Office Snack Hacks
Personal Trainer, Online Coach, and Fitness Coach for the Hungarian Rugby Union Team
It may be hard to believe (or not for some of us) that most of our daily calorie intake happens in the workplace. It could be Ben’s birthday cake or Carol’s cookies, these sugary snacks deliver a short term burst of energy and morale, but a long-lasting slump. And with the festive season upcoming, there will be plenty of opportunity for snacking!
And for some perspective, I’m not one of those coaches who lived in a gym their whole life. I had an office job for 2 years, so I know what desk life is like. And to help you with your fitness journey, I’ve put together 6 ways you can combat the snacking and keep your daily calorie intake low.
1. Eat Breakfast At Your Desk
Eating at your desk has many benefits. Firstly it’s a time saver; you hit your alarm, wash, dress, and you’re out the door. No time to “accidently” stumble on the kid’s cereal or buttered toast. If you always have a box of oats in your desk, it means you can have a bowl of porridge every day (no need to hit Tesco on the way in for some fresh pastries mmmm). Porridge is a low calorie, slow energy release carbohydrate that will keep you full, meaning you won’t want that mid-morning snack. PLUS you’ll also waste 15 mins at your desk eating when the boss thinks you’re busy, double win!
2. Stockpile Healthy Snacks
If you stock up on healthy snacks in your desk (protein bars, healthy flapjacks, fruit, rice cakes etc) it means that when Ben’s birthday cake comes round, you’re able to still join in on the mini celebration without shoving a few hundred calories of processed sugar in your mouth. Meaning you won’t have that afternoon slump, and a further sugar craving… then another slump… and another sugar craving… etc etc
3. Meal Prep
Now there’s two ways to do this. Either spend hours bulk cooking your meals on Sunday evening and prep for the whole week (pfft, no thanks). Or invest in one of those meal prep companies. Yes, they seem expensive at first, but at roughly £5 per meal and cutting out all the cooking costs (and probably cooking much tastier food than you) it is a worthy investment. Imagine not cooking or washing up all week, think of the time you’d save!
4. Share With Co-workers
I don’t mean sharing your food… I mean sharing your goals! Changing our lifestyle can be difficult, and it can be hard to admit to the people around you. But by sharing this with your colleagues you’re a lot more likely to stick to it in the long run. If your colleagues know you’re trying to eat well, yes there might be some stick at first, but they will support you after a day or two. Find a group of colleagues who can join in on the fitness regime with you for that extra support.
5. Swap Your Coffee
Might be an obvious one, but not everyone thinks about it. A large milky latte can have 200+ calories in it (before the added sugar). If you’re guzzling 2-3 of those a day that’s easily 600 calories of liquid – not ideal. Stick to black coffee and plain teas to cut down on the liquid calories. You still get the same caffeine boost without the extra unnecessary sugar.
6. Talking of liquid calories – BOOZE
Work events happen. And you don’t want to be the odd one out saying NO to clients/customers when you are trying to sweet talk them into a deal. But you can drink alcohol without damaging your calorie intake. The average liquor contains between 50-70 calories. Pair that with a zero-calorie mixer (diet coke, soda water, slim tonic) and you’re good to go. Much better than sinking 5 pints at up to 200 calories each!
Hopefully now you’re ready to combat some of the office snacking. It’s coming up to a very tempting time of year. Obviously I encourage people to enjoy themselves in the festive season. But if you want to draw the line at all, implementing some of these ideas can help.
Thanks for reading, see you next time.
Find one of Regan’s YouTube videos below
