The Work Buzz's Latest News: Mindless snacking at work can add up big time

---

Mindless snacking at work can add up big time Posted: 21 Apr 2011 12:29 PM PDT If your office is anything like ours, then there can’t be a meeting without a dessert tray, a birthday without cupcakes or a walk to the elevator without passing half-a- dozen candy bowls. The constant temptation makes it almost impossible to resist a daily sugar splurge, not to mention to stick to any sort of diet or healthy-eating plan. But the mindless snacking that many of us do in the office — even if it's just a bite here and piece there — can add up to major weight gain, a recent study suggests. According to a report by Cornell professor Brian Wansink, who also authored the book "Mindless Eating," just having a clear jar full of bite-size candies on your desk can tempt you into an average weight gain of seven pounds per year. During an experiment conducted by CBS news about the study, producers set out a candy dish in their newsroom. One man went to the dish six times in a matter of a few hours, adding a whopping 600 calories to his daily diet. That's 150 more calories than a double cheeseburger from Burger King.  If he kept that up for a year, he'd gain about 40 lbs. Got the constant urge to snack at work? We gathered nutritional information on popular candies, as well as items from caterers, restaurants and doughnut shops that probably make a regular appearance in your office. Our findings, below, might just be enough to give you some willpower. Catering and restaurants While most of the below chains offer plenty of healthy menu options, their baked goods and desserts will kill your diet quicker than you can say “pass me a danish.”  Even eating half of some of these treats will give you more calories than a McDonald's hamburger. Specialty's (Illinois, California, Washington) Peanut butter chocolate chunk cookie Per cookie: 470 calories, 28 grams fat Double fudge brownie Per brownie: 530 calories, 30 grams fat Blueberry coffee cake Per piece: 470 calories, 14 grams fat Café Metro (New York) Banana walnut muffin Per muffin: 540 calories, 17 grams fat Raspberry cheese square Per square: 593 calories, 43 grams fat Black and white cookie Per cookie: 400 calories, 9 grams fat Au Bon Pain (Nationwide) Blondie Per dessert: 530 calories, 32 grams fat Cinnamon scone Per scone: 530 calories, 28 grams fat Oatmeal raisin cookie Per cookie: 250 calories, 9 grams fat Dunkin Donuts (Nationwide) Chocolate frosted cake donut Per donut: 370 calories, 23 grams fat Coffee cake muffin Per muffin: 650 calories, 27 grams fat Jelly-filled munchkin Per (itty bitty) munchkin: 80 calories, 4 grams fat  Candy A couple of jelly beans here, a piece of chocolate there … we all know the drill. But the grazing can add up, too. Brach's jelly beans One serving : 14 jelly beans (or about two handfuls) Per serving: 150 calories, 0 grams fat Snickers fun size candy bar One serving: one bar (15 grams) Per serving: 71 calories, 4 grams fat Peanut M&Ms One serving: about 25 pieces Per serving: 250 calories, 13 grams fat To put it into even better perspective, for the calories in just one raspberry cheese square from Café Metro, or one coffee cake muffin from Dunkin Donuts, you could eat: Two average-sized slices of cheese pizza An entire meal at Subway including: A six-inch turkey sandwich with cheese, a bowl of Tomato Garden Vegetable soup and a bag of Baked Lays potato chips. A large bowl of oatmeal from Au Bon Pain, an apple and a cup of low-fat yogurt Even armed with the new knowledge about what's really in your favorite at-work treats, it can still be hard to resist temptation. For tips on how to stay healthy at work, check out:  Weight gain at work  Four-in-ten U.S. employees have gained weight at work What do you do to stay healthy at work? Let us know in the comments section, below.

You are subscribed to email updates from The Work Buzz To stop receiving these emails, you may unsubscribe now.	Email delivery powered by Google
Google Inc., 20 West Kinzie, Chicago IL USA 60610