Bring Your Diet to Work— and Leave It There
By J. A. Young Posted 08-28-2018

Many diets fail simply because they are unsustainable and unrealistic in their long-term demands. And most dieticians warn that losing weight and keeping it off takes time. One sustainable method of dieting is going part-time and only dieting seriously while at work. Of course, the measures taken at work will be supported by not going off the culinary deep-end while away from work, but dieters can certainly find a level of success with a part-time method of dieting. Sticking to a diet is hard work, but work can actually bring structure to the diet and help take one’s mind off of food.

 

Begin by considering the beverages you drink at work. A can of soda is roughly about two hundred calories. By drinking water, which is calorie-free and essential to the body for good health, you can effectively minimize calorie-intake by drink alone. How many saved calories per week this spells for dieters depends on how many cans of soda they drink per week. And be sure to choose water over diet sodas since many studies have shown that diet sodas are ineffectual when it comes to dieting despite their low caloric count. Water is better for the body; it flushes away toxins and impurities and will get your body feeling better which is essential to making it look better too.

 

The work day schedule is actually very conducive to dieting. Eat only at the allotted lunch time and avoid any snacking—unless it’s raw vegetables or something completely healthy and calorie-free—until after work. This might be tough for a week and you might be tempted to crash out with a bag of chips on the couch when you get home from the job, but you can train your body to hold out on the snacks and overtime this will actually shrink your appetite as the body adjusts to less food intake. Apples, grapes, and carrot sticks are definitely healthy snacks, but if the body can adjust to no snacks it is less likely to grab a piece of office coffee cake when you run out of fresh fruit or leave your apple at home on the kitchen counter.

 

Maintaining the diet at lunchtime is the trickiest part of the day and so it’s important to get it right so the diet is not thrown off track. A salad can be loaded with more calories than some fast-food items if the dressing is overdone. Do your research and consider low-calorie options that are easy to make and take to work. Planning the meal and bringing it from home is a better idea than eating out at restaurants where you are less likely to be sure how many calories go into the meal and may also be tempted to make choices that aren’t low enough in calories to support your dieting goals. A small bowl of cereal with low-fat milk, non-fat yogurt, a cup of tomato soup, half a sandwich on whole grain bread—these are just a few options for your working diet.

 

The key is to stick to your plan while at work so that you can still eat the kinds of meals you love afterward. Dieting only at work may not get the weight off as quickly as if it was done fulltime, but it will make a strong impact in the long run and it is easier to manage than giving up all the foods you love. Dieting at work is a realistic approach to the diet dilemma that can translate into significant and lasting weight loss coupled with a healthier lifestyle. To capitalize on your work-time diet, remember to take the stairs as opposed to the elevator and walk around whenever possible.

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