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Resist the lure of sugary treats

December 13, 2009 12:36 am

IADMIT IT: When one of my co-workers brought in her special chocolate-caramel-coconut-pecan bars, I barely limited myself to seconds, despite having stuffed myself with a large breakfast only an hour earlier. The bars were heavenly!

While there's nothing wrong with indulging in occasional treats brought in by office mates, this can get out of hand, especially during the holidays.

And if you're like me, the mere sight of food makes you salivate, whether or not you're actually hungry.

You're not alone.

This is a big issue. Nearly half of Americans have pre-diabetes and high cholesterol, and most develop high blood pressure by middle age. And that's not even including the folks who already have heart disease.

Here are five ways to manage office temptations.

WATCH THE CLOCK

First, try to schedule meals or snacks at least every four to five hours. If your stomach is pleasantly full, it's easier to pass up extra servings of homemade cookies. Filling up on good stuff first makes it easier to limit extra calories.

STASH THE GOOD STUFF

Second, stock up your own supply of snacks. Ironically, my best defense against overindulgence is hoarding a stash of desserts that I truly lust over. For example, I always keep dark chocolate handy.

When presented with office treats, I try to weigh them in my head against my stash. Does my co-worker's pound cake look as tasty as the chocolate waiting for me in my lunchbox? If not, I can skip the pound cake without feeling deprived.

However, if the pound cake looks amazing, I'll have a little bit and make a mental note that I've met my dessert quota.

This works with occasional temptations. But if your workplace presents you with nonstop platters of fatty snacks when you're trying to control your cholesterol, blood pressure or blood sugar, stronger action may be needed.

TAKE A POLL

Consider polling your co-workers to see if they would consider office-treat rules. This can feel a bit awkward. However, chances are you're probably not the only person trying to eat well.

Given that half of adults are at risk of heart disease and diabetes, some of your co-workers may be secretly relieved that you had the courage to bring up this topic.

So, consider polling your co-workers about any or all of the following three ideas.

Out of sight: Limit treats to one place, preferably in the back of the office, out of sight. This way, you have less temptation, but your co-workers still can indulge.

Frequency: If people are bringing food almost daily, consider asking if they would limit it to just one day, say, Fridays. (TGIF!)

Foods: This is a delicate subject. It would be rude to ask people to change what they bring, but you might politely volunteer yourself to bring healthy choices.

If you're comfortable, you might explain you quandary to your co-workers: "I'm a little worried about my cholesterol level, and those doughnuts are so hard to resist. Would it be OK if occasionally I brought in healthy snacks?"

In other words, you're not asking them to change--you're just adding healthy options.

BRING GOOD GOODIES

Be sure to lead by example by bringing a variety of festive foods to your co-workers. Along with the examples on the front of Healthy Living, other healthy goodies include:

Gingersnap cookies, which are lower in fat and sugar than most cookies

Fresh grapes

Clementines

Banana slices with melted dark-chocolate chips

Baked apples stuffed with pecans and cinnamon.

And be sure to check out the recipe above for gourmet homemade popcorn. Many people like to give gifts of huge tins of commercially made popcorn, which are often over-salted and popped in artery-clogging trans fats, also known as partially hydrogenated oils.

Instead, you could make healthy popcorn at home for pennies that tastes much better.

SAYING THANKS

Finally, recognize office treats for what they are--gestures of gratitude and excuses to take a break.

Think about ways you can show appreciation that aren't related to food. Old-school handwritten thank-you notes make a bold statement in today's techno world. Small gifts after a big project can be fun--I had one boss who bestowed a pair of movie tickets as a thank-you. Even though I know the company bought the tickets at a fraction of the price, I was still happy to save $20 at the box office.

Office-wide non-food treats are easy to do, too. Consider starting a funny bulletin board. Instead of bonding over cookies, ask office mates to periodically post something fun--anything from (clean) jokes and funny headlines to baby pictures or high school graduation photos--it's fun to guess who is who--or pictures of pets (do they really look like their owners?).

You can create reasons beyond doughnuts for people to gather and smile.

Jennifer Motl welcomes reader questions via her Web site, brighteat ing.com, or mailed to Nutrition, The Free Lance-Star, 616 Amelia St., Fredericksburg, Va. 22401.