5 Tips for Healthy Eating in the Office

By Lucy Wild, RDN

With the new year comes the promise of building healthier habits, and this year, it may also mean a return to working back in the office. While this may appear to pose some barriers to developing or maintaining healthy eating habits, returning back to the office can be a great way to add some variety to your week, increase social connection, and with these 5 simple tips, keep you on your journey to healthy eating in 2022! 

1. Meal prep. This is my number one tip for eating for health while navigating a busy schedule. Taking one hour at the top of the week is a delicious way to save a lot of time and a lot of money. Meal prepping can be as involved or as easy as you want it to be, but one of my favorite ways to meal prep is to batch cook a recipe and save the rest for lunch/dinner throughout the week. Another simple way to meal prep is to prep the ingredients for a balanced meal. A good guideline to follow is preparing something from each food group: carbohydrate + protein + fat + fruit/veg, or in other words, a whole grain + beans + avocado + leafy green and starchy veg. From there feel free to get creative with add ons like cheese, soft boiled eggs, tahini sauce, hummus, and so on. Prepping these ingredients at the top of the week is an easy way to set yourself up for success during the week.

2. Pack your snacks. Eating every 3-4 hours is a good guideline for maintaining stable blood sugar levels, energy, and mood throughout the day. When we go for too long without eating, the body’s blood sugar level drops, releasing a hormone response to signal to the brain that the body is low on energy. This shows up as intense hunger (aka feeling hangry) and craving refined/high carbohydrate foods that will provide quick energy and spike your blood sugar. When blood sugar is stabilized throughout the day by responding to initial hunger cues and not going longer than 4 hours without eating, we mentally and physically operate best, honor our long term health, and make nourishing decisions on what to eat. Think ahead and pack snacks to maintain this state. Pick snacks that sound yummy and nourishing while also providing carbohydrate plus protein or fat to slow the release of energy (ex. Apple w/ peanut butter, crackers and hummus, etc).

3. Tune into satisfaction. When it comes to making healthy habits sustainable, it's important to remember satisfaction. In planning out meals or making a grocery list, think - What foods do you like? What tastes good to you? What are you craving the most this season? If we make decisions on what to eat purely for the sake of health, we often end up not feeling satisfied by the meal and tend to reach for treats. Making sure to factor in satisfaction to your meals in the first place can prevent this, and make healthy eating more sustainable. Some guidelines to follow are to have a balanced meal with adequate protein, fat, and carbohydrate, a good dose of fiber from veggies or fruit, and some quality that makes you excited for the meal (i.e. a warming stew on a cold winter's day, an ingredient you grew up eating and is comforting, a crunchy texture you are craving, or a yummy sauce that provides that je ne sais quoi). 

4. Vary it up. Variety is the key to life and a healthy diet! Especially when it comes to eating back in the office. This tip hits two points in one - variety of foods equals variety of nutrients AND variety of foods keeps foods new and interesting. If you are having the same meal every day for lunch, it's very likely you will get tired of it and it will reinforce the idea that healthy eating is boring. Rotating your food choices will increase your ability to stick to healthy habits while ensuring that you are able to meet all your nutrient needs. 

5. Take mindful bites. When it comes to long term health and happiness, one of the main determinants is stress. One can be a perfectly healthy eater, but if stress is off the charts, chomping down on kale will make little difference to long term health outcomes. Doing something simple like taking a lunch break rather than eating at your desk is a great step you can take to lower your stress levels. It also gives you time to practice mindful eating which is known to promote many health benefits via slowing down, chewing food more thoroughly and carefully, and tuning into hunger and fullness cues. Even 15 minutes of lunch time with no distractions to tune in and take some mindful bites can do wonders for your stress levels and your long term health outcomes. 

With any of these tips it’s all about progress, not perfection. Find what works best for you by experimenting with how to approach being back at the office. Long term health is all about trends over time rather than one meal, one week, or even one month of food habits. And if you get caught up, reach out for help! Registered Dietitians are trained professionals to guide you through gentle nutrition and lifestyle changes. 

Sources:

Eating with satisfaction. Marci R.D. https://marcird.com/eating-with-satisfaction/. Published February 19, 2019. 

Felbin S. There are actually 3 different ways to make meal prepping part of your routine. Women's Health. https://www.womenshealthmag.com/food/a38554718/how-to-meal-prep/. Published January 7, 2022. 

Felbin S. There are actually 3 different ways to make meal prepping part of your routine. Women's Health. https://www.womenshealthmag.com/food/a38554718/how-to-meal-prep/. Published January 7, 2022. 

Hartley R. Why am I feeling hungry after eating? satisfaction vs. fullness in intuitive eating. Registered Dietitian Columbia SC - Rachael Hartley Nutrition. https://www.rachaelhartleynutrition.com/blog/2017/6/11/satisfaction-vs-fullness. Published October 21, 2020. 

Insulin and glucagon: How they regulate blood sugar levels. Medical News Today. https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/316427. 

Mindful eating. The Nutrition Source. https://www.hsph.harvard.edu/nutritionsource/mindful-eating/. Published September 18, 2020. 

Nutritious snacking ideas. Marci R.D. https://marcird.com/nutritious-snacking-ideas/. Published February 19, 2019. 

Principle 6: Discover the satisfaction factor. Evelyn Tribole. https://www.evelyntribole.com/principle-6-discover-the-satisfaction-factor/. Published February 22, 2019. 

Team W. Eating the same thing every day? 4 reasons to rotate foods. Cleveland Clinic. https://health.clevelandclinic.org/eating-the-same-thing-every-day-4-reasons-to-increase-variety/. Published May 11, 2021.