I bet you won’t find this too surprising: Working moms eat like crap, according to a new study reported on Time.com. A survey of working parents in low to moderate income communities found that “more than half routinely resorted to unhealthy eating options because of their work circumstances,” the article said.
Let’s see if any of these options sound familiar:
- skipping meals
- eating at work
- eating in the car
- ordering take-out on the way home from work
- choosing easy and quick-fix meals to serve
- overeating after a missed meal
Check, check, and check. I’ve definitely resorted to all of these at various points in my working mom life, much more than I ever did before I became a parent. As we become busier and work harder, we sacrifice good nutrition for keeping our heads above water.
The study’s author hopes the results get employers to do something about on-the-job eating habits, so their employees can be healthier (and therefore more productive). Personally, I think workplace flexibility and respect for work-life balance are a big part of the solution. If you get to structure your day and work at a reasonable pace, you can fit in nutritious meal preparation and time to actually eat.
Of course, it wouldn’t hurt to have healthier options in workplace snack machines and cafeterias … if I had the choice between a fresh salad and a nasty heat lamp burger, I’d go for the salad every time.
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8 thoughts on “Do You Eat Like a Working Mom?”
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Ditto. Check x5 every single day.
Today I didnt have time for breakfast so had coffee at my desk when I got there. Didnt have time to look up from my desk for lunch so I was more than happy to take a coworker up on her offer of bringing me a sandwich and fries. A drug rep brought me a twix.
Now I am too tired after a 10 hour shift to even think about eating or cooking.
If you come up with a solution I would be happy to hear it.
Yeah, I skip breakfast quite a bit and if it wasn't for the crock pot or frozen Trader Joe's meals I'd probably have spaghetti every night. Not that my crock pot meals are so healthy . . .
My wife fits the description, working long hours, lots of stress, no time to eat something healthy.
The kicker is she works at a company that provides plenty of healthy food, they recognize the value of healthy employees.
She still doesn't eat as well or a regularly as I'd like. She still gets in the habit of thinking she doesn't have time and settles for less nutritious snacks.
Finding hard to break the habit no matter how enabled the food is. Of course, providing good food is the first step, having people take advantage is the challenge.
I work at home, where I can find healthier options if I look. But I get to working so hard that it's 12:30 before I eat something. Then I either just eat an apple, which is nutritious, yes, but won't sustain a person for a whole day, or I head out to a drive-thru because I am so sick of looking at my own living room. I think the problem is something to do with our own minds – we just don't put a top priority on good nutrition. Don't know why…
Case in point…had to run to Burger King (the only place around) on my way back from getting my eyebrows waxed on my lunch break! You gotta do, what you gotta do sometimes!
It doesn't help that our office deli does not provide the healthiest meal options.
Glad to hear I am not the only one suffering…
I work from home but it's the days I'm behind the wheel a lot where my eating goes right back to how I ate when I worked all day in an office. Drive-throughs, breakfast bars, and then cookies when I'm starving. It's the hectic lifestyle that kills healthy eating.
But those damn snack machines don't help either.
I sadly can check yes to all of the above. I am great with breakfast, but it goes downhill from there, especially since I am in my car all day traveling around the city. It's like that old Lean Cuisine commercial where the lady ate 4 jelly beans or whatever for dinner. That's me. Not good!
Ah, yes. I can agree on this completely. Lovin' this blog! Keep up the good work!