At-work teams adapt to new eating habits

Changing eating habits isn't easy. That's what many teams participating in the Fittest Loser At Work Challenge have discovered in the past two weeks.

In Week 2 of the competition, teams were asked to sound-off on how they are adapting to their new eating habits. Are they counting calories? What's the hardest food to give up? Did they eat anything odd as a result of changing their diet?

Out of the 38 teams participating in the challenge, a lot of "divas" came forward with responses. The Hardware Divas from Addison Building Materials have found it difficult to give up bread, chips, pizza and wine.

Roosevelt University's Dwindling Divas team agrees that pizza is one of the toughest foods to give up. Plus, "a few of us are also caffeine junkies, mostly in the form of soda, so cutting back on that while also trying to study nonstop has been another hurdle to overcome," says Dwindling Divas Team Captain Camille R. Andrews.

Meanwhile, members of the "CPA's Chippin' Pounds Away" team from BIK & Co, LLP in Palatine, are finding themselves trying new foods. "The oddest thing I ate this last week was an orchid with our office's catered lunch," says Connie Dubois. "I have no idea how many calories it has."

Overall, the Hardware Divas have discovered that they need to consume more food throughout the day. "When you put on the pounds, your natural reaction is to cut more calories out of your diet," says Team Captain Meghan Wudtke.

Unfortunately, the most common time that people cut calories out of their diet is during the day - and then they often find themselves overeating at night. "When we overconsumed, it was generally because we were not eating enough calories throughout the day and then tended to binge eat at night to make up for the calories we missed throughout the day," Wudtke says.

To retrain their bodies and minds to consume balanced meals throughout the day and avoid bingeing at night will be a challenge, but the Hardware Divas are determined. Most team members are finding themselves cooking at home more often and realizing that they need to plan ahead for every meal - an inconvenience at times.

"For this reason, we have found it important to use Sunday as a shopping and prep day for the week," says Wudtke.

For example, one teammate makes a large salad and then portions it into Ziploc bags, having one ready for each day of the week.

At Roosevelt University, the Dwindling Divas have been busy studying for their finals. The stress has caused a few dieting "slip-ups" but the team has rallied to make sure that one slip doesn't derail its progress. "A few of us are admittedly stress eaters, which usually means pizza, fast food of some kind or

unhealthy junk foods, but we have made efforts to purchase only healthy food choices for while we are at home," says Andrews.

These divas have decided that spending a little extra money on pre-prepped fruits and veggies is worth it. This saves them time, making it easier to make healthier decisions and avoid cheating on their diets. Some of the gals have also started counting calories with the help of "MyFitnessPal," a free online calorie counter. Besides diet, some members are taking advantage of the activities offered by contest sponsors.

"I, myself, plan on taking advantage of the Biggest Loser Resort classes as extra motivation to start moving in a better direction," Andrews says.

In Palatine, members of the CPA's Chippin' Pounds Away have each found useful techniques to help them lose weight. Sarah Schmidt is drinking more water and eating smaller portions throughout the day, avoiding a large lunch or dinner. "This has helped me stay energized throughout the day," she says.

Cathie Munoz is also focusing on smaller food portions. She hasn't weighed herself to date, but already feels looser in her clothes. "I've been working on looking at labels not only for calories but also for sugar content, fiber, sodium, vitamins, nutrients, etc.," she says.

Jen Grealish is counting calories with MyFitnessPal. In addition, she brings her breakfast and lunch to work daily and has started eating more yogurt, taking vitamins and drinking chocolate milk at night as a dessert.

Finally, At Work teams are also participating in a variety of events and activities offered by sponsors. More than 30 teams participated in a "Desk-ercise" webinar on Feb. 25, sponsored by Assurance. The webinar focused on the dangers of sitting, benefits of physical activity, ergonomics of the workstation, stretching tips and offered a few "desk-ercise" tips.