Leading Australian nutritionist, Susie Burrell, revealed that women who snack at work consume an extra 100,000 calories each year.
'The annual total of 100,800 extra calories - based on 45 working weeks - is the same as 1,254 glasses of prosecco, 193 double-stacked burgers or 502 bars of chocolate,' Susie wrote for the Courier Mail.
She went on to explain that this amount of calories is equivalent to an extra 50 days of food when you take into consideration an adult woman’s ideal daily consumption of 2,000 calories. So how can you avoid it?
Susie Burrell Picture: Creative Commons/Wikipedia
DON'T SNACK ON DRIED FRUITS AND NUTS
Although fresh fruit and nuts tend to be healthy, Susie explained that they aren't when you are eating a whole bag of trail mix at your desk.
This action results in the consumption of hundreds of extra calories each week.
'Mindless munching is an issue for a number of reasons, but specifically when we mindlessly munch on high calorie foods such as nuts and dried fruit it is a recipe for disaster when it comes to weight gain,' Susie said.
'Keep your fruit fresh and focus on one single snack of nuts each day for both good health and weight control.
DITCH THE BISCUITS
Rippled cookie
Picture: Peter DasilvaSusie said that one innocent looking biscuit can contain up to 100 calories and 3-4 grams of fat a piece.
She recommends not having the biscuits in sight if your office offers them or to create a rule to not eat them while at work.
"There is literally nothing positive you can say about the nutritional profile of plain, sweet biscuits," she wrote previously.
"Perhaps the biggest issue when it comes to the biscuit tin is that once you start to have a biscuit or two with a cup of tea, it quickly becomes a habit and before you know it, you cannot enjoy a hot drink without a biscuit to go with it."
Biscuits can, shockingly, add a further 300-400 calories to your daily intake.
NO MORE MILKY COFFEE
Most people are guilty of having a few milky cappuccinos, lattes and flat whites during the week to keep their energy levels up.
Some people even have them multiple times during the day, consuming one on the way to work, another around lunch time and another when the afternoon drag hits.
"Unlike black coffee and tea, those milky coffee calories add up, with a small cup offering at least 80-100 calories, or the equivalent of an extra meal a day if you enjoy two or three," Susie said.
"Therein lies the association with workday coffees and weight gain. So, if you do enjoy a milk based coffee, try and limit yourself to just one each day and swap to tea or black coffee on other occasions."
She also previously advised cutting out liquid calories.
"The body does not compensate for liquid calories, which means we do not eat less when we have drunk them and they play havoc with our blood glucose levels," she wrote.
SAY NO TO CAKE
Slice of Cake on a plate. Photo by Alisa Dalia.
Susie said that an average slice of cake can contain 10-12g of fat and 300-400 calories. The work place can see an abundance of cakes thanks to people's birthdays and other celebrations. Her suggestion was to learn to say no or limit saying yes to the treat to once a month.