August/September 1996

Healthy Eating on the Job
By Tami Anastasia

The last time you were hunched over your keyboard and felt the urge for a snack, what did you reach for? "Junk food" or something that nourished your body and mind? Does the way you snack indicate your overall attitude toward food? Do you eat without thinking about what you're eating or why?

There are various ways to fuel your mind and body, but for many people, food has become a source of conflict and confusion rather than a source of nourishment. In the Wellness Workbook, John Travis and Regina Ryan suggest that "the basic problem with our eating habits is that we have relinquished awareness and responsibility for our eating habits to others and we have lost touch with ourselves. Few people are in touch with themselves and knowledgeable enough about their own metabolism to design their own nutritional program."

Assess food's effect on you.

Healthy eating begins with your awareness of how certain foods make you feel. While some foods and food combinations may enhance your energy and performance level, the same dietary choices may be less desirable for someone with a different physical make-up or different nutritional needs.

Many workers, in their drive to succeed, ignore the warning signals of hunger--headache, irritability, a growling stomach--at the peril of sacrificing their body's nutritional health. They skip meals, eat on the run, consume foods that leave them feeling sluggish or guilty, eat too much at one sitting, go for long periods without eating, or grab whatever is most convenient. Regularly skipping meals can cause blood sugar levels to drop below normal, resulting symptoms that include fatigue, loss of concentration, headaches, weakness, hunger, and stress. Eating too much reduces the flow of blood to the brain and muscles, thus supplying less energy and causing lethargy. This pattern can become a vicious cycle that is difficult to stop.

Space out your meals.

Apply the concept of effective time management to your eating habits by taking time to nourish your body in ways that maximize your potential. One of the fastest ways to eliminate those mid-morning and mid-afternoon performance slumps is to eat light, nutricious snacks between meals. This makes the body's digestion, absorption, and metabolism function more efficiently, contributing to a steady supply of energy and improved powers of thought, emotional control, and coordination. New studies done at Harvard, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and the National Institute of Health on the mind-mood-food connection suggest that the foods you choose for meals and snacks may affect your mental energy and concentration, as well as your attitude, mood, behavior, and performance.

According to research findings, loss of enthusiasm, mental and physical fatigue, increased body fat, poor performance, and even tension, anxiety, or irritability may result at least partially from poor food choices and an uneven eating schedule.

Healthy food choices and regular meal times may contribute to a more alert, focused, productive mind. These same choices will keep you calm and able to solve problems.

Here are some tips to help you start making better food choices in your life.

• Keep a food diary for five days. To improve your eating habits, you first need to know what is wrong with them. Keep a record of when you eat, what you eat, and how you feel before and after you eat. Review what you wrote. Then write down the eating patterns you want to change (i.e., skipping lunch, going long periods without eating, eating on the run) into more positive patterns (i.e., taking regular lunch breaks, eating between-meal snacks, scheduling times to eat).
• Listen to your body. Pay attention to what your body tells you by how it feels. Headaches, irritability, lightheadedness, mood swings, and anxiety may be symptoms of hunger and signals that your body needs nourishment.
• Make yourself your priority. Schedule time to eat meals and snacks; eat slowly and enjoy your food. Use this time to nurture yourself physically and mentally.
• Prepare a daily food bag. Fill your bag with healthy foods you like and enjoy. Bring the bag to work every day and dip in whenever you want.
• Eat consciously. Choose foods that make you feel positive and full of energy. Avoid those that don't.

Tami Anastasia, owner of TAMS, has a Master's Degree in Counseling and 16-plus years' experience in the fitness industry. She is a personal health and fitness counselor, a speaker on the psychology of healthy living, and author of a forthcoming book.