I was in an all-day offsite yesterday, in which breakfast, lunch and an afternoon snack was catered in. Breakfast consisted of huge pastries, filled with jam and cream cheese. Lunch was an all-you-can eat pasta bar with fried chicken parmesan. For the afternoon slump, which was bound to happen after all of those carbs, we had our choice of brownies, chocolate chip cookies or cheesy popcorn. 

Not only are these choices bad for my waistine, but my producivity as well. Research shows that what we eat impacts our job performance, mental clarity, energy and stamina.

Mental sluggishness due to a poor diet results in careless mistakes made, lower output of work and less creativity.

But what can we do when we are faced with a situation in which we  have little to no control over the food we are served? 

Luckily there are a few simple solutions to avoiding the workplace sugar blues:

1 - Pack your own - I packed my own snacks, including an apple, cheesestick and nuts, to give me healthy carbs, vitamins and a little protein. You can also try some of these healthy snack ideas.

2 - Find the silver lining - Look for an opportunity to improve on an unhealthy selection . For example, one of the side dishes was a caesar salad. I loaded up my plate with lettuce and skipped the caesar dressing. You can also remove the skin from fried chicken to slash calories and fat.

3 - Stay hydrated - Drink water to keep your energy levels up during long meetings and stay away from the sugary sodas. Water is extrmely important in brain function. Just a one percent decrease in in hydration levels can result in a 20 percent decline in productivity. 

What are your tips? Have you ever been stuck in a situation with unhealthy meal choices? How did you handle it? I'd love to hear from you!