Deanna's Snack Drawer - Fruit Bowl, pumpkin seed, walnuts, almonds, prunes, dried apricots, organic no-butter popcorn
"Always plan ahead. It wasn't raining when Noah built the ark." - Robert C. Cushing
I don't know about you, but sitting down for hours at a time makes me ravenous. That means that work is a danger zone for me. If there's any time that I'm going to be mindless about eating, it's during those 9+ hours at the office. To make it even worse, there's always a ton of fatty food sitting around (though there's a lot less of it now since we've in a recession) - doughnuts, bagels, cookies, pizza. How does one make it through the day without gaining a couple pounds? It took me a long time to figure it out. It's all about planning, and packing it in.
What to do: Create a Snack Strategy
- Know your weaknesses. Look at your Mindful Battle Plan. You know when your meals are. What is your snack pattern? Mine is mid-morning, followed by a shameful feeding frenzy that starts at 4.
- Plan the snack strategy around the weakness. I have a mid-morning snack, and then to prevent the 4pm food frenzy, I eat at 2 and 4pm. The 2pm snack stems the frenzy.
- Pack it in. It's easy to stuff your face with the easiest alternative when work gets crazy or you're bored. Now that you know which snacks you have to plan for, figure out what they are going to be and pack in the whole foods - Mindful Mix, a Fruit Bowl, nuts, dried fruit, popcorn. Keeping these things in stock will keep you away from the junk food around the office.
- Pick your schlep. My friend Deanna (one of the most mindful eaters I know), brings a week's supply of food in on Monday. I don't like to schlep, so I bring food in every day. I've also found that the downstairs drug store is a good source in a pinch. You're going to have to keep your inventory continuously replenished, so figure out what works for you. Experiment. When you find something that works, keep doing it.
Exercise: 1 hour yoga,weight lifting (lower body)
