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We recognize that many businesses are closed today, so we wanted to take the occasion to again emphasize: Good workplace wellness habits continue at home. Indeed, a well-run workplace wellness program may equip members with tools and tips to extend lessons (and habits) outside of the office.

We previously highlighted the idea that to drive engagement, effective workplace wellness continues at home.

To that end, we noted a recent piece by  Aaron E. Carroll, well known for his blog, The Incidental Economist, as well as “a Professor of Pediatrics and Associate Dean for Research Mentoring at Indiana University School of Medicine. He is also the director of the Center for Health Policy and Professionalism Research.”

Carroll also writes for the New York Times, and his recent post is titled “How I Lost Weight and Learned to Love Thanksgiving Again.”

As Carroll notes: “I’m a physician and researcher with a particular interest in analyzing dietary health research, and even I get dizzy with the different perspectives on something as seemingly simple as the benefits of brown rice or the dangers of red meat. This is one reason I’ve decided to focus much of my writing on dietary health. I want to be able to advise my patients about what healthful eating looks like, and eat that way myself.”

Importantly, Carroll previously offered his “Simple Rules for Healthy Eating.” Some of his insights are useful not only for the regular workweek, but also during holiday times (like yesterday!):

“Eat as much home-cooked food as possible, which should be prepared according to Rule 1. Eating at home allows you to avoid processed ingredients more easily. It allows you full control over what you eat, and allows you to choose the flavors you prefer. You’re much less likely to stuff yourself silly if you eat home-cooked food. I’m not saying this is easy. Behavioral change takes repetition and practice. It also, unfortunately, takes time.”

“Eat with other people, especially people you care about, as often as possible. This has benefits even outside those of nutrition. It will make you more likely to cook. It will most likely make you eat more slowly. It will also make you happy.”

Does this mean we can't enjoy a nice Thanksgiving dessert? Carroll writes: “One theme of my Upshot articles is that we should weigh the benefits and the harms in any health decision. When it comes to food, too often we focus only on the latter. When my daughter, Sydney, made cupcakes last night and asked me to try one, I did. The joy it brought her, and me, was worth it.”