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One summer I worked in a restaurant and I gained twenty pounds. Take another look at that—that happened in one summer. Not one year—a summer. It was my college break, so that was barely three months. That’s nearly seven pounds a month. That’s nearly two pounds a week. How did I let that happen? And so fast? That’s just how it can be when you work in the food industry. You’re surrounded by food all day—and probably good food, too. It’s not the simple, bland stuff you keep at home. It’s mozzarella sticks. It’s seafood pasta. It’s gourmet burgers. It’s hard to be around those mouth-watering smells and not want to eat. The restaurant likely hooks you up with a free meal and the chefs serve you little snacks, just because. Just like that, you’re gone up two pant sizes. Here is how to not gain weight while working in the food industry.
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Eat before your shift
I used to starve until my shift, knowing I’d be snacking the entire time. But, that made it very hard for me to actually track how much I ate. A bowl of soup here, some fries there, one slice of pizza here, jalapeno poppers there…it adds up. It did add up to twenty pounds. Eating a well balanced, satisfying meal before going to wok helped me tell my brain “We’re done eating now. Now we’re working.”
