Time: < 30 Minutes
STEP 1: The first step is recognizing the biggest obstacle you need to overcome. It may be eating out at lunch or consuming sweets or a bag of chips before bed or is it skipping meals and then gorging at dinner. Once you determine what habit needs adjusting you can move to step two. For this exercise, we’ll use eating out at lunch as our example.
STEP 2: When you are eating out for most or all of your lunches during the week, you are not in control of your caloric, sodium or fat intake, and you will be missing out on important vitamins and minerals. Taking your meals (and additionally your health) into your own hands puts YOU back in control of your health, weight and lifestyle. Decide how many days a week you will bring your lunch, rather than eat out. (I suggest 3 or more). A quick google search will provide you with specific and realistic directions for meal planning so that you can shop more efficiently and prepare your meals ahead of time, thus enabling you to easily pack a healthy lunch each day.
STEP 3: Determine what you can do during your lunch break on the days you bring your lunch that you can look forward to…walk with a friend (maybe the one you usually eat with), run errands, take a nap in your car, read, etc. By making even this small change, you can make good use of your lunch hour by being more productive, doing other things that are important to you, and saving some money in the process.
STEP 4: Go to the grocery store and get food to cook for those 3 days or make more at dinner and take leftovers each day. I suggest throwing in a healthy snack (fruit, hummus and veggies, avocado and toast, mixed nuts) to have in case you get hungry. Plan ahead so you have complete control over the amount of money you are spending, as well as the necessary nutrients to help you focus and maintain energy throughout the day. Don’t be afraid to get creative with your meals—make PB&J a thing of the past.
STEP 5: Tell those that you usually eat with what changes you are making and why. They may be interested in joining you on your Journey, which can help with accountability. Just because you make the choice to reduce eating out for lunch doesn’t mean you have to sacrifice your social opportunities. Invite your coworkers to eat lunch outside or to join you on your errands—replace your spending with quality time building relationships with coworkers.
