Volume II - Art-KICK #31 Fruit or Cake Motivational Musings: The Office Manifesto faToid News Bite RighteousRecipe - Lemon Tuna Salad Supreme Pious Project - A Portable Powerful Pious Altar to Ward off Portly Affairs Fruitful Contest Chewing the Fat Weighty Confessions The Art of Weight Loss The OLofWL Cheerleaders Kick in the Tush Club Chapters! Our Lady's Blog

Eating’s going to be a whole new ball game. I may even have to buy a new pair of trousers.
~ Lester Piggott (b. 1935), British champion jockey.

One member writes:

Dear Our Lady of Weight Loss, Office food is doing me in.  I just don't know what to do about the birthdays, going away parties, promotion celebrations, not to mention the leftovers from the in-house meetings and luncheons, as well as the bowls and bags of candies, cookies and chips at every turn of the cubicle.  This week promises to be loaded with the inevitable fattening foods - ranging from greasy pizza to chocolate seven layer cake and/or champagne - where I feel obligated to be polite and partake. And, the culture is such that everyone comes in early, goes home late and eats most of their meals at their desk. I haven't seen sunlight in two months. My hands are sticky with M&Ms.(I thought that they don’t melt in your hands?) Please HELP! ~   Sticky Fingers

What to do? Our Lady of Weight Loss to the rescue.

There are ways for us to fight the office food demons - both food and people a.k.a. saboteurs (listed below) - but there is a bigger problem at play here.  It's the corporate food culture, and it needs to be acknowledged, explored and changed.

Our mission is to establish new policy - to enlist the heads of our companies - the Presidents, the CEOs, the Directors of Human Resources. Our goal is to transform the office into a healthy, happy and supportive workplace environment. ("Impossible," you say. "Nothing is impossible!" I say.) Education and communication are our tools. For some it may be easy, as their Big Boss is into jogging and smoothies, but for others, Big Boss may be a bacon cheeseburger and donut junkie. Nevertheless, we must prevail.

Let's start with The Office Manifesto - a document that you can clip, paste, print, sign and sweetly hand (minus the M&M fingerprints) to your boss.

The OFFICE MANIFESTO

We, employees of _____________________ declare that the state of office eating is heretofore declared out of control. We hereby instate the following policy.

Henceforth, healthy options are to be made available at in-house meetings and parties.

Henceforth, the refrigerator that the company so graciously and generously stocks with soda (both diet and regular) shall also house natural fruit juices and bottled water(s).

Henceforth, the vending machine shall make available small packages of fat-free pretzels and baked potato chips.

Henceforth, the 'Take-A-20-Minute Break' policy will be enforced.  All employees, who have missed lunch and not seen the light of day are hereby required to take a 20-minute break. It's not healthy to work without a break or to stay inside all day long.

Henceforth, there will be a designated meditation / rest space(s) for employees to take refuge in during their 20-minute break (in case of inclement weather).

Henceforth, there will be a designated walking track (route) throughout the office. It's not healthy not to move all day long.

Henceforth, no ‘pushers’ allowed.  If someone says, “No, thank you” the 'pushers' shall refrain from saying, "Oh, just one piece."

Henceforth, the employer acknowledges that all employees are valued and said employer is thrilled to know that productivity and morale will soar if said employee is healthfully fed, gets air and rest.  ("Oh, my - such an easy solution. Thank you, Our Lady of Weight loss," says Big Boss.)

___________________________________________

Signed and Dated

productivity faToids for Big Boss 58 million Americans are overweight; 40 million obese; 3 million morbidly obese. Those who indulge in poor eating and exercise habits account for over $33 billion in medical costs, of which $9 billion in lost productivity due to heart disease, cancer, stroke and diabetes. Workdays lost related to obesity: 39.3 million Physician office visits related to obesity: 62.7 million  Restricted activity days related to obesity: 239.0 million Bed-days related to obesity: 89.5 million.

* * *

If you do not feel comfortable printing, signing and handing this to your Big Boss, Our Lady of Weight Loss will do it for you.  Just send her an email with your employer’s name and mailing address, and she will send him/her a letter explaining all, with attached Office Manifesto. Your name will be held in the strictest of confidence. At the very least, it will raise Big Boss's awareness. Next time there's an office gathering, Big Boss will be noting that there's not a peach in sight.

In the meantime, here are a couple of tips on how to survive the office eating culture.  Once again, it takes commitment and planning – but it is worth it.

Special notice: There's a KICK in the TUSH CLUB forming in Houston - Oklahoma City - Brevard County, Florida - Las Vegas . Want more info? Want to stay a Kick in the Tush Club in your area? Send me an email! info@ourladyofweightloss.com

.LINKS:

The current workplace is a hostile environment in terms of obesity: a FORBES article.
More ways to create a healthy office.
Obesity trends from the CDC. Do you live in a fat state?

---

Righteous Recipe ~ Lemon Tuna Salad Supreme

Ingredients: One can of tuna in lemon water. (New from Bumble Bee! Revolutionary thing.) Two tablespoons of reduced mayonnaise. 1/4 cup diced red pepper 1/4 cup diced red onion 1/4 cup diced jalapeno pepper 2 teaspoons of pickle relish lite english muffins

Directions: Drain tuna. Put in bowl and mix with the rest. Toast lite english muffin (WeightWatchers brand is pretty good and only 100 calories. Enjoy!

Want to whip up another dish?
Send Our Lady your favorite recipe! Keep them easy, low-cal and FUN.