Some tips for eating more healthily

  Do not go shopping when you are hungry, since you will be more likely to buy and fill up your cupboards with foods of a higher calorific content than when you are not hungry. Make sure that you have a proper high carbohydrate breakfast, since carbohydrates will give you the energy that you need to carry you through the morning until lunchtime and will stop you from snacking. Carbohydrates are found in breakfast cereals and are the ideal way to start the day. Make sure that you also stop for something to eat at lunchtime. It is healthier where possible to eat grilled, steamed or boiled rather than fried food and to prepare your own food freshly rather than buying pre-prepared meals that often contain a variety of additives such as salt, sugar and preservatives. However, when at work it is often not possible to prepare your own food, because of lack of facilities or lack of time. So, you may have to rely upon others to do this on your behalf. Many larger employers provide a staff canteen, in which employees can eat on a daily basis and should offer a range of healthy dietary options for employees to choose from. If healthy options are not available, this needs to be drawn to the attention of the employer, so that they have the opportunity of introducing them onto the menu. If you do not have a staff canteen offering healthy options, or buy sandwiches, it is important you make sure that what you are eating is healthy. For example, make sure that the food is not too fatty or dripping in mayonnaise. Fried foods such as fish and chips should not be included as a routine part of a daily diet and should be reserved for a special treat.

Some other tips include trying where possible to eat with other people rather than on your own, since evidence suggests that you are less likely to overeat in company than when you are alone. If you feel tempted to snack between meals, try to distract yourself by thinking about something which is not food related, or engage in an activity that is incompatible with gaining access to food or eating. If this proves particularly difficult, limit the amount of money that you bring with you to work, by bringing just enough for your lunch and a drink. If visiting the staff canteen with its wide array of options proves too much of a temptation to you, bring a packed lunch and go for a walk at lunchtime instead.

Monitoring food intake

  If reducing your food intake is proving to be a bigger problem than you anticipated, you may need to do some more formal monitoring of your food intake using a food diary. This entails monitoring what you eat each day and when you eat it. Table 4.1 is an example taken from a food diary.

Table 4.1 A sample taken from a food diary

 

  Keeping an accurate food diary entails recording everything you have eaten each day. This will allow you to identify your total intake and also the high risk times in terms of the time of day, situational triggers and mood states when you are most likely to overeat. Once you have identified these, you can plan a timetable of alternative activities at these high risk times which are incompatible with eating. For example, you might plan a social activity such as meeting friends, do some exercise or go and take a bath. Try to avoid periods of boredom or prolonged inactivity, since these are also high risk times for overeating. Also, avoid areas where stocks of food are kept and try to keep out of the kitchen between meals. Restricting your food stocks at home by not buying lots of snack foods (such as biscuits, chocolate, crisps and sweets) will reduce the temptation to overeat, since the food will not be there to snack on. You can use a calorie conversion chart to help you monitor your food intake in terms of calories and weighing scales to monitor your weight on a regular basis. Another strategy is to plan your meals days ahead, so that you know what you will be eating and when, and try to stick to it.

Some bigger employers provide employees with access to dietary advice and support from a dietician through their occupational health service, so make sure that you use this facility if it is available and you feel that you require some more expert dietary advice. Similarly, you should be able to get advice from your family doctor if you feel that you are unable to tackle the problem on your own.

Fluids

  The body is made up of 90 per cent water and one of the physical effects of stress is dehydration. Experts recommend that when under stress an individual should drink around four pints of suitable liquid every day, in addition to the liquid obtained from food and from milk on cereals and in beverages. Basically this equates to eight large glasses of water a day. The provision of conveniently located water dispensers in the workplace can help prevent this from happening. If these are not provided, you should ask for them to be made available. Otherwise, make sure that you bring in a water bottle that you can refill throughout the day to prevent yourself from becoming dehydrated.