Kitchen.HealthSufficiency

Finding time for dinner when you are on a very busy schedule can be very difficult at best, especially if travelling away from home, out visiting clients or working in the field.  You need to focus on the work at hand and spend quality time with your clients and business acquaintances which can lead to extremely long working days so that dinner and other meals are simply an afterthought.  It is not until the hunger pains strike that you realise you need to eat and are motivated to simply grab a snack or a vending machine or fast food outlet what your route to next appointment or motel room late at night. 

Fast food and eating on the run contributes to poor health and will increase any pre-existing health conditions that you have.  Its more immediate, short-term affect is that it will not provide enough energy to sustain your daily activity which will lead to tiredness, stress, inability to relax and think correctly and this will manifest as poor judgement, bad decision making and bad moods that could affect your relationships at work and home.  It will also encourage your reliance on greasy, sugary and/or caffeinated junk foods for an instant but unsustainable lift.

There are other options that you could consider that would enable you to eat while keeping to your busy schedule.  For instance, arrange business breakfasts, lunches, morning or afternoon snack breaks and consider picking up the tab for co-workers or the people that you are visiting on your current trip.  Sharing food and drink is a bonding experience and would have the effect of putting your co-workers, clients and associates in a good mood during which you would learn a little more about the person and how they conduct their business whilst you eat. 

For all the same reasons given above, skipping eating is not an option.  You must eat at sometime, so it makes sense to schedule time for it into your daily planner.  Its benefits are many.  It schedules breaks during which time you can refuel to help you stay on top of your next session of meetings or work, to maintain clarity of thought (this presupposes that you do not indulge in alcoholic beverages or a heavy stodgy meal that are difficult to digest.)  It gives you something to look forward to and break any arduous activities, allows you to relax, helps to keep you mindful of other people’s need to eat and refuel and keeps them in good mood and energy for their activities making them easier to negotiate with or work alongside.  Remember some people have ill health conditions or very sensitive sugar levels that make it imperative that they eat regularly. 

Select a nice, yet not overly expensive restaurant where you can find enough privacy to discuss business or cultivate your business relationships.  It may even be possible to have dinner in a restaurant in the motel or hotel in which you are staying.  If you invite others with whom you need to discuss business-related matters, it becomes a dinner meeting and depending on the topic of discussion, it may be tax deductible.

If you are working close to home but are still busy and keeping long hours, for the sake of your family relationships, it is still advantageous to schedule meal breaks, at least the evening meal with your wife, partner and any children.  It strengthens family bonds and helps keep home communication lines open and at the same time gives you the opportunity to hear about their activities and progress so that you do not get to feel you are missing your loved one’s development, being left out or a stranger in the home and allows you all to discuss anything of importance with each other.  Sharing meals with friends and family members is a precious quality time and should be enjoyed without diversions like television or telephone interruptions.  It demonstrates that although you are occupied with more pressing business matters, they are still very important to you and you care about them.  It also helps them to be more understanding when extremely pressing business engagements come up from which you really cannot escape.  While staying on top of your business needs is important you can’t let it consume you and ruin the relationship you have with your family.

If you know ahead of time you are going to have to work late, and you really cannot get home, contact the family and have them meet you somewhere for dinner. It does not always have to be at a fancy restaurant, sometimes eating a fast-food meal, (preferably one that also tries to cater for the more discerning eater) will satisfy any children you may have, but taking the time out of your schedule to have dinner with the family will do wonders for your relationship.

In some instances it might be better to have the family join you for dinner at your workplace. You can call and order in an evening meal or ask your spouse to stop on their way to your office and pick something up to share with you when they get there.  If this looks like being a regular occurrence at least for a while and especially if budget is tight, your spouse might agree to prepare something at home to eat with you in your office.  The list here is endless and dependant on what is available and your preferences.  While eating a decent meal for dinner is important, it is always important to spend time with your family.

Certain factors to remember if you want to stay clear headed, focussed on your work and maintain your energy factors are:

• Do not drink alcohol, it clouds judgement and after its initial energy charge will make you sleepy
• Do not consume heavy, stodgy carbohydrate packed meals; they slow you down resulting in sleepiness.
• Do not eat turkey; it naturally contains sleep inducing chemicals and makes it hard to think and concentrate.
• Avoid any food substance to which you are allergic.
• Stick to light nourishing meals that consist of foods from each of the food groups preferably raw foods that have not had the nutrients cooked out of them.
• Drink lots of fresh filtered water.
• Eat regularly; a little and often is better than one large meal.
• Never eat whilst you are stressed, so turn off your worries outside of the room you are to eat in or for a given time.  If it is a business meeting, talk generally and leave the serious discussions to the office at a later or earlier time. 
• Focus on and enjoy the moment, the food and your meal companions.