The holiday season is upon us! And, that usually means parties and tempting goodies in the workplace. So be careful! Munching on too many goodies at your workplace combined with other personal festivities can lead to weight gain.
Here are nine tips to help you avoid workplace weight gain traps!
1) Put a lid on it! Cover goodies with foil or a lid to avoid mindless munching.
2) Show off the veggies! Leave the veggies uncovered to encourage lower calorie choices when grazing.
3) Share! When dining with a coworker, consider splitting larger portions when it’s appropriate.
4) Be different! Try socializing and celebrating without food.
5) Limit Liquid Calories. Keep cocktails and liquid calories to a minimum at the workplace. Saving these types of drinks for your personal time can cut down greatly on calorie consumption during the holidays.
6) Avoid eating at your desk. Unless it’s the lunch you brought from home with planned portion sizes, eating at your desk can cause you to overeat. It’s similar to eating in front of the TV. If you’re not careful, you’ll eat a larger portion than you need without noticing it.
If you’re going to eat one of the office goodies, eat it in the break room. Taking it back to your desk will make it too easy to repeat the process throughout the day.
7) Limit the “office feeder” influence. Every workplace has people that “love” to feed everyone. It’s in their nature!
Have a quick department or office pow-wow and agree to only have extra goodies one day of the week during the holiday season. This will minimize hurt feelings and can help you and your coworkers watch your waist lines as well!
8) Set the example! Bring in healthier snacks and replace candy with dried fruit or nuts.
9) Support each other! If you know someone is trying to lose weight, you may not want to advertise the awesome fudge that showed up mysteriously in the break room or give them a huge box of chocolates for a gift.
These tips can be used in your volunteer workplace as well. Try using them at your local church, your kid’s school, and various other non-profit environments.
It is totally possible to enjoy the festivities of the season without the weight gain!
Cheers!
Jennifer