Treat food as fuel - the Holistic Helper's guide to wellbeing and work: part 5   2 Jul 2014

Tricia Alach

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Tricia Alach

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In theory eating well at work should be no more difficult than eating well in the other areas of your life but for a lot of people, it just is.  From what I've observed this is down to a common set of what I call 'derailers' which can undermine the best of intentions when it comes to healthy eating in the workplace.  People's relationship to food is often complex and social environments like workplaces infuse the eating and sharing of food with added complications like the expectation to conform to cultural norms around politeness and reciprocity meaning that decisions about what and when you eat - decisions that should be a purely personal choice - are often fraught.

Eating for health vs. weight

My focus in this post is on how you can eat well for health (not weight) which means making the focus on food's nutritional value rather than calories and adopting eating patterns that help counter some of the health challenges that come from spending 8+ hours a day in the workplace.

To me, it’s also about optimising what you eat during the work day in order to better function in your role because, as Virginia Woolf once said 'one cannot think well if one has not dined well'. So even though some days it might seem like your job is just to send emails, it’s important to remember that this not actually true.  Professionals get paid to THINK and more importantly to think creatively and strategically, to have innovative ideas and figure out how to turn these ideas into funds which can be paid to shareholders (profit sector), used to pay for social goods (government sector) or invested back into the community (charity and non-profit sector) - none of which can be done on a crappy diet of nutritionally void processed food.

So start thinking about food as nourishing fuel and focus on how you can make everything you put in your mouth count in health and vitality terms. This will inevitably help you become more effective at work AND a happier, healthier person in other areas of your life.

Common derailers and some counter-strategies

For every potential derailer there are a number of proactive strategies and tactics you can employ to stop yourself 'going off the rails'.  The key thing is to be aware of the particular dynamics of your workplace environment as well as your own tendencies and habits when put on the spot.

Free Food: most professional workplaces will have free food on offer on a daily basis. Breakfast meetings, catered lunches, gift baskets from clients mean that on any given day there will invariably be plates of pastries, cookies, muffins, semi-wilted sandwiches and bottles of fizz (alcohol and not) sitting around for anyone who wants to help themselves. Here's the thing though, just because its free doesn't mean you have to eat it. And this applies whether you are in the meeting where the food is first served OR invited to pick over the left-overs.

Strategy 1: Eat before you come to work

Arriving at work hungry will inevitably lower your resolve not to eat whatever is on offer, even if you know it’s doing your body no favours.  Breakfast is still the most important meal of the day and ensuring you arrive at work full means you'll be much less tempted to indulge in anything else. Personally, I don't think you can go far wrong with porridge for breakfast. Oats are amazing - a source of both soluble and insoluble fibre, proven to lower cholesterol and regulate blood sugar levels, protect against cancer and lower the risk of heart disease, are packed with vitamins and minerals and are great for digestion. Recent studies are even showing that regular servings of oats can increase the growth of good bacteria in your gut in the same way as expensive pro biotic drinks but at a fraction of the cost.  So let's hear it for the mighty oat!

Strategy 2: Say you're saving it for later

Often the reason we eat what we're offered at these meetings is that we feel rude refusing, especially if the spread has been provided by a client OR we know the PA has gone to a lot of trouble to organise the catering. If this is the case, you can always take something, wrap it in a napkin and say that you're going to eat it later - but don't.

Celebrations: closely linked to free food but even harder to say no to sometimes are celebrations - birthdays, big wins, anniversaries, engagements and so on.  Colleagues often like to share their good news and invariably this will involve the provision of some sort of sugary treat to toast the day.  Sugary as in cake or sugary as in alcohol or sometimes both - all of which will play havoc with your blood sugar levels thus affecting your concentration, energy levels and mood for the rest of the day.

Strategy 3: Enjoying the spirit but not the substance of the celebration

The extent to which you want to limit your participation in the eating and drinking that goes along with celebrations will depend on the frequency with which they occur in your office.  If this is a once a year thing then a strategy is probably not needed - simply enjoy! - but if you're in one of those busy offices where someone is bringing in a cake or a bottle of bubbles every other day then figuring out your 'stand on celebrations' is more important. The 'saving it for later' tactic can work quite well here, taking a piece of cake to eat for afternoon tea and then not or accepting a glass of bubbly for the toast but just not drinking it mean you can participate in the celebratory aspects of the event without experiencing any of the downsides.

Strategy 4: Not listening to the voice in your head

Often the reason we find it so hard to say no to food offered by other people is that we have these voices in our head telling us it’s either (1) wrong to waste food or (b) rude to refuse it and sometimes both. And while in a global sense I would agree with the first one, especially when there are so many people going hungry in the world, I don't think it’s a good enough reason to compromise your own health.  On the second point, I am much less persuaded.  It's perfectly acceptable to refuse food that you haven't asked for and don't want. Adopt the Kate Moss strategy and just say 'no thanks', without explanation or apology and most people will accept it without question except perhaps for the feeders...

