Do Not Eat At Your Desk
This website is dedicated to health and wellness activities that you can and should perform at your desk… eating isn’t one of them. In the past, this author has written about the best snacks to keep at your desk. However, the best snack for weight loss will always be no snack.
Weight loss revolves around creating a calorie deficit, meaning that you burn more calories than you consume. Snacking, by definition, is eating additional calories outside of your regular meals, which is only beneficial if you choose to snack on something healthy to curb your appetite. For instance, if you find yourself hungry around 3 pm most days and are tempted to grab something from the office candy bowl, it may be a good idea to pack a bag of carrots for after lunch.
Regardless of your snacking habits, eating at your desk is far from ideal. Step away to a designated dining area to give yourself a small break from work, allow yourself to be mindful of what you are eating, and to avoid having to multitask. Eating at your desk, like eating in front of the television, is distracted eating, and it is difficult to gauge how much you are consuming when you are distracted.
Be mindful of what you put in your mouth, or you’ll likely overeat. Overeating makes you feel bloated and tired, which in turn will make you less productive. Productivity is why most people claim they eat at their desks, in reality, people eat at their desks because they’re lazy or they are trying to avoid a social situation.
No matter what the corporate culture is like where you work, you have a lunch break, and you might as well use it. You’ll get no awards for eating lunch at your desk, but you will get a dirty workspace and annoyed coworkers. People prefer not to smell their coworkers’ lunches, especially if they feature hard-boiled eggs or tuna salad.
Every space has its purpose, your desk is for working, your kitchen is for eating, and your bed is for sleeping. That may sound like the first page of a children’s book, but when it comes to productivity, designating areas for a particular use is essential. It allows your mind to subconsciously say, “at the desk, must be work time.” Instead of, “at the desk, must be snack time.” Therefore try never to eat at your desk. That way, you won’t accidentally condition yourself to associate your desk with food.
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