Changing your eating responses to job stress!!!

1.  Supply your kitchen and work with healthy, easily available snacks.

2.  Thirst is often masked as hunger – keep water, juices, and teas at your desk.

3.  Eat a nutritious breakfast – or blend your own energy-booster drink of juice, fruits of choice, nonfat yogurt, and protein powder.  You could also have  easy to fix items such as whole wheat toast or bagels with peanut butter and jam, or fruit with a muffin.  You have time for these easy quick fixes!

4.  Bring your lunch to work.  This will keep you from eating by emotions. If you’ve had a stressful morning you may be tempted at lunch, but if you bring lunch from home, you will eat better and feel better.  Be creative and add variety to you lunches.  Make it the night before to save time.

5.  Talk with a friend or friends about bringing different items for lunch and sharing.  Have a team potluck once a month and share recipes.

6.  When making dinner, make some extra that you can take to work for lunch the following day.

7.  When craving sweets – chew unsweetened gum, or have some mints to suck on to help satisfy those cravings.

8.  For bulk – keep flavored rice cakes handy (the caramel ones are really good), or air popped popcorn.

*As a rule – eat low-fat, protein-rich foods to increase motivation, reaction time, and alertness.

*After work and before bedtime, eat carbohydrates such as a bran muffin, or a few wheat crackers to induce a sleepy, relaxed mood.  Warm drinks such as tea, or cocoa gives a sense of nurturing and security.

*Avoid fad diets and diets that stress one food group over the other.  These may work for awhile, but then we lose interest and gain back the weight because we end up craving what has been left out of our diet. Eat a balanced diet which is rich in protein, a little less of complex carbohydrates, and a little less of fats. Eat lots of fruits and vegetables ( they’ll fill you up so you eat less too ), and drink lots of water.