10 Things About… Trying to Diet While Working a Corporate Job

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lots of hors d'oeuvres spread on a table

Amazingly, everyone I know right now is either trying to get their eating under control (the Fourth of July was apparently a very happy one for everyone!) or outright diet.

This can seem like a nearly impossible task if you've got cocktail parties, catered dinners, and three-course lunches on a daily basis — especially since so many diet programs require you to cook (or at least eat specific foods that can take a ton of time to prepare).

What's a working girl to do? Here are my best tips for how to diet while working a corporate job…

{related: how not to gain weight during the summer recruiting season}

How to Diet While Working a Corporate Job

1. Go slow and choose realistic goals. Now is not the time to try that new fast/”cleanse”/diet pill you've heard so much about — particularly if you're interning with the company for the summer in hopes of getting a job offer. You need your wits about you and your hormone/energy levels as stable as possible.

I'm a huge fan of the Weight Watchers program — it endorses the idea of having a calorie “budget” and encourages you to plan your food intake on a daily and weekly timeframe.

2. Try to adopt a “one big meal a day” policy, even if you're not doing a program like WW. For example, if you had a big lunch, have a salad for dinner. To assess how big your meals are, you can always guesstimate calories using free resources like MyFitnessPal.

3. Skip the bread basket. I know it's hard — all that yummy warm goodness just looking at you. But one roll can be 200-300 calories, and that can add up very easily, particularly if you're trying to limit yourself to, say, 1500 calories per day.

4. In fact, skip simple carbs as much as you can, and focus on protein and fiber. I don't subscribe to any sort of idea that carbs are evil, but I do think that when you're on a diet you have to sort of think of “getting the bang for your buck.”

If you're trying to limit your daily calorie intake, you want those calories to fuel you — to make you feel full for as long as possible, with as much energy as possible. Let's face it, those “100-Calorie Snacks” just aren't likely to do that … but protein and fiber will.

So if you're being taken to lunch, aim for lean protein sources (chicken, turkey, lean steak — shrimp and non-fatty fish are particularly low calorie on an ounce-per-ounce basis) and vegetables with as little added to them as possible.

If you're in the mood for dessert, look for fruit — berries are crazy high in fiber if you're really trying hard.

(These are perfect examples of when dieting at a corporate job is a PLUS — all of these menu items tend to seem terribly expensive when it's coming out of your own pocket.)

5. Watch out for potential landmines. Here's where it pays to understand the difference between cooking at home and eating out.

If you were making a tuna salad for yourself, you might use reduced-fat or low-fat mayo, while a restaurant is highly unlikely to do that. So even though tuna itself is low-fat, the mayo is packed with calories and fat. Some items may be doused in butter (vegetables, pasta) or have butter baked inside it. (I've heard a lot of restaurants will hide a pat of butter in a burger to make it taste better.)

Some ingredients may not even be on your radar screen as being problematic — for example, 1 cup of coconut milk has more calories than a Big Mac. Always get your sauce or dressing on the side.

I'd suggest spritzing all salads and vegetables with lemon wedges — which every restaurant has — and if you still need more flavor, dip your fork in the sauce/dressing before forking your food.

{related: tips for eating late at the office}

6. Stave off hunger with liquids. Actually, you may not be as hungry as you think you are if you just drink a bottle of water. (Add lemon juice to your water if you're bloating — it's a diuretic and works wonders.)

If you're actually hungry, though, caffeine is great for tricking you into thinking you're not that hungry– we find more of a difference with coffee versus Diet Coke (even if it's decaffeinated coffee) but that's just us. Watch how much milk you're adding to your coffee — even that can add up over time.

Tea is also excellent — it feels more like a snack and the additional water can help that afternoon boredom hunger.

{related: snack ideas for work}

7. Eat before you go. It may seem counterintuitive to eat MORE to lose weight, but a simple snack (50-100 calories) before you head to that catered cocktail party will help you keep a level head when the booze starts flowing and that cute actor/waiter starts offering yummy treats on a silver platter.

Some suggestions for low-cal but healthy snacks that will be filling: yogurt (mix it with Fiber One cereal — in addition to fiber you'll add crunch), Lara Bar minisVitatops, a few raw almonds, oatmeal, or string cheese (I particularly love Trader Joe's reduced-fat cheese).

{related: here are all our tips on bringing lunch to work}

8. Implement a system for dealing with hors d'oeuvres. I know someone who has used a system where, for each yummy treat she eats, she eats three healthy ones. Kudos to you if you can do that.

Personally, I just try to choose three unhealthy things that have my name on them if they pass me on a tray — and resolve that nothing else shall tempt me.

9. Don't drink too many calories. Asking for wine spritzers doesn't save that many calories, actually, but if you're going to be drinking for 5-7 hours then it all adds up! Amstel Light is my preferred low-calorie beer of choice (about 100 calories per bottle), and most bars seem to stock it. Skip the juice mixer unless you're sick and go with soda instead (vodka soda, whiskey soda).

If you're really bent on sticking to your diet, don't alcohol drink at all. In our earlier article about what your drink says about you, one commenter noted that as a lightweight she tries to get to the bar early and “start with a lime and soda with lots of ice, because it looks like a G&T” — this is great advice for the dieters, also.

