BUSINESS TIP: Laughing Through Lunch

When you have a busy day in the office, it's easy to lose track of time and look at your watch at 3pm, realising that you haven't eaten lunch again. If this is you, you are the one in three Australians who skip lunch at least once a week. Of the people that do eat lunch, most people choose foods like hot chips, pies and hamburgers. They're tasty and high in fat and salt, which leads to a larger waistline and high blood fats and blood pressure.

As easy as it is to skip lunch, it is an important meal of the day. Skipping lunch can mean that your blood sugars drop and by mid afternoon lunch skippers are more likely to get cravings. They tend to binge eat on fatty, sugary and kilojoule laden foods in the mid afternoon. This causes a rapid rise in blood sugar levels which results in increased triglycerides (blood fats) and fat storage.

Eating lunch has many benefits besides reducing mid afternoon binge sessions. Lunch keeps you concentrating and working at your best throughout the afternoon, it helps control weight and it contributes to your daily nutrient intake. It also helps to control blood sugar levels, which helps to reduce the risk of developing diabetes and other complications. Lunch helps motivation and enhances workplace relationships.

Some handy tips to see you eating a healthy lunch daily include:

1. Include core foods. Base all lunch choices around wholegrains, vegetables, fruit, lean meat, fish or chicken.
2. Schedule it in. To ensure you don't skip lunch, schedule it into your daily planner or diary, and treat it like an appointment or meeting.
3. Keep food at work. Take bread, tomatoes, cheese, yoghurt, fruit and lettuce and keep them in your fridge at work. At your desk store dry biscuits, tin of tunna, baked beans, dried fruit and nuts, and cereal bars Being prepared will mean you always have food on hand.
4. Good takeaway options. Choose wholegrain sandwiches, pasta with a tomato and vegetable-based sauce, sushi, salads, lean meat/chicken and vegetable dish with steamed rice, baked potato, soup or fruit salad with yoghurt.
5. Limit portion sizes when eating out. Eat one course and if there is food to share as an entree, it doesn't mean that you have to eat it. Also keep a tab on how much you are drinking. It's easy too just keep topping up the glass unaware how many glasses you have consumed by the end of it.