Yes, it was my choice to have the extra cups of tea, biscuits, and the odd chocolate late into the night and then there was the community biscuit tin that ended up being our 11pm community binge tin…
I can honestly say my job was making me fat and I wish I had read this book way back before the extra weight crept around my waist.
“Is Your Job Making You Fat” reminds us about the importance of looking after ourselves in our daily lives. Reflecting on the health consequences of our sedentary jobs, the extra cappuccinos or our unhealthy lunch choices.
The fast paced nature of our lives, families, deadlines, job stress and longer hours is really the perfect storm for weight gain. But it can also act as the tipping point for a fresh start.
I love that the authors Ken Lloyd and Stacey Laure Lloyd offer a business-like approach to weight management, setting out objectives, strategies, priorities and deadlines – with measurable results. So far I am relating to this!
For a start, they survey the corporate foodscape day and all the pitfalls and opportunities.
From the beginning of the day we are tempted with sugar… café bars are full of quick hit wonders for breakfast – muffins, sugar buns, croissants, health bars parading as a good option and many more.
Morning tea – something hot to drink with a yummy snack. More sitting at the desk, no time for lunch or to stretch the legs. No wonder we are becoming round just sitting at our computers.
Not to mention the toastie or the pasta take-away our colleagues bring back with another cappuccino… and roll on dinner – hopefully it’s not more take-way!
Time to press pause and consider. Exercise in the office, or park and walk to work. Take the stairs, wander around to communicate, don’t pass on lunch, make it work for you.
Walk the extra block for a healthy option, bring a fresh fruit box to work, and read tips on how to manage stress before it manages you. Plus if you work from home – hooray, there is a special chapter entirely dedicated to home management of your waist line.
Wrapping it up. This is a good, easy to read and sensible approach to things we may already know but often choose to forget. One that can help to create a weight reduction plan for the working day that will keep our waists under control!
PS – I am eating a sensible bowl of fresh foods for lunch and walked eight blocks this morning to a meeting. So week one, and 10kg to go, will keep you updated!
The Carousel would like to thank Liz Courtney for this article. Liz directed Earth’s Survival and The Tipping Points of Climate Change, and is one of the winners of 100 Women of Influence awards in 2015.
Is Your Job Making you Fat? By Ken Lloyd, PhD & Stacey Laura Lloyd, Published by NERO