{related: how to fit lunch workouts into your workday}

10. Get whatever exercise you can. Take the stairs instead of the elevator. Get off one subway stop earlier and walk the rest of the way.

Keep in mind that while cardio is great, weight training will actually have more impact if you've got limited time — having more muscles increases your metabolism.

{related: the best strength training programs to do without a gym}

(It's also easier to do without working up a sweat, meaning if you've got 15-45 minutes free, you can do that stuff during the workday without necessarily showering).

Even if you can't get to the gym, do some squats before you take your lunch break, or push-ups. Tighten your abs and/or glutes on elevator rides. Do what you can.

{related: the best streaming workouts to do at home}

Updated images via Stencil. Originally pictured: this t-shirt at Threadless. 

11 Comments

  1. I would say the hardest thing is figuring out what healthy to order on seamless web- everything you get is a total mystery… healthy? not healthy? who knows…. Any advice on nightly in the cubicle dinners?

  2. My question is about boxed lunches. They’re frequently served at lunch meetings, and it’s rarely possible to make substitutions/changes. Also, it’s kind of awkward to be the one eating your plain yogurt with flaxseed when everyone else is having a sandwich or salad. Any suggestions?

    1. I’ve been taking my own lunch to my weekly group meetings for the past year. The boxed lunches my firm serves us is nothing more than dying slowly by boxed lunch. I don’t care at all if I send any message of awkwardness. I’ve lost 34 pounds, which is more important than any feeling of social awkwardness.

  3. Boxed lunches – still an opportunity there to make healthier choices without making a show of things, as in skip the cookie and the pasta salad. Or eat half the sandwich or an undressed salad – enough to tide you over – and then grab your yogurt after the meeting. FWIW, when I see someone eating healthy when everybody else is digging into the boxed lunch, I tend to think that person is smart and in control of her choices. Maybe others do, too…

  4. For in-the-cubicle dinners, I love Kashi’s frozen entrees. They can be pricey, at up to $4 per box, but that’s better than any take-out and grocery stores frequently have them on special. Amy’s (an organic brand) and Cedar Lane also have fantastic frozen entrees, all high in protein and fiber, and many gluten-free. Definitely bang for the buck.

    As for boxed lunches, I totally agree with Chase, above — I always admire my colleagues who don’t scarf down everything in the box just because it’s there… If I happen to see someone forgo the chips or cookie, which usually are pretty disappointing anyway, I perceive that person as more conscientious than the average coworker. Doesn’t generally even signal that the person may be dieting — just making healthy choices.

    1. I know this is an old thread — but for the benefit of anyone skimming like me, I just want to say that the cheapest place I’ve found to buy Kashi is at Wal-mart. (I know, I know…) I realized that I was being overcharged by years of buying it at Whole Foods.

  5. Try high protein (20g), zero sugar, no trans fat and gluten free bars from Think Thin (www.thinkproducts.com). Delicious compared to other bars on the market, and one can easily stand in for breakfast or lunch. My favorite is White Chocolate Chip.

  6. Good idea to take some protein bars with you for evenings alone in your hotel room. Difficult not to hit the mini-bar, or run down to the snack machine, if you’re tired and maybe stressed out after a day of meetings. And especially! if you’re having trouble falling asleep, that’s always my weakest moment. If possible, have a word with whoever books the hotels, and see if you can influence them to choose one with a gym.

  7. seamlessweb has:

    sashimi / miso soup
    pump or energy kitchen
    salad sans dressing, keep dressing of choice in fridge @ work
    sugarfree red bull
    steamed broccoli (any of the dozens of “asian” restaurants)

  8. I’m old to this thread, but it’s a topic near and dear to my heart. I’ve lost 34 pounds over the past year, and it’s been a challenge to do so while an associate in BigLaw. Besides setting realistic goals (weight loss is a marathon, not a sprint), I think the only way to be successful at weight loss while working in a demanding job is to plan ahead. “If you fail to plan, you plan to fail.” Tips I’ve learned:

    – Buy a small fridge for your office and bring your own lunch, dinner (if needed) and snacks. If you know exactly what you are eating, then you correctly track your calories with programs like CalorieKing.

    – Skip the lunches that management feeds you and bring your own. Boxed lunches are unheathly, and you don’t know what the vendor is putting in your lunch. It’s impossible to track your caloric intake. If I do get any comments from my colleagues about bringing my own lunch, it’s always that my food looks and smells better than the boxed lunch.

    – NEVER, NEVER, and I repeat, NEVER order dinner from Waiters-on-Wheels, Seamless Web, etc. It’s just another way that BigLaw management is slowly trying to kill associates. Take-out food is generally too processed and prepared in such unhealthy ways (too much butter, salt, etc.). Sometimes you luck out with a vendor with good choices, but it’s rare. Instead, stock your fridge in your office with emergency dinners, such as Eating Right meals, etc.

    – Develop a workout schedule that works for you, and stick with it. I find that mornings before work (6:30 am for me) generally work better than evenings after work, as last minute emergencies tend to arise in the latter part of the day instead of first thing in the morning. Plus, aren’t you exhausted by 8 or 9 pm?

  9. one website not mentioned that is fantastic for tracking is livestrong.com and it is free

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