Winter is sapping my willpower

THE word on the street is that sitting is the new smoking, but that’s not the only way your office job may be affecting your health.

If your workplace is anything like mine, you can feel like it’s constantly out to railroad your well intentioned (but almost never executed) healthy eating plans.

I’m a sucker for the “I’ll start Monday” tale I tell myself, but come time for the first alarm of the week I’m quick to hit snooze in favour of sleeping through the extra 10 minutes I’d allowed myself for meal prep.

And like most things in life, the key to success is preparation.

In the dead of winter I’m unlikely to exercise the self control required to order a cold salad over a warm soup.

As an emotional eater the stress of my unread emails, morning commute and growing to-do list isn’t going to be lessened by lettuce and carrot the way it is by a Snickers bar.

And should I manage to muster up the strength to make it through step one (BYO lunch) I rarely have the strength to see it through as my colleague orders my regular midday meal from our favourite cafe. Without a doubt, during the first week of an attempted cleanse, someone in the office will have a birthday/baby/going away. Or, like they sensed your approaching attempt at selfimprovement, someone will decide to bake for the office masses for no reason at all. And the brisk walk (read: run) you make to the communal kitchen to get a slice of homemade passionfruit sponge before it disappears isn’t enough to work off the whipped cream inside.

Worse still, our office chocolate, chip and soft drink supply is a fundraiser for orphans in Uganda.

How can I feel bad about breaking a promise I made to myself a mere 24 hours earlier when I am doing something so good?

As a non-coffee drinker, my sugar levels start to drop through the floor and 3.30itis arrives at my desk by 2pm at best.

If that’s around the time you lose your appetite then there’s a chance I’ve eaten it.

The term hangry (where your hunger morphs into anger) is personified and the snack attack takes over.

Summer bodies may be made in winter but I need a break.

Might have a Kit Kat.