“I am too busy”
“I just can not take the time”
“I really do not want to leave my office/desk right now”
“ Lunch?”
Sound familiar. Many of us do not take the time to eat lunch and if we do-we
often eat at our desk. Some 70% of Americans eat at their desks several times a
week, according to the American Dietetic Association and ConAgra Foods
Foundation. The bad news is that this can lead not only to poor nutritional
choices, but to food-safety problems as well. "The desk was not designed to be
an eating place," says Rick Hall, RD, MS, a faculty member at Arizona State
University in Phoenix. "So spending your lunch hour in front of your computer
brings with it a number of issues." But what are we to do? First-What is
wrong with eating at our desk, at our computer or even in our car?
-
Mindless eating-we forget what we are eating and how much we are eating. You
can overeat even if you are not hungry-“ I can not believe I ate the whole
thing”
-
You are not getting up and moving around. Lunch time is a great time to fit in
a few minutes of activity into your busy day-helping you feel more energized.
-
Food Safety-"The desk, in terms of bacteria, is 400 times dirtier than your
toilet," says Charles Gerba, PhD, a professor of environmental microbiology at
the University of Arizona in Tucson. "People turn their desks into bacteria
cafeterias because they eat at them, but they never clean them. The phone is
the dirtiest, the desktop is next, and the mouse and the computer follow."
Tips to help you if you still find you are eating meals at your desk -
- Plan ahead. If you do eat at work, pre-plan your lunches and bring them with
you if possible. Making healthy choices is often easier if you have some
control over what you are eating
-
Follow the food safety rules-‘keep hot food hot and cold foods cold’. Do not
let foods sit out very long at room temperature-no more than 2 hours at room
temperature.
-
Clean your area where you are working-try to wipe off an area where you will
be eating.
-
Pay attention-focus on what is going in your mouth. Enjoy the meal and try
to keep portions to the recommended size.
-
Think about eating with a friend or co-worker. The interaction is great and
you will be more aware of your eating choices
Information adapted from an article from WebMD/Published March 24, 2006.
|
