Making Healthy Changes At Work

Kelly Boyle is a registered dietitian who transitioned to a whole food plant based diet (WFPB) a few years back. Her transition did not occur without a few bumps in the road. One of her biggest challenges was making healthy dietary changes at work. It’s apparent that she was able to overcome those challenges as her employer asked her to write a newsletter article about eating healthy at work.

Kelly was gracious enough to allow us to share her motivating article with visitors to this site. The article is below. Read it and enjoy.

MAKING HEALTHY CHANGES IN THE WORKPLACE – By Kelly M. Boyle RD, CDN

Trying to make changes to improve your eating habits, especially in the workplace? If so, I am writing this article for you.

I am an RD in the nutrition field for over 17 years. Moderation was a way of life for me. One day, my life changed. I was diagnosed with a condition currently thought to be a high risk for breast cancer. Further impacting my risk is having a close relative who died young from breast cancer. Before I knew it, I was having multiple painful, invasive tests and finally was getting wheeled into an operating room for a lumpectomy to remove a few microscopic cells. This ended up turning into a partial mastectomy with a significant recovery. After that, I had three reconstructions to the area, for a total of four surgeries in two years. Around the same time, my sister was diagnosed with the same condition and also had multiple surgeries. At that point I knew something had to change. I started delving into research on nutrition and cancer; kept an open mind, and did a LOT of reading. I began to realize that I needed to make some changes to my diet.

The journey began…I decided to stop eating processed junk foods, especially at work- i.e. candy, cakes, cookies, chips and was determined to significantly increase whole foods like fruits, vegetables, beans/lentils, and whole grains/products. My family undertook this challenge with me. We shared recipes and took turns making family dinners. A handful of my colleagues at work, were on similar journeys with their own health and embraced this way of eating at the same time. I had much needed support.

Putting a plan for dietary change into effect is not always easy. Most of us spend the great majority of our eating-time at work. People around you can have an impact on your success. I have put together some advice based upon my experiences in the office to help others who are also on a journey of changing their eating habits.

• Don’t expect everyone to be your cheerleaders. There are going o be some people who don’t want you to succeed. Although these folks don’t typically have bad intentions, watching your good habits only makes them feel worse about their bad ones. Find one person who can be your support at work and who has similar goals. Sharing recipes and tips makes it easier on both of you. Keep moving forward ignoring negativity from others.

•  Take the candy, cookies, chips off your desk, out of your drawers, and out of your home. Stop buying it. We often buy this food for “other people”, but it is amazing how much we end up eating ourselves. The first two weeks of avoiding junk food is the most difficult, but once you get past that, it does get easier. These foods lose their hold on you the less often you eat them. You will be surprised at how little happiness they actually brought you.

• Take 15 minutes in the morning to get your meals and snacks packed for the day. Pre-package leftovers from dinner for lunch the next day. Having quick, healthy snacks handy helps prevent excessive hunger which often leads to poor food choices made at the snack machine or cafeteria. It also prevents overeating later. At your desk stash some low sodium, healthy dehydrated bean/lentil soups, instant hot cereals, a bag of brown rice cakes, and dried fruit. Keep on hand: unsweetened applesauce cups or fruit cups (in juice), whole grain/ low fat crackers, and portioned dry roasted (unsalted) or raw nuts/seeds-great for those days when you did not pack your meals.

•  Stay hydrated! Thirst can be misinterpreted as hunger- sip water all day. Coffee and tea are also good choices, but be careful of what you are adding to them- if they become vehicles for added sugar and fat; they are no longer healthy choices.

• Bring a healthy choice to staff parties and eat only what you bring. Coworkers will appreciate sampling healthy ideas they can try on their own. Challenge your party planners to come up with healthy-themed party ideas: try a salad/wrap day, or have a friendly competition for best low calorie, fruit-based dessert.

My story is not over. I continue to strive for better health through disease preventing nutrition and exercise. I am the manager of my own health, in the driver seat for long-term wellness. If you are considering making healthy changes, just go for it!

Don’t expect different or better results from doing the same things that have lead you to this place you don’t want to be. Don’t let self doubt, past failures, or other people stop you. You can do it.