11A nonprofit independent licensee of the Blue Cross Blue Shield Association

Nutrition for Work, Home and In BetweenPat Salzer, RD

Objectives

• Current nutrition landscape

• Nutrition barriers

• Nutrition strategies

• Making the Healthy Choice the Easy Choice

When I think of your jobs and life…

Today People are Stressed

Current State of Health

9

• Take a minute to reflect on your own health and wellbeing

• Is your own health and wellbeing in your top 3 priorities?

• Just breathe for a minute

What About You?

We live in a food oriented society

Food is a universal coping mechanism in good times and in bad…

for coping and consolation

for stress and indulgence

for enjoyment and impulse behavior

We live in a food obsessed society

• Food is the universal coping mechanism

• Chronic diet society

Chronic Diet Society

• There is a constant struggle to lose weight

– High failure rate

• Sadly, the bathroom scale consumes people

Why are you eating???

• Remote control and potato chips

• In sight, on mind

• Boredom

• Comfort

• Peer pressure

• Can’t sleep

• Stress- How do you spell relief

• Creatures of habit

Calories do count

• Even if-

– No one sees us eating

– The food is off of someone else's dish

– We are standing up

– The pretzel was broken

– The cookie was broken

When Stress Affects Your Diet

• The junk food/stress cycle

• Avoiding crash and burn

• Finding true comfort foods

• Design your comfort menu

The Food Groups

• Caffeine

• Sugar

• Salt

• Fat

The 4 basic Food Groups?

1. Caffeine

2. Sugar

3. Salt

4. Fat

Nutritional Practices of Americans

• At least 1/4 of adults eat fast food everyday

• At 4:00pm, 3/4 of Americans have no idea what they’ll have for dinner

• The typical American is consuming about 300 calories more per day than just a few decades ago

• The vast majority of Americans do not get enough fiber, fruits or vegetables in their daily diet

P POUR SOME SUGAR IN ME!!!

Food Police vs. Food Advocate

The Real Food Groups

Source: US Department of Agriculture; www.myplate.gov

Fill ½ of your

plate

with colorful

fruits and

veggies

Nutrition- an evolving science

• Not exact

• Return pleasure to eating

• Enriching part of your life

• Learn to eat vs learn to diet

• Return to the kitchen

Food Diary

Keep track of your food intake and include

– Portion

– Time of day

– Who you are with

– What you are doing

– What mood you are in

– How hungry you are

Break The Fast With Breakfast

• More energy

• Increase your metabolism

• Helps concentration

Skipping Meals

• Likely to overeat later

• Difficult to meet nutrition goals

Grazing Approval

• Small, frequent meals

• Fits into your busy schedule

• Graze from real food groups vs. chips, donuts

Survival Kit

• Plan ahead

• Keep in drawer, briefcase, gym bag or car

• Keep in refrigerator or insulated lunch box

• Good choices

It All Comes Down to Planning

• Plan your day

• Plan your deadlines and projects

• Plan your meals and snacks

• Plan your opportunities to eat

Healthy Eating Starts at the

Supermarket Tips

• Have a list and stick to it

• Organize your list similar to store lay out

• Shop at non peak hours

• Read the Nutrition Facts on the food label

• Imagine your cart as your stomach

Kitchen Nutrition

• Resetting your kitchen table-use smaller plates

• Make fruits and vegetables easily accessible and visible!

• Keep junk food off counters

• Eat off plates, not out of containers/bags

Foods that are in style

• Eggs• Coffee and tea• Greek yogurt• Dark chocolate• Nuts• Salmon• Olive oil• Carbs• Fruits and vegetables• Whole grains

Manage setbacks

• Know what can cause a setback

• Plan ahead and help prevent setback

• If you do fall off track get back on right away

Survival Kit

• Plan ahead

• Keep in drawer, briefcase, or car

• Keep in refrigerator or insulated lunch box

• Healthy choices– Fruit– Vegetables– Nuts– Yogurt

Fitting Nutrition Into Your Busy Day

1. Eat Breakfast

• More energy

• Increase your metabolism

• Helps concentration

2. Don’t skip meals

• Likely to overeat later

• Difficult to meet nutrition goals

• Lower energy levels

• Decreased productivity

• Body stores fat as a survival mechanism

3. It’s OK to snack• Portion control counts• Graze from real food groups • Don’t eliminate all your favorite

foods at once-everything in moderation

4. Survival Kit• Planning ahead is the key to

success• Keep in drawer, briefcase, car• Healthy choices (fruit, veggies,

nuts, yogurt, etc)

5. Be Mindful at Restaurants • Look up nutritional info online• Ask for a ‘to-go’ box when your

meal comes

DO!

