Office Weight Loss Tips: 5 Worst Office Pantry Food that Make You Fat

Every office pantry has some of these; foods that will sabotage your fat loss plans and bring you back to square one. In today’s office weight loss tip, I’m going to share with you some of the 5 worst office pantry foods that you should avoid like the plague if you want to know how to get slim.

Some of the fortune 500 companies I’ve visited have pantries that comes with a fully stocked fridge, vending machines for snacks and beverage and an Xbox 360 to help their employees unwind. Sometimes I wonder if their employees even get any work done.

Regardless of how big or small your office pantry is, you need to be able to identify what food you need stay away from. Some are pretty obvious, others not so. Take a look at the picture below taken from my office pantry. See if you can identify which are foods you should avoid if you want to lose weight.

Heres a list of some of the more common pantry foods that you should never eat if your intention is to burn fat and lose weight.

1. Sodas, beer and sugary beverages:
No pantry is complete without sodas, sugary beverages and in some companies, even beer! Avoiding those for weight loss sounds like a no brainer correct? But you’ll be surprised how so many office workers still couldn’t resist the temptation to reach out for a can of soda in the pantry fridge. Even if it’s a “diet” or “lite” version, it’s still filled with artificial flavorings and chemicals that your body doesn’t need.
instead, drink more water and sip on green tea instead. Not those that comes in a bottle and filled with sugar! Green tea is rich with antioxidants and polyphenols which has been shown to have benefits of fat loss.

2. Muesli and candy bars, cookies
In my previous company, the only thing that’s available to eat at the pantry is a container of cookies. Sometimes its Oreos sometimes its chocolate chip cookies.

With all that stress in the office and time constraints, we office workers simply grab whatever is available in the pantry when they’re hungry. Cookies and candy bars are full of empty calories and simple carbohydrates which may give you a momentary boost of energy through its simple sugars, but thereafter, your energy levels will crash. What’s worse is all that simple sugar actually becomes fat and adds to your already increasing waistline.

What about muesli bars? They claim to be low fat and 100% natural! But wait till you read their ingredient labels. Most of these so-called nutrition bars are full of flavor enhancers and hidden sugars. Remember, anything 100% natural doesn’t require you to open it from a box.

A lot of us office workers snack based on convenience. If all your office pantry has are cookies and candy bars, then make the effort to bring your own healthy snack stash. Keep some fruits like apples or pears and nuts such as almonds or even trail mixes so at least you will be snacking on healthy food.
But beware of colleagues who steal food from you. Lock your precious healthy snacks in your drawer.

3. Chocolates or any snack that comes in a box bought by colleagues returning from a vacation
We all have those thoughtful colleagues who brings back souvenirs and snacks whenever they return from a vacation or overseas business trip. My colleagues will hate me when they read this, but truth is, unless it is really something that I haven’t tried before or something really exotic, I probably will not put it in my mouth. Why? Because seven out of 10 times, those are either chocolates or some high carbohydrate snack.

While I appreciate their kind gesture, I often give those a miss. If they are personally offering it to you, take a small piece out of courtesy. Otherwise depending on what it is, don’t touch it.

4. Cakes or any pastry from any kind of office celebration
This is a little tricky. Everyone is at a party with a cake and you certainly don’t want to be the odd one out. So don’t be a party pooper. A small piece never hurt anybody. But make sure it’s just one piece out of courtesy. When someone insists you take a second helping, tell them you are watching your weight and be serious about it. Unless it’s your boss who’s asking.
Now, put in another 20 minutes in your next workout.

5. The Happy hour
This may not be something you often do at the office pantry, but your daily tipple can topple your goal to get slim. Even though studies have shown that having a glass or two a day can help reduce your risk of heart disease, the question here is, can you really limit yourself to just two glasses? Especially if you are in the company of colleagues who down alcohol like water?

If your office pantry has alcohol, it’s common sense for anyone not to drink during office hours. On those occasions where you really have to drink, go with the “lesser-of-the-two-evils” rule, order red wine instead. Red wine contains polyphenols: catechins and resveratrol which has properties to help reduce the risk of heart disease and bad cholesterol.

So how do you limit your happy hour to just two drinks? Sip on your wine slowly. Let it breathe. If your colleagues ask if you want another round, politely refuse and tell them you are still enjoying your current glass of wine.

If you haven’t noticed already, the office is a place that seems ok for everyone to indulge senselessly in unhealthy snacks. “It’s ok for me to have a second helping at that rich chocolate cake because everyone else is having one too.”

We all spend at least eight hours a day at work. The office pantry is almost like our kitchen but the difference is, it doesn’t belong to us so we can’t clean out all the unhealthy food. So make sure you have healthy alternatives available to you at an arm’s reach whenever you feel hungry.

Use the tips I’ve shared with you here to survive the office pantry fattening pitfalls and you will be that much closer to your goals to get slim!

For more tips on how to get slim in the office, visit http://www.corporatefatlossplan.com