Does this picture look familiar?
This is what Tammy, a fellow Badass Recruit, finds most mornings when she arrives at work. The breakroom of the law office where she works is, to be blunt, what I call the Sabotage Zone. The common area's landmines included, when she took this picture Monday:
- A baked brie tart
- Lots of various crackers (most crackers are full of trans fats and white-flour carbs)
- Chicken Salad (oh, the mayo!)
- Chocolate chip cookies
- and a "lonely bowl" containing a "small amount of fruit."
"And we (the people working here) wonder why we just can't seem to get healthy. Not pictured is the coke machine to the right and the constantly full vending machine that taunts you after your lunch just doesn't leave you feeling fulfilled some days....With the holidays coming, LORD HELP US!"
Amen. On the same day, back in my office, we were kicking off the Fall 2011 Weight Loss Challenge. Yet I walked into the conference room and found four boxes of glazed and chocolate glazed donuts. Horror!!! Last week, an advertiser sent a "thank you" basket full of caramels, taffy, and gigantic chocolate-covered caramel apples. Cuz, ya know, the caramel apple isn't quite sweet enough. #FAIL!
The donut delivery prompted a co-worker and weight loss challenge participant to e-mail me a few hours later, "So… what advice could I get for the dozen donuts in the kitchen? lol"
My answer: DO. Not. Eat.
But it's not always that easy, right? The Badass Armour gets weak - especially on a stressful day, or mid-afternoon when we're hungry again with no healthy snacks in sight. The healthy eating is especially difficult to maintain this time of year, when every day a new decadent temptation finds its way in the door.
So here are a few thoughts on how to Navigate the Sabotage Zone:
1. Don't enter it: This is the simplest one. Out of sight, out of mind. If you go into that break room with the treats 6 times a day, you're upping the strain on your willpower. So stock your desk with water, a little coffee maker, mini cooler to stock your lunch, whatever it takes to avoid ever needing to go into the Sabotage Zone.
2. Bring in your own Ammo: Fine, if passive-aggressive Suzie wants to thwart your weight loss efforts by bringing in the cookies, fire back. Every week, stock that Sabotage Zone with "Safe Reserves," the healthy snacks you can turn to when hunger sets in. Let your co-workers have the chocolate, leftover birthday cake and whatever else. Fuel yourself with stuff like hummus and pita or carrots, string cheese, chocolate protein shakes, fruit, etc.
3. No change, no cash, no candy: You can't use the vending machine stocked with all those processed cheese crackers and candy treats or soda if you don't have change or cash. So play poor, and that Snickers bar won't be an option.
4. Consider the penance: Of course the donuts taste good. Of course the gooey Brie would be an awesome mid-afternoon pick-you-up. But before you indulge, consider the calories and the exercise needed to burn it off. Are 10 extra stadiums or 2 extra miles of running worth it? If so, go ahead - and be sure to pay the penance via exercise. But all that penance can quickly turn into a marathon. So do the math. Especially during the holidays, it's all of these extra little nibbles that add up to those 5 to 10 pounds come Dec. 31.
5. Take 5: When the urge to enjoy the Sabotage Zone hits, just wait 5 minutes. Odds are, by the time 5 minutes is up, you might have changed your mind or gotten distracted by something else. Or, if your office is like most, the 5-minute wait is all it takes for that last donut you almost ate to be eaten by someone else. And for you, that's a win!