How to Break Eating Habits at Work
Understand social behavior spread: Behaviors, physical and mental, are social contagions, meaning they spread from one person to the next., Mind the eating habits taken home from work: Nutrition habits can also spread past the workplace., Have a...
Step-by-Step Guide
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Step 1: Understand social behavior spread: Behaviors
This is especially true for social networks like the workplace.
For better or worse, this also means that your job can impact your diet.
Innate to you is the tendency to imitate others, a trait believed to help us form social groups for security (1).
This spread of behaviors may prompt you to mimic food habits and emotions of other employees, causing unintentional weight gain or emotional eating. -
Step 2: physical and mental
Even on a worldwide scale, people can be influenced to eat poorly, as is the case today. , Close friends who adopt healthy habits together, for example, are more likely to maintain them than those who don’t have support.
So if you plan to eat well, ask a work friend to join you.
On the flip side, a 32 year-long study concluded that "A person's chances of becoming obese increased by 57% (95% confidence interval , 6 to 123) if he or she had a friend who became obese in a given interval" (2). , For example, managers who support health programs can improve the stress, exercise and eating habits within their companies.
If your workplace offers wellness benefits, take advantage of them to support your diet.
Your participation can also encourage others to join. , For example, if you see a donut, pause to ask yourself if you really need it.
If it’s too tempting, you can still make other mindful decisions as a tool for eating control (3). , Likewise, you and your friend can take the donuts (or other food item) outside and go for a walk, combining a new exercise routine with a guilty pleasure.
Really, there are plenty of ways to learn mindfulness at the office, the point being to practice thought and build new behaviors with food. , While you may have donuts with coworkers, you might avoid them at home.
You can, for example, avoid seeing your coworkers with donuts or other cravings by eating in a separate break room.
The trick is to hunt for the cues that spark your unwanted eating.
Today, careers that destine you for an early grave tend to pay more, but I would challenge you to make health your number one job.
After all, jobs are replaceable — your body is not. -
Step 3: are social contagions
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Step 4: meaning they spread from one person to the next.
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Step 5: Mind the eating habits taken home from work: Nutrition habits can also spread past the workplace.
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Step 6: Have a best friend with the same goal: At work
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Step 7: this can especially influence your diet.
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Step 8: Aim for a healthy work culture: A company’s culture is also highly influential.
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Step 9: Practice mindfulness: Try practicing mindful eating.
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Step 10: Establish new habits: For example
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Step 11: you can agree to eat half a donut because
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Step 12: you will eat less
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Step 13: and two
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Step 14: you will start a new habit of self-control.
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Step 15: Eliminate cues you associate with appetite: Cravings are situational
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Step 16: meaning they don’t always follow you everywhere you go.
Detailed Guide
This is especially true for social networks like the workplace.
For better or worse, this also means that your job can impact your diet.
Innate to you is the tendency to imitate others, a trait believed to help us form social groups for security (1).
This spread of behaviors may prompt you to mimic food habits and emotions of other employees, causing unintentional weight gain or emotional eating.
Even on a worldwide scale, people can be influenced to eat poorly, as is the case today. , Close friends who adopt healthy habits together, for example, are more likely to maintain them than those who don’t have support.
So if you plan to eat well, ask a work friend to join you.
On the flip side, a 32 year-long study concluded that "A person's chances of becoming obese increased by 57% (95% confidence interval , 6 to 123) if he or she had a friend who became obese in a given interval" (2). , For example, managers who support health programs can improve the stress, exercise and eating habits within their companies.
If your workplace offers wellness benefits, take advantage of them to support your diet.
Your participation can also encourage others to join. , For example, if you see a donut, pause to ask yourself if you really need it.
If it’s too tempting, you can still make other mindful decisions as a tool for eating control (3). , Likewise, you and your friend can take the donuts (or other food item) outside and go for a walk, combining a new exercise routine with a guilty pleasure.
Really, there are plenty of ways to learn mindfulness at the office, the point being to practice thought and build new behaviors with food. , While you may have donuts with coworkers, you might avoid them at home.
You can, for example, avoid seeing your coworkers with donuts or other cravings by eating in a separate break room.
The trick is to hunt for the cues that spark your unwanted eating.
Today, careers that destine you for an early grave tend to pay more, but I would challenge you to make health your number one job.
After all, jobs are replaceable — your body is not.
About the Author
Sophia Walker
Professional writer focused on creating easy-to-follow home improvement tutorials.
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