The feeder phenomenon: before I came to the UK, I had never encountered a self-professed feeder in the workplace (I'd always thought it was some sort of sexual fetish) but since I've been here I've discovered that there are certain individuals, usually women, who self-label as such. These feeders regularly bring food into the workplace for other people to eat (interestingly they often eat very little themselves....) and if you've ever been at a meeting attended by 'competing feeders' you'll know that this can amount to a huge volume of food.

Strategy 5: Just say no!

Undoubtedly there are complex, personal reasons driving this behaviour.  However, their 'need to feed' in no way obligates you to eat and the reasons behind their behaviour are really none of your business. So, as the saying goes 'if it’s none of your business, don't make it your burden'.  Don't engage or bother with explanations or apologies, just say 'no thanks' and move on with your day.

Boredom: it is a totally myth that work is always interesting, stimulating and challenging. Some days you are bored out of your mind and these are the days when you often find yourself going for a walk to the biscuit tin for no other reason than to have something to do.

Strategy 6: Get out of the office

One of the 'perks' of being a professional is that you are often free to work wherever you like.  If you know you have a particularly boring day of work coming up (budgeting spread sheets anyone?) plan ahead and take yourself out of the office to do the work. Working in a café, sitting in the park or even from home with some up-beat music cranked up to keep you going can really help to make these boring parts of your job less of a chore, meaning you are less likely to go looking for distraction in the form of a hob-nob.

The afternoon lull: sometimes boredom related, sometimes not, the afternoon lull is a well-known derailer for many people. It refers to that time in the middle of the afternoon when you suddenly feel drained of all energy and desperate for a sugar fix.

Strategy 7: Exercise instead of eat

Often the reason we feel so sluggish in the afternoon is that we've been sitting all day. Getting up and moving will help get your blood pumping which in turn helps deliver more oxygen and nutrients to your cells which might be enough to wake them up without the need for any extra food. If you haven't been outside all day AND you work in one of those hermetically sealed offices, this might be the ideal time to go out for a walk to get some fresh air as well.

Strategy 8: Get in early and don't wait to rehydrate

Sometimes the reason you feel drained of energy at this time is that you DO need a little boost, especially if you tend to leave a long time between meals.  You should aim to eat something every 2-3 hours to help regulate your blood sugar levels and keep your energy stable. If you know the afternoon lull hits you hard then, rather than waiting for the wave of tiredness to hit, get in early with a fruity snack (banana, bunch of grapes) that will deliver a sugar hit in a healthy way and head off any other cravings. Sluggishness can also come when we are dehydrated so try drinking more water in the afternoon to see if this helps.

Substituting food for sleep: when we don't sleep well we often turn to food to compensate. The day after a bad night's sleep will leave us craving high energy foods and stimulants and less likely to exercise. Unfortunately, this pattern can quite easily become a vicious circle - you're tired and not thinking clearly so you eat and drink the wrong things which make you over-stimulated or you're unable to properly digest the food you've consumed leading to another bad night's sleep and so on and so on...

Strategy 9: Prevention is better than cure

Getting a good night's sleep is the best way to avoid substituting food for sleep but sometimes that just doesn't happen so then you need to move into 'damage limitation mode'. Making sure you have a proper, nutritious and filling breakfast at home is even more important if you've slept badly as is making sure you eat a healthy, slow energy release snack every couple of hours throughout the day. Also note that when you're tired, your digestive system will be sluggish so take the strain off and feed it easy to digest food - plant based, non-processed is best!

Nuts, seeds, dried fruit and raw chocolate are all excellent snacks in this regard so join the click-clack brigade and keep a stash in your desk for days like these.

The rushed lunch: or should I call that the hunched lunch? You know what I mean - there you are hunched over your computer yet again shovelling food mindlessly into your mouth as quickly as possible so you can move onto the next thing. Ideally you would leave the office and eat your lunch in a calm and relaxed way, free from all distractions.  But some days, this just doesn't happen so...

Strategy 10: Breathe deep before you eat

If you absolutely cannot get away from your desk for lunch then take a minute before you eat to do some deep breathing. This helps relax your body which aids the whole digestive process.

Take care to chew your food (20 chews per mouthful) to further support the absorption of nutrients and don't drink with your meal. Taking great gulps of air with liquid is a common cause of bloating and can also fill you up with air meaning you're less likely to finish your food and then have an energy lull later in the day.

Ask for help

If you are really struggling with the whole work/food thing then I recommend seeing a nutritionist or health coach to uncover what else might be going on in this regard. They can also help you with creating a healthy food plan and personalised strategies and tactics that will be most effective in your life.

About the author:

London based Natural Therapist and Wellness Coach, Tricia Alach specialises in working with busy people who want to relax, rebalance and revitalise their lives. Visit www.flowmindandbody.com or follow her @tricialach or on facebook for tips on how to live happier, healthier and more holistically in each and every day.

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