getting offered junk food

Ang108

I get offered what I consider to be junk food several times a week ( usually during work related meetings ).
I have learned a fairly easy way to deal with it. I say " no "....well I actually say " no, thank you " and in over a year with MFP and seriously following my food plan, no one has ever challenged me.
I also have not told anyone that I am on a diet ( and yes, I call it a diet because anything we eat is actually our " diet ". My food is mostly a mediterranean diet and the word " diet " is perfectly fine for it ).

ebbingfat

Being offered junk food has been a big struggle for me when it comes to losing weight. I work in a bakery, so junk food is constantly offered to me. My coworkers are constantly cutting into the "day old" products to snack on them. Cookies, cheesecakes, danishes, donuts... you name it. Every time they cut into something they'll ask me if I want a piece. This is a daily occurrence, and I'm around the junk for 8 hours a day. It just sits there all day, tempting me.

I found that the biggest thing that has helped me, is that I stopped telling myself that I "can't have it". Instead, I started asking myself if I "really want it". I'm a little competitive with myself, so if I've had a few good days of staying under my calorie goal, I hate messing that up and going over it. So when I'm offered junk I ask myself "Do I want really want that?", and then consider how many calories I have left, and what I want to eat for the rest of the day. If I have 700 calories left for the day, and still have to make dinner later that night, I'll likely end up saying no to a 300 calorie donut, because I know I want to make a good sized dinner.

I'll also turn down junk food by planning to have a slightly more healthy treat later. So, instead of telling myself "I can't have this cake, I'm on a diet", I'll tell myself "I don't want this, because I'm going to have some sorbet later today". It's amazing how that little shift in mindset can make it SO much easier.

And the most important part? Allow yourself to have some treats on occasion. If you have a day where you're going to make a really light calorie meal, allow yourself to take a treat. Restricting yourself too much will likely just make you break and go back to the junk - that's what always happened to me. The more I work on truly eating in moderation when it comes to junk food, the easier it gets to turn away from the temptation.

Just keep working on it. It gets easier!

chrisdavey

If it's "junk" food that I actually like, can fit into my macros without feeling like I'm starving then I'll just have some and modify my "after dinner dinner" to be a little lower cal.

I typically eat the majority of my cals at night so I can normally modify something if I eat more during the day for some reason.

If you work in a place that is constantly offering more caloric dense items then I'd be just eating the ones that you actually like. I don't really care if the person offering is offended. It's my choice.

I have a good excuse now that I am officially in contest prep though. Although, some of my friends/family think I am a lot more strict than I actually am :laugh:

cincysweetheart

First of all stop dieting. Eliminate the word diet from your vocabulary. It's a lifestyle change. You don't need to eliminate foods you like, so it's not a diet. Just stay within the recommended calorie goal of MFP and you will lose weight, if you're faithful about entering your food everyday.

Once you realize that a Big Mac is 650 calories, you can eat it, but you're going to have to cut back on dinner. Weight loss is nothing more than eat less--move more, or calories in versus calories out. It's not magic, it's simple math.

Welcome and good luck to you!

Absolutely, 100% true! Moderation in all things! You can still eat that cake if you simply account for it in your calorie goal for the day. Sometimes just eating a very small amount can satisfy both you and them! My church gave out chocolate truffle bars as a Mother's Day gift. I was able to make it last about a month buy only eating one bite on days when I was craving chocolate. Also, if you are in someone's home and they offer you food, a nice way to get around this is "No, thank you. I'm not really hungry. But I'd really appreciate a glass of water if you don't mind." That way, they don't really feel rejected, and they feel like a good hostess, but you aren't left eating something just to be polite.

JassiBear

Ok I have been off and on dieting for 10 months now and I am getting very serious about it seein that I have gained over 10 lbs back that I had lost! So got my bf to buy diet Pepsi and lots of healthy food for me to eat:) but now when I go around folks they r always offering me sweets and other junk food its sooo hard to say no too does anyone else have this problem??

I cannot tell you how many times my grandma offered me candy, ice cream, and potato chips yesterday at her house. Folks just do those things, but be polite and let them know that you have different eating habits now but thanks for the offer. Politely refuse..... even if you have to do it several times, definitely let them know that you are on a lifestyle change and don't care to eat those foods but you'll ask if you change your mind. Don't get mad at them though, they just want to spoil you...

JassiBear

First of all stop dieting. Eliminate the word diet from your vocabulary. It's a lifestyle change. You don't need to eliminate foods you like, so it's not a diet. Just stay within the recommended calorie goal of MFP and you will lose weight, if you're faithful about entering your food everyday.

Once you realize that a Big Mac is 650 calories, you can eat it, but you're going to have to cut back on dinner. Weight loss is nothing more than eat less--move more, or calories in versus calories out. It's not magic, it's simple math.

Welcome and good luck to you!

Best advice ever btw........... only refuse if you can't afford it in your calorie goal or have no desire to eat it.

suefromgraysWECHANGED

Hey,as long as you log it then thats fine,this will help you decide if its worth it or not.
Good luck
Sue :-)

dopeysmelly

Being offered junk food has been a big struggle for me when it comes to losing weight. I work in a bakery, so junk food is constantly offered to me. My coworkers are constantly cutting into the "day old" products to snack on them. Cookies, cheesecakes, danishes, donuts... you name it. Every time they cut into something they'll ask me if I want a piece. This is a daily occurrence, and I'm around the junk for 8 hours a day. It just sits there all day, tempting me.

I found that the biggest thing that has helped me, is that I stopped telling myself that I "can't have it". Instead, I started asking myself if I "really want it". I'm a little competitive with myself, so if I've had a few good days of staying under my calorie goal, I hate messing that up and going over it. So when I'm offered junk I ask myself "Do I want really want that?", and then consider how many calories I have left, and what I want to eat for the rest of the day. If I have 700 calories left for the day, and still have to make dinner later that night, I'll likely end up saying no to a 300 calorie donut, because I know I want to make a good sized dinner.

I'll also turn down junk food by planning to have a slightly more healthy treat later. So, instead of telling myself "I can't have this cake, I'm on a diet", I'll tell myself "I don't want this, because I'm going to have some sorbet later today". It's amazing how that little shift in mindset can make it SO much easier.

And the most important part? Allow yourself to have some treats on occasion. If you have a day where you're going to make a really light calorie meal, allow yourself to take a treat. Restricting yourself too much will likely just make you break and go back to the junk - that's what always happened to me. The more I work on truly eating in moderation when it comes to junk food, the easier it gets to turn away from the temptation.

Just keep working on it. It gets easier!

This is how I look at it as well. In my mind, it's just not worth it. I've never really liked junk food, candy, cake etc except what I've made myself, so once I got over that I'm-being-really-rude-not-accepting-this-food guilty feeling it was relatively easy.

You do get used to refusing, and people get used to you refusing and then stop offering and everyone's happy.

Jkj95

If you don't want the food, politely refuse. If you do, take a reasonable amount of it and cut back on something else later. Easier said than done, though. Like others have mentioned, people can be persistent.