• Eat mindfully

• Enjoy what you eat

• Exercise

• Focus on your behaviors, rather than your weight

• Monitor portion size

• Eat mindfully

• Make eating a singular activity

• Slow down the pace of your eating

Nutrition Summary

• Plan ahead at home and when dining out

• Pack a survival kit with healthy choices

• Keep junk food hidden behind cupboards

• Value your health and take the time to maintain it

Why It’s So Hard To Move…

•America is characterized by overconsumption of calories, unhealthy foods, and inactivity

• Conveniences get the best of us…

• Long commutes

• Sedentary jobs

• Remote controls/door openers

• Elevators/escalators

• Drive-through windows

• Automatic windows

A Tip To Help Manage Stress…

Move Your Body!

Our Mindset

• Our health is important

• THINK:– democracy vs. dictatorship

– lifestyle changes, not quick fix

• find alternative activities to eating

• work on ways to increase your movement– take the stairs

– park far away

– simple things add up!

Physical Activity

• 7 days without exercise makes one weak!

• Today’s society consists of:

– curbside dining

– “remote controlled society”

– “fast food nation”

M Making the healthy choice the easy choice

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I6npykxrP40

Most important

To have fun!!

Physical Activity: Move More, Feel Better

At Work

• Take the stairs

• Standing/walking meetings

• Sit for 60 Stand for 3

• Stand while on the phone/conference calls

• Use break rooms/rest rooms farthest from your work station

At Home

• Move during TV commercials (jumping jacks, push ups)

• Make a plan for when you will schedule exercise

• Treat your workout like a doctor’s appointment-don’t miss it!

Goal: 30 minutes every day!

How much sleep do we need?

• How much sleep we need varies by individuals and generally changes with age.

• The National Institute of Health suggests the following sleep hours:

• School-age children – at least 10 hours/day

• Teens – 9-10 hours/day

• Adults – 7-8 hours/day

• Source: CDC

SLEEP BETTER

So What’s Next?

Make One Behavior Change

• Start walking 10 minutes every other day

• Drink an extra glass of water

• Add one vegetable to dinner

• Cut out one sweet per day

• Go to sleep 15 minutes earlier

See your doctor as recommended and understand personal risk factors

Build a support network -reach out to family & friends

The Six Essential Elements of Wellbeing

Emotional WellbeingHaving the resiliency and mental energy to get important things done each day

Career WellbeingLiking what you do every day; having a sense of purpose

Community WellbeingSense of engagement with the area where you live

Social WellbeingHaving strong relationships and love in your life

Physical WellbeingHaving good health and enough energy to get things done on a daily basis

Financial WellbeingEffectively managing your economic life; feeling financially secure

Challenges and Ideas

• Demographics

• Shift workers

• No cafeteria

• No budget

• Strategy- latch on to influencers within your workgroup

• People with energy as ambassadors

• Testimonials

Culture &

Environment

Programs,

Resources &

Education

Policies &

Benefits

Wellbeing

Financial ▪ Community ▪ Physical ▪ Emotional ▪ Social ▪ Career

Senior Leadership Support

Data

Structure of a Successful Program

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Programs, Resources & Education

• Excellus – youtube page, lunch n’ learns, 10 day real food challenge, consultative support

• National resources – Dr. Wansink, Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics, Welcoa

• CSA, health fairs, weight, produce, hydration challenges

• Time for sharing- what works for you?

Culture & Environment

• Making the Healthy Choice the Easy Choice!

• No more donut days without a healthy choice!

• Don’t take away unhealthy options, just add healthy ones

• Does your environment align with your goal?

• Culture- candy jars vs fruit bowl

• No dumping zone

Policies & Benefits

• CDC best practices-

– Healthy Meeting policy

– Make most (more than 50%) of the food and beverage choices available in vending machines, cafeterias, snack bars or other purchase points healthy options

– Identify healthier food and beverage choices with signs or symbols

– Subsidize or provide discounts on healthier foods and beverages offered in vending machines, cafeterias, snack bars or other purchase points

– Offer or promote an on‐site or nearby farmers’ market or CSA (Community Supported Agriculture) localharvest.org

Workplace strategies

• Create your own salad Fridays

• Recipe exchange

• Healthy selfies

• Survival kits

• Lunch Club

• Be the first to order!

Create a Supportive Environment

Create a Supportive Environment

Create a Supportive Environment

Create a Supportive Environment

Creating A Supportive Environment

• Policy changes: smoke free campus, healthy meeting policy, release time to participate in wellness activities

• Physical modifications: modifying vending machines, creating a walking path, installing bike racks, layout of cafeteria

• Safety: ergonomics/improving workstations, good lighting, safe environment

• Benefits package: vacation and sick time, insurance coverage

“Make the healthy choice the easy choice”

Practical Ideas

• Start simple, but with a plan and goals

• Engage employees in the process

• Make it fun & being healthy easy

• Food always works

• Consider incentives

• Offer something for everyone

• Communicate with spouses

“Put ‘eat chocolate’ at the top of your

list of things to do today. That way, at least you’ll get one thing done.”

~ Author unknown

Thank you.Thank you