And so it goes. It's easy to make excuses when a snack is sitting right in front of you. Here at work I am surrounded by coworkers who can, and will, create any reason under the sun to have cake, candy, pizza, you name it - and share it with everyone.
While I've successfully brushed off a lot of snacks, I've still fallen victim to caving in here and there which in the long run will not be beneficial to my ultimate goals. Soda is gone and I've even cut back on some of the iced-tea that I was replacing it with. Water is the main thirst quencher of choice at this point and I've grown used to it. I might say I'm even learning to enjoy it - but there needs to be more change for effects to take place.
In the Junk Food: How Much Can You Get Away With? article, Victor Herbert, at Mount Sinai and Bronx Veteran Affairs Medical Centers is quoted: "All food is health food in moderation, all food is junk food in excess." It's amazing how much truth there is in that. Excess sucks.
Snacking is simply an easy way to get a quick fix. If you are stressed, snacking helps to relax. If you are in a time crunch, it's easier to graze throughout the day, or drive through the nearest fast-food restaurant and grab the quick and easy burger without even getting out of the car. So it shouldn't be surprising that when snacks are kept on the desk just 10 feet away, we grab them.
I didn't have breakfast this morning. My stomach starts growling at around 9:00 - now it would be smarter to burn the 15 calories walking down to the cafeteria and grabbing something mildly nuitritional, but it's much easier to burn 1 calorie walking to the desk with the cake and grabbing a slice of that instead. It would be wise, however, to plan on this dilemma happening, as it does on a daily basis and bring my breakfast and lunch into work instead. It would also be cheaper.
Now we have solution - and that solution requires motivation. Motivation to grocery shop, with a list, mind you, motivation to plan meals accordingly and motivation to prepare them ahead of time. That's a lot of work. But I'd imagine it better to spend calories on creating those habits than to waste them on the other options.
Okay, sounds simple enough. Now I don't eat out EVERY day, but it's pretty close. So here we have another habit that needs to be adjusted. I'd say I bring my lunch to work at least 50% of the time, mostly because I hate wasting money on eating out everyday. But that 50% should really be more like 99%. If it were, not only am I helping my weight goals, but I'm also saving a ton of money. Let's face it, those are better outcomes than ending up in the hospital, broke and dying of heart disease.
Let's recap the changes so far. In a few short weeks I've worked on the following:
- No more soda - or sugary soft-drinks in general. From the get-go, I knew this was problem #1. Replace such drinks with water.
- Quit snacking - non-stop munching is NOT good for your diet. This one isn't entirely kicked yet, but it's a work in progress.
- Plan your meals - to facilitate the no more snacking rule, I get to bring my meals to work and quit eating out except on the few occassions with friends, etc.
Three small changes, tons of change.
Snacks are ok as long as you have the right kind. Also, snacking and lighter meals all day keeps your metabolism going. Healthy snacks I enjoy: cheese sticks, nuts, carrot sticks, apple slices, celery sticks, raisins, low fat yogurt. Mind you, moderation is the key. Eating 5 cheese sticks as a snack is obviously no good. Good luck! Weight obliteration is hard!
Posted by: Jensen | March 04, 2006 at 05:47 PM