Did you stop to eat today?
We’ve all had days where work was so crazy that eating wasn’t a priority. Believe me, I try to eat all the time! Sometimes we are even standing around the food, but we still don’t take the time to slow down and nibble.
You’re at a business lunch, and you’re so busy sharing ideas that you barely eat. Or you’re at a conference and spend the breaks and after talking with clients and friends and manage to chew a couple of cookies. If you’re actually hosting the event or if you’re traveling, your chances of eating are slim to none.
Your brain needs food to function, and you need your brain to conduct business! Here are some things I’ve learned about eating and meeting.
Pick something simple to eat. I usually choose based on taste and nutrition. (ok, maybe only because it has more frosting than the one next to it.) But in a meeting, you also have to consider how distracting your meal will be from the business you are conducting. If you order potentially messy food like spaghetti or ribs, you may splatter it on your white shirt. Foods that require a lot of cutting or are involved to eat, like baked French onion soup or peanuts, or a large reuben sandwich with tough meat (yes, from experience) take extra time and effort. Big burgers or sloppy joes can mean things dripping out of the bun.
Some easy to eat foods include small pastas, salad, salmon, and light cheese pizza. I always cut my food first before eating, and then I can concentrate on the meeting and not on the food.
Ok, sometimes you don’t get to choose from a full menu but rather from a buffet. If there are a lot of finger foods, skip the buffalo chicken wings. But only eating a handful of carrot sticks won’t fill you up enough. Skip the steak, and choose a chicken wrap and mixed vegetables.
Keep a secret stash. Granola snack bars (my favorite is the pumpkin flax bars from Kashi) are great to have around when you can’t stop for a meal. If you’re at a conference for several days, these options become more important since you’ve been outside your normal diet for so long and may need something healthier than the typical buffet foods.
Listen to your body. Cocktails are a big part of many business functions. If you choose to drink, remember that your normal limits don’t necessarily apply because you may not have eaten as much as you normally do. Drink slowly and make sure to keep the water flowing. If you feel like your drinks are landing in an empty stomach, sneak away to have that energy bar if there isn’t any food available. Remember, you don’t want to be out of control in front of clients and co-workers.
The Money Mom
