2/06/2005 10:16:00 AM|||Scott Lewis|||

Depending on your point of view, Sally Murphy is either a nutritionist's nightmare - or a typical overstressed modern American worker. The partner and director of client services at Rattle Advertising in Somerville says she starts her day with a sizeable cup of coffee and sweet pastry. By afternoon, as her energy flags, she moves on to snacks and beverages filled with sugar, salt, and caffeine.

In the morning, "Before I do anything, I have to turn on that coffee maker" Murphy says. "On my way to the office, I'll stop at Dunkin' Donuts. I'll get some more coffee and a chocolate-frosted donut."

Although she drinks half-caf (50 percent decaffeinated coffee), she concedes she has become overly dependent on caffeine and other unhealthful treats to get her through her working day.

"I think it's a way of battling fatigue," she says. "When I'm really fatigued, I get into that kind of a pattern."

Murphy is not alone; in fact, her behavior has become too familiar among stressed workers who lack the time, and in some cases, basic knowledge, to make healthful food choices.

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|||110986670161840288|||Downsizing, stress leave little time for nutritious meals