Been there, done that

dewit

I need to rant. Or secretly just looking for more friends, dunno. Maybe I just need a pat on the shoulder or a kick (you know where).

I've been watching calories (with interruptions) for many years (yes, I am not in my early 20ies anymore). However, I find it hard to restrict my calories or to (intermittent) fast. I blame it on my desk job - when I'm "on the move", up on my feet and active, I don't mind. Whenever I sit (to work on the computer or learn) - that's when the trouble starts.

Not sure if I need advice, cause I know what I need to do - I think. Just don't know how to get over frustrations without munching. I find it ridiculous to snack in the office, yet do it quite often.

For the past year I have been burning quite a lot each day (bike commuting, running or HIIT workout videos). Yet, I manage to eat them calories all back. I did lose in this past year, got to the littlest in ages, but I cannot maintain. In fact, I am gaining just when I know I need to lose the last kilo - like shortly before a holiday (happening just now).

Confession over. Feel free to yell at me - though I have to warn you, I don't take this so well

dewit

I'm in the wrong time zone, I suppose. Giving my post another try :-).

88olds

Ok. The problem you identify is snacking at your desk. I’m going to give you a list of some things that have worked for me. I use an all of the above approach. You don’t specify what exactly you are eating or where you get it.

My two big policies (these are wide scope approaches) are these-

I became a germaphobe at work. I don’t eat anything I don’t bring.

I plan snacks and eat them at predetermined times. I find delay easier to do than just say no.

Baby carrots
Apples
Sugar free candy
Sugar free gum.
I’d go with something better if I had calories available.

I had appealing snacks planned for after work before gym. Again I was just waiting to get to them.

Are you sure it’s the number on the scale you should be looking at? You seem to want a specific number and a high level of fitness. I made a major strategic error watching the scale when I needed better training.

Do you count macros? It’s a lifestyle. But depending on the level that you are working at, it may be what’s needed.

dewit

88olds wrote: »

Are you sure it’s the number on the scale you should be looking at? You seem to want a specific number and a high level of fitness. I made a major strategic error watching the scale when I needed better training.

Do you count macros? It’s a lifestyle. But depending on the level that you are working at, it may be what’s needed.

Thank you, this is all great advice! It's the damn number, yes. I am willing to agree that this is wrong. I keep seeing ppl talk about macros, but I am worried that I wouldn't be able to keep up with that during the vegan times...

I can agree that will starts in the brain. It's where I need to reach a balance, in order to stay strong. On the other hand, I can also agree that trying a new concept may be what I need.

Fitness is limited by the available time. Or the time I am willing to take outside work+family duties. Bike commuting was a saver, because it would just mean turning the time I used to spend on getting to work anyhow into time spent working on my condition and burning a good amount of calories at the same time.

dewit

I'd welcome some more piece of advice on this. Also, if you feel like this is so totally not like you, I'd be happy to get a friend request. 😋 who knows, maybe soon enough that this will be so totally not like me (as in, snacking in the office will be someone else and not me 😎)

puffbrat

I am also a major work snacker and find it easier to avoid snacks when running around.

Here's how I deal with the work week:

1. Pre-log my day. This often helps me resist something or at least eat a smaller portion.
2. Bring breakfast, lunch, and two snacks with me.
3. Make sure my lunch has plenty of protein and fat.
4. Make sure I have something crunchy for lunch or my afternoon snack.
5. Make sure I have at least one sweet snack - dessert, fruit, or crackers that are more like cookies.
6. I eat dessert most days and when easy I will take my dessert as my afternoon snack rather than waiting until after dinner to eat it.
7. Drink tea.

TheRealSlim_Shelly

Lol OK so I may have used food as a tool to make my work days go by faster in the past 😂. So here’s my professional advice on how to eat more on the company’s dime but still stick to your goals:

First of all, you need to arrive to work about 15 minutes earlier than normal (stay with me, here). What you want to do is pack your breakfast and eat it before you begin your work day. Eat it at your desk or in the break area, but eat it *right* before you “clock in” for the day.

Now don’t drink your coffee on the way to work or at home. You want to be sipping on your coffee after you’ve had your breakfast at work. This should be bringing you into your lunch hour/early afternoon snack. Perhaps you even get a coffee refill half way through the morning and gossip with some coworkers along the way (this step is completely optional).

Now a pro tip would be to prolong your lunch hour to the latest possible time slot. This depends on if you have the freedom to pick your lunch hour. If you can push it to 2pm, this is ideal. That means at the 12oclock hour you have your first snack of the day (instead of lunch). Since you’ve had your breakfast *right* before your work day started, you shouldn’t be ravenous to the point where you want to chow down on a second higher calorie meal right away.

Now 2pm you have your lunch. And then 5pm, on your way home, you have another snack so you don’t want to eat everything in sight when you get home.

Now if you work it right, you can have your breakfast right before clocking in, a mid morning snack, an early afternoon snack, and then a late lunch, and possibly a snack for the ride home to look forward to. It really depends on your allotted calories and how much freedom you get with your work schedule.

Timing and preplanning your meals are key here. You want to spread out the higher calorie meals with lower calorie snacks in between. Breakfast right before clocking in is a total game changer.

It sounds like you are trying to restrict yourself so much it is backfiring. You need better spaced calories, and calories that are actually pre-measured and logged. Timing your food gives you something to look forward to and keeps you from eating whatever is around if you know something is waiting for you at a specific time. When you feel like mindless munching, go for a walk around your building, go to the bathroom, talk to a coworker, refill your water bottle, etc.

You don’t need to cut out snacking, you just need to snack smarter. You got this!

dewit

Thank you, @TheRealSlim_Shelly. That's really nice, pretty much my strategy.