How to break bad eating habits at work

However, a busy life away from the workplace can also involve these situations, so what makes being at work impact so negatively with regard to bad eating habits and the resultant weight gain?

1. Understand social behaviour spread

Behaviours, physical and mental, are social contagions, meaning that they spread from one person to the next. This is especially true for the workplace and that your job can affect your diet – people have the tendency to imitate the behaviour of others. This may prompt you to mimic food habits and emotions of other employees, causing unintentional weight gain or emotional eating.

2. Mind the eating habits taken home from work

Nutrition habits can also spread past the workplace. Even on a worldwide scale, people can be influenced to eat poorly, as is the case today.

3. Have a best friend with the same goal

At work, this can especially influence your diet. Close friends who adopt healthy habits together, for example, are more likely to maintain them than those who don’t have support. So if you plan to eat well, ask a work friend to join you.

4. Aim for a healthy work culture

A company’s culture is also highly influential. For example, managers who support health programmes can improve the stress, exercise and eating habits within their companies. If your workplace offers wellness benefits, take advantage of them to support your diet. Your participation can also encourage others to join.

5. Practise mindfulness

Try practising mindful eating. Before you choose what to eat, think about how this food is going to be beneficial for your body and health.

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6. Establish new habits

Make a point of taking a packed lunch to work. Fill an airtight glass container with heaps of chopped salad veggies, sprouts, avocado, olive oil, balsamic vinegar, chopped basil, a sprinkle of feta, some nuts and seeds, and a good scoop of hummus or tahini. After lunch, get out of the office and go for a brisk walk with a friend. There are plenty of ways to learn mindfulness at the office in order to build new behaviours with food.

7. Eliminate cues that you associate with appetite

Cravings are situational and the trick is to hunt for the cues that spark your unwanted eating. After all, jobs are easier to replace than your body!

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