Job Stress Can Challenge Healthy Eating Habits

Eating healthy at home has been very simple. By eliminating unhealthy food choices from my home I have removed any temptation to stray. When I feel the need for a snack I am no longer grabbing one that is processed but instead grabbing a couple of dates or figs. I have noticed that my desire for the poor food choices I was making has diminished. In addition my home is a place I am comfortable and relaxed. This reduces the impact of emotions on my eating. Unfortunately, the same cannot be said for my work atmosphere.

Most of our work environments differ dramatically from our home lives. Work stress of some type exists from the moment we walk through the door. It is my work environment that has been the biggest obstacle during my Engine 2 Challenge. I am a firefighter  and my unit responds to fires and emergencies throughout Brooklyn. This means that in addition to our immediate area we have to pay attention to what is going on in other areas of the borough. I notice an immediate change in my stress level as soon as I arrive at work. As my stress increases and decreases throughout the tour I often feel an urge to stray from my diet and emotionally eat. An example would be eating when I am not really hungry or drinking a cup of coffee. Both of these are examples of stimulating my body with food. To some degree we probably all go through this at work. Being aware that this is going on is the first step in redirecting and gaining control of the impact work related stress can have and ensure that it does not sabotage our choice to eat healthy.

I find two things helpful in dealing with this problem. The first one is simply gaining control of my mind through breathing. A very simple form of meditation. Drawing my focus to my breath helps me slow everything down and minimize the emotional swing I can experience throughout my tour. To do this I simply perform a four second inhale and four second exhale paying attention to my breathe. I make sure I am breathing by pulling my diaphragm down and not by pulling my clavicle and chest up. By paying attention to my breath I am bringing my focus to the present. In addition I am slowing my heart rate and calming myself down. I can do this anytime  regardless of what I am doing or who is around me. The second thing I do is simply do some type of physical activity. A quick mini workout gives an avenue for stress to leave my body and at the same time make me feel pretty good. This can be something simple such as sets of push ups, chin ups and hindu squats. Not all of us have the opportunity to exercise at work but certainly we all breathe while we are there. The point is that we do have a choice to do something about the impact work can have on our eating habits. Understanding why we do things can give us insight  and empower us to change. It allows us to redirect our actions and replace bad habits with good ones!