Learning to navigate social eating situations

 If you work in an office setting you're aware of the "rewards" and "Incentives" that are given. Occasionally, someone brings in donuts or leftover cookies from a party they hosted over the weekend. People hear of the treats and their location and begin to circle like vultures. Especially, when the boss springs for Panera bagels!  Team meetings sometimes involve candy or treats to keep people engaged (or from falling asleep?).  The temptations around the holidays are very real and very easy to grab, stuff into your mouth and later say "why did I eat that?"

Will you be able to bypass the tray of Christmas cookies this year?

What can we do in this type of situation?  Here's what I've done and it works I'd say 90% of the time.  I make sure to eat breakfast at home. Getting to work with a full stomach usually helps me kindly refuse the baked goods.  If you have a pot luck, try to fix something healthy that everyone might like so you can enjoy too. I also still pack my lunch. While everyone else is mowing down on the cheesy taco dip and the potato casserole I can know what's in my lunch box will fill me up and be just as tasty. Bring your own snacks. The 3pm snack monster will urge you to go grab some chips and dip or a piece of cake. I find that if I pack snacks that are tasty and filling, I may be able to squelch the desire for the less than healthy fare. Celery or apple slices with peanut butter, a piece of fruit and a low fat granola, a boiled egg and some baby carrots. I also find, if I drink my water like I'm supposed to, that helps ward off the urge to sabotage a stretch of healthy eating.

What healthy dishes do you like to share with your workmates?





photo credit: <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/39908901@N06/11721220334">Christmas Cookies</a> via <a href="http://photopin.com">photopin</a> <a href="https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/">(license)</a>