How To Eat Well At Work

Eating healthy at work ideas…

I hate diets and am on a mission to help as many people as possible jump of the tedious, pointless cycle of dieting. They don’t work, never have done and never will do. The whole diet ‘industry’ business model knows this, in fact relies on it with popular slimming programmes having a repeat client rate of over 95%! It’s 100% on their interest that you ‘fail’ on the diet and then come back to them again and again.

When the reality is that you didn’t ‘fail’ the diet. Ever. The diet failed you.

Our programmes guide you to the result you’re looking to achieve but we also build the habits, lifestyle, mindset and knowledge to make sure you know how to maintain the results for the long-term.

There are lots of reasons why diets fail but a common problem is that the diet doesn’t stand up to your everyday life. It’s impractical, overly restrictive or no fun. It’s fine when you’re at home, but when you move to different environment, then you don’t have the tools, knowledge and mindset to help you eat how you really want to.

It’s something we spend lots of time with clients helping them to plan ahead so they can manage the different hats they wear everyday (family, work, friendship etc). Crucially we also plan for the unexpected – as for most of us the unexpected isn’t unusual.

As a little insight, here’s an array of nuggets of advice from my fabulous dietitians to help you with one common question. How do I eat beautifully at work…?

On each programme we go to a level of detail and personal support which truly tailors the method to you and your lifestyle. It’s why our clients on average lose about 1% of their body weight each week of their programme and why our success rate is so high in the 18,000 clients we’ve helped worldwide over the last decade.

I hope you enjoy the suggestions and find them useful. If you’ve got any questions, or would like to know how a tailored programme would work for you, do call us or email info@louiseparker.com and we’d love to help.

Alejandra – Lead Dietitian @ Harrods

• Anything you are cooking the night before, make the double for tomorrow’s lunch. Just add some leaves and make it into a salad.
• If you’re making a salad, always add the dressing at the last minute to avoid soggy salad leaves
• Cold roasted vegetables – especially cauliflower – are delicious on salads or with a yoghurt dip or hummus. Batch cook over the weekend.
• If you struggle to eat enough vegetables at work, a green smoothie that has at least 2 portions of veg + 1 fruit and other bits are a great way to top up your veggies for the day
• I always have a variety of snacks in my drawers: seaweed crisps, protein bars (I prefer either Grenade or Fulfil), quinoa crackers, miso soup sachets, nuts, roasted soya beans.
• Make sure you have a stash of good condiments to add flavour in an intant!! Chillies, vinegar, mustard in the fridge, Herbamare, cinnamon and stevia.
• Get yourself some nice Tuppaware. I love u-konserve (www.ukonserve.com)

Nicola – Dietitian @ Walton Street

• Be prepared! Keep a few snacks (out of sight!) in a drawer or cupboard. Examples include ryvita, jar of nut butter, bag of nuts/seeds/corn, protein bars etc. And if there is a fridge, pop a few supplies in there at the start of the week e.g. crudite/sugar snaps, hummus, mini cheddar portions, fruit etc.
• Think ahead! Look at your schedule at the start of the day and plan meals/snacks into the day to avoid long gaps and avoid feeling excessively hungry.
• And it may be helpful to have some non-perishable items in your work drawer/cupboard too that can help make up a meal. E.g. an emergency tin of tuna or baked beans!

Lydia – Dietitian @ Walton Street

• Keep well hydrated; we often mistake thirst for hunger. Have plenty of water kept close at hand in a handy bottle or jug with nice glasses to tempt you (you can add sliced fruits, cucumber, mint). Try non-caffeinated herbal teas / chicory / barley hot drinks for something different to standard tea and coffee (but up to three daily is totally fine!). Avoid fizzy sodas/sugary drinks – these are full of empty calories and sugar.
• Don’t forget to eat breakfast! Either before you get to work, or have store at work some good staples like nuts, porridge oats or muesli. Have something nutritious like wholegrain cereal with natural yoghurt and fruit to get your day off to a good start and prevent the mid-morning munchies kicking in.

Ariana – Dietitian @ Walton Street

• Say no to waste and make use of LEFTOVERS! Using last night’s dinner can be a saving grace. Not much prep time needed. When washing up just package all the leftover meal into containers ready to grab-and-go the next morning and BAM! you’ve got a nutritious lunch. Even better – toss it on a bed of greens for that extra green goodness.
• Always keep a varied stash of non-perishable foods to combine with any lunch such as Ryvita, Nairn’s oatcakes (my fave!) or – thanks to Cassie for introducing – tortillas!
• Make use of pre-prepared protein options from your local shop (e.g. baked salmon, grilled chicken breast, smoked salmon or prawns or hummus) to keep in the work fridge and just toss on top of a bed of greens with raw veggies you can cut up in 5 minutes and tah-dah! LUNCH is served. Oh and keep some condiments in your desk drawer to jazz things up (e.g. olive oil, seeds, balsamic vinegar).
• BRING SNACKS! Have nuts or nut butter on hand, and bring fresh fruit or veg for the week on a Monday to get you through your week.

Reshma – Lead Dietitian @ Walton Street

• Variety is key. Have a variety of snacks so you have options and you don’t get bored. Change the variety with season like stewed apples, yoghurt with cinnamon and spiced nuts in the winter.
• Have a collection of teas to keep it fun and special. A snack with a special cup of tea is a great way to have a period of calm and break in a busy day. My new tea is hot date chai (black tea) feels like a hot chocolate

Cassie

• Condiments! Condiments! Condiments! I am the self-proclaimed condiment queen. You can jazz up ANYTHING with the right condiments: Hot sauce, chilli flakes, vinegar, olive oil, chilli oil, pepper, salt, paprika, mustard, pesto, hummus and any of your fav herbs.
• Request a large desk drawer to store all of your condiments! (Speaking to your work about good storage for food and making sure that no one ‘borrows’ them is also a massive help!).

I hope these snack-sized nuggets of info help you to eat well at work! With a little effort up front, these eating healthy at work ideas soon build into habits that last.

These are a bit of a general summary based on our experience, but on your programme, we’ll help you create a tailored plan that is easy to follow and sustain at work (and wherever else your life takes you) – and that helps you eat the food you love – which is all important to building this into a habit for life for you.

Contact our team today to enquire about your programme.