avoid consuming those extra calories.
- Don’t go there. If you know that there is food sitting in the office break room, then avoid the area where it is kept. Eat your healthy lunch, grab your water, then head out for a quick walk around the office.
- If the food is there for a social event that you should attend, then find a way to avoid being near the food during the event. This helps you to avoid grazing on food that you neither want nor need. Eat a healthy snack before the event and choose wisely when you enjoy your holiday feast.
- Prepare yourself. Know that there is food. Know that you don’t really want/need it. Practice your self-control. Practice will help you to avoid eating food that you don’t want/need in other situations too. Practice makes almost perfect.
- Use visual cues. Leave yourself a note. If you have co-workers with a sense of humor you can leave the note with the treats. Otherwise, you can put the note where you see it as you leave your office. The note can be to-the-point, or it might be a reminder of why you are trying to be healthy, or what specific healthy habit you are working on.
Finally, don’t be the generous coworker who brings extra food to the office if you know that others are working on healthy habits. Bring healthy stuff if you truly like to share.
Office Food: Be a Kind Co-Worker