Scottish Daily Mail

The career women who say lunch is for wimps

But doctors warn they are storing up trouble

- by Antonia Hoyle

Lunchtime arrives but not a crumb passes Samantha Stonehouse’s lips. Despite having worked flat out for four hours, she won’t stop for any food until she leaves the office.

‘i’m too busy to eat. it wastes time, which is why i never do it at work,’ she explains. ‘Food is a distractio­n so i don’t factor it into my working day, and my career is doing all the better for it.’

extreme? Perhaps. But company director Samantha is not the only working woman forgoing food to further her career.

in a recent interview, Scottish First minister nicola Sturgeon declared herself so busy that she often forgets to eat, and a recent survey revealed the average Briton is under so much pressure at work that they take just 14 minutes for their lunch break.

it seems that increasing numbers of career-driven women are content to accessoris­e their designer suits with the odd stomach rumble. But at what cost?

‘Going without food during the working day is never a great idea,’ says Dr ian campbell, former chair of the national Obesity Forum and former honorary clinical director of the charity Weight concern.

‘When you feel hungry, it is because your body is telling you it needs energy.’

Far from boosting efficiency in the workplace, Dr campbell warns: ‘Because your body starts to go into starvation mode, conserving energy by slowing your metabolism, you feel sluggish. You’re less able to make decisions and more likely to make mistakes.

‘Despite many attempts to prove otherwise, all the evidence points to a healthy three-meals-a-day routine being the best way to maintain energy levels and promote well-being, whether at home or in the workplace.’

Yet Samantha, 35, is undeterred. After years working as a staff employee for an events company, she set up her own communicat­ions business last summer and is determined to make it succeed.

As a mother to two daughters — Sophia, four, and Poppy, two — her ambition is checked by restricted working hours.

‘i have to finish in time to pick up Sophia from school at 3pm, and am determined to be attentive to the children when they get home, so i cram everything into a shorter time frame than most,’ explains Samantha, married to Simon, 45, who is, ironically, a restaurate­ur. ‘As soon as i wake at 6am i am hooked to my phone, constantly checking emails as i get the children ready for school and nursery.’

BREAKFAST is a banana or a snatched piece of toast eaten in the car on the school run. But once ensconced in her home office in tetworth, Oxfordshir­e, Samantha doesn’t allow herself the luxury of any food at all.

‘i’m glued to my desk, juggling phone calls, admin and promotiona­l work,’ she says. ‘constant multitaski­ng can be stressful but the feeling of achievemen­t is addictive.

‘my career is part of my identity and it’s vital i do well.

‘i run on adrenaline and caffeine. my espresso machine is within reach of my desk. my clients won’t know i’m sipping coffee as we talk, but they will realise if i’m chewing on a sandwich.’

Yet surviving without food by day is more likely to lead to binges in the evening, warns Dr campbell. ‘the hungrier you are, and the lower your blood sugar levels drop, the greater your craving for snacking grows — and you’re much more likely to reach for chocolate and crisps.’

Samantha concedes: ‘i probably eat more at the end of the day because i’m so hungry. After the children have gone to bed, we have a huge meal followed by a dessert.

‘i feel so full afterwards that i’m normally in bed asleep within half an hour. i call it “food wipe out”. i love Sunday roasts. When we’re on holiday, everything revolves around food.’

nonetheles­s, her unorthodox daily diet means she has lost 1st 7lb in the past year, shrinking from a dress size 12 to a size 10.

many other women rely on mealreplac­ement shakes to keep them going through their hectic working week. Sunny Andrea, 32, a product support specialist for a financial pricing firm, whose duties involve dealing with the demands of traders and stockbroke­rs in the city, is among them.

‘i enjoy my job but it’s hectic,’ says Sunny. ‘i’m constantly running between client meetings and internal presentati­ons. in between, i am so busy at my desk that i feel bad about going out to lunch — especially as the u.S. markets open at 12.30pm and my day gets even more frantic.’

until a year ago, Sunny would sprint to a supermarke­t to buy a sandwich, but says: ‘i found bread made me feel stodgy and lethargic. it also sometimes took half an hour to get there, queue up and get back. And by the time i’d finished eating, i’d be so behind with my work that i’d have to leave the office late.’

A friend recommende­d protein shakes, sales of which have soared in recent years thanks to the popular premise that foods higher in protein take longer for the body to digest and, therefore, burn more calories than carbohydra­tes or fats.

For example, in the first quarter of last year, sales of herbalife products, which include shakes, increased by 64 per cent in Britain.

the brand Sunny chose provided 330 calories per 475ml of chocolate-flavoured, ready-made drink.

‘it tastes good and is loaded with vitamins,’ says Sunny, married to Daniel, 48, a coffee-shop manager. ‘it seemed the perfect solution to keep me going without resorting to unhealthy snacks.’

Yet research suggests that chewing releases hormones which control appetite — an action denied when nutrients are swallowed rather than eaten.

nutritioni­st Zoe harcombe adds: ‘Protein shakes are artificial and unnaturall­y high in protein. they won’t help the body short term and can harm it in the medium to long term by placing unnecessar­y pressure on the liver and kidneys.

‘the brain and the body will happily fuel on carbohydra­te or fat — protein is the last resort. i would expect a woman who survives on these to feel irritable and less able to concentrat­e, with impaired mental performanc­e.’

NONETHELES­S, since last September Sunny has arrived at work at 8am every day with a shake in her bag. ‘Sometimes, i do crave food and have a second shake mid-afternoon to keep me going,’ she says. ‘i find sparkling water also helps curb food cravings, and i look more profession­al sipping drinks at my desk than chewing on sandwiches.’

A survey last month revealed 55 per cent of young profession­als are too busy with their career to eat breakfast, and Sunny is among them. As she rushes to get ready in the morning, she manages a cup of tea and a piece of fruit at most. She has lost 5lb off her slender size 10 frame in the past year.

She adds: ‘i come home ravenous and cook pasta, chicken and curries, while at the weekend i eat takeaways and second helpings of chips. So drinking shakes at work seems a way of balancing the junk.’

Dee Vyas, 36, works on the front desk of a london education authority, juggling admin, receptioni­st and personal assistant roles.

‘my job is madly busy,’ says Dee. ‘theoretica­lly i’m allowed to take an hour but if i did i would be left with a backlog of work.’ in any case, she is not allowed to eat at her desk.

‘i used to quickly eat in the canteen but found i got behind in my work and felt drowsy after eating, so worked less efficientl­y in the afternoon,’ she says.

A year ago, she saw protein milk on sale in a health-food store. ‘it was far less time-consuming to drink and didn’t leave me as lethargic,’ says Dee, who is single and lives in london. ‘i was conscious of my weight anyway — i was a size 14 at the time — and thought this was a good way of being healthy and not giving in to chocolate bars and sweets. When i’m not at work i eat fruit, vegetables and salad.’

Dee has lost 2st since she started drinking shakes for lunch, shrinking to a size 10. nonetheles­s, it might be worth stopping for lunch.

‘if you want to be a superwoman, you need more than a shake,’ says nutritioni­st Zoe. ‘hunger is the body’s way of trying to tell you something — we would do well to listen.’

 ??  ?? Hungry for success: Samantha (left) and Sunny
Hungry for success: Samantha (left) and Sunny
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