19 Tasty & Healthy Office Snacks | Weight Loss Tips for Office Workers!

What among these describes your office atmosphere: elaborate luncheons, frequent parties, meetings peppered with tasty evening snacks; or long drab working hours, high-stress deadlines, and frequent travel?

Either way, the scenario doesn’t make for a good weight loss set up!

While you may think office and weight loss don’t work hand in hand, you are in for a surprise!

You can work long hours and still maintain your diet. All you need to know is about the right healthy office snacks to keep up your health quotient at work. 

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Even if you get a working person’s diet plan carefully crafted, a big part of the weight loss success depends upon the snacking times.

Because we usually don’t indulge in full-fledged meals at work, it is our healthy office snacks that can do the health trick!

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So if you are wondering how to lose weight with a desk job, here is our nutritionist recommended 19 super tasty and healthy Indian office snacks for work you can munch on.

  1. Trail mix or a mix of dried fruits and nuts.
  2. Muesli or high-fibre, bran-based breakfast cereal.
  3. The low on sugar, low on fat, high on fibre (preferable to have oats and nuts) granola bars.
  4. Roasted peanuts.
  5. Mixture with roasted pulses such as moong, chole etc.
  6. Low on oil khakhra
  7. Sesame or peanut chikkis
  8. Oatmeal biscuits
  9. Healthy ladoos containing flax seeds or protein rich nuts.
  10. Low-fat unflavored yoghurt.
  11. Fruits like apple, papaya, watermelon, strawberries among others.
  12. Roasted or caramelised puffed lotus seeds (Phool makhana).
  13. Some homemade snacks such as poha, upma, dhokla all made with lots of vegetables.
  14. Vegetable whole grain sandwiches.
  15. Green tea
  16. Flavoured and mildly salted buttermilk
  17. Mineral water and occasionally flavoured non-sweetened water.
  18. Fresh unsweetened fruit juice
  19. Coconut water

While many of you busy bees might end up catching a ‘working lunch’ or a ‘working snack’, we highlight some pros and cons about office desk snacking.

Perils of Workstation Snacking or Lunching for Weight Loss

  • Those grabbing lunch or a snack on the desk tend to eat faster than usual.
  • Eating faster would most likely mean ingesting more food than actually needed. Most probably, the choice of lunch/dinner is not healthy.
  • Eating while working most likely constitutes mindless eating. Your brain isn’t fully aware of the satiety cues and hence you are most likely to consume more foods and energy.
  • Nutrition and weight loss definitely goes for a toss.
  • Most of the time boredom motivates snacking on the desk. This equals to poor choice of foods, extra calories and overall extra intake of foods.
Do these look like your office snacks?

A French study is a testament to the perils of workstation snacking or lunching.

In the study, young men were fed a high carbohydrate or high fat snack close to 3 hours before meal (lunch/dinner) time.

Come mealtime, they ended up consuming the same number of calories they consumed on days when they didn’t have the snack. Weight loss, for them, would be a lost cause. 

“Your office life could be prepping you up for a fat paycheck and an even fatter waist!”

Leave alone diet plans for busy people, if you are still thinking what is the best way to lose weight sitting at the desk for 8 hours, then here are 5 simple weight loss for the workplace.

Club these along with a bunch of healthy office snacks, and you are all set to maintain fitness, even at work.

Workstation Snacking can also have Weight Loss Positives!

Ok, we could have offended the busy bee in all of you by pointing out the negatives of snacking on your desk if you are aiming for weight loss.

But all is not bad. In fact, if healthy snacks and meals are chosen and eaten correctly, then you can make the best of your busy schedule for your health too!

Here are the benefits:

1] Constant snacking on healthy diet snacks could up a sedentary metabolism!

Yes, the body has to work hard to digest, absorb and then transport the nutrients everywhere. Actually, 5 to 10% of the energy is dedicated to all these activities. In scientific terms, it is called ‘Thermic Effect of Food’.

2] The right kind of snack (read: healthy office snacks) could help you work better.

Fibre-rich snacks help in slowly releasing glucose, much required for the fatigued brain!

3] Keeps hunger pangs at bay.

Also, keeps you from getting hangry (anger caused by hunger). So you work better and don’t snap at colleagues. It also helps keep away acidity and other discomforting symptoms at work. Choosing to snack on healthy foods has its benefits. 

Now that we have shown you both sides of the coin, what do you think could be the solution?

Be a misfit and not attend the office soirees or simply call it quits on the high-stress, high-flying job? You needn’t do both. All you need to do is equip your workstation with some healthy snacks!

Healthy Office Snacks 101 for Effective Weight Loss!

Here is a quick video that enlists all the healthy office snacks, perishable or nonperishable that you can stock up in your office drawer.

The answer to how to lose weight with a desk job can be answered by these nonperishable items on your desk!

  • Trail mix or a mix of dried fruits and nuts.
  • Muesli or high-fibre, bran-based breakfast cereal.
  • The low on sugar, low on fat, high on fibre (preferable to have oats and nuts) granola bars.
  • Roasted peanuts.
  • Mixture with roasted pulses such as moong, chole etc.
  • Low on oil khakhra
  • Sesame or peanut chikkis
  • Oatmeal biscuits
  • Healthy ladoos containing flax seeds or protein rich nuts.

Perishable Items which you could Carry with You!

Fruits are your best bet as weight loss snacks

You could mix and match the dry items with the perishable ones. It provides more variety and sometimes, better vitamin and mineral profile. After all, snacking is not just about weight loss right! 

  • Low-fat unflavored yoghurt.
  • Fruits like apple, papaya, watermelon, strawberries among others.
  • Roasted or caramelised puffed lotus seeds (Phool makhana).
  • Some homemade snacks such as poha, upma, dhokla all made with lots of vegetables.
  • Vegetable whole grain sandwiches.

Healthy Recipes to try: High-Protein Dosa; Gluten-free wraps

Oh, Let’s Not Leave the Beverages Behind.

Can drinks and juices also cause weight gain? The answer is a big YES!
  • Green tea
  • Flavoured and mildly salted buttermilk
  • Mineral water and occasionally flavoured non-sweetened water.
  • Fresh unsweetened fruit juice
  • Coconut water

So now you are armed with information about healthy office snacks that are actually your weight loss allies. With these smart office snacking tips you can lose weight with a desk job. 

Do not forget, physical activity is important to lose weight too! To help you, we have drafted a Weight Loss Exercise Calendar for you. Follow it now! 

Recommended Read:18 easy ways to lose weight fast! 

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Shobha Shastry

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