Resisting Break Room Temptation Tips?

jess_blonde

I'm a nurse at a paediatric hospital and families & staff are constantly bringing in cupcakes, donuts, chips, candy...it's endless! Depending on which of our staff docs are on service - weekend day shifts may mean bagels & lox from a local Jewish bakery and Fridays may be "Refined Sugar Fridays" which translates to a huge pile of candy on our back table.

Many of us are bakers, and there are often home made muffins, breads or other treats around...the nursing students bring us treats to say thank you...as a staff we have "Sundae Sundays" and every holiday involves a pot luck (or if we're feeling lazy, take-out).

I do my best to resist the food but I have the *worst* willpower. And the food is never hidden away in the break room where I could avoid it, it all gets dumped on the back table where I have to walk by it twenty times an hour as I run to and from the med room and storage rooms! And I know I'm bad for the whole slippery slope thing....one mini cupcake always ends up being four by the time my shift is over!

Any tips for resisting, and for improving my will power? I already have a pretty cup that I fill with lemons, mint & strawberries so that I drink plenty of water (when I have time), and I eat breakfast during report so I'm not starving ...but there are days when I don't pee until 3pm (I start at 7am for a day shift) so being able to sit down and eat doesn't always happen when I'd like...and that's when the crap on the table starts to look really good.

I also find that shift work makes it worse...I find myself eating a handful of chips at four in the morning, even though I know I should just get my healthy breakfast from my bag, but being exhausted wears down my will power even more!

Help me! I don't look overweight (though my BMI is 25.1) because I'm tall, and I am ever so slowly losing weight again, but I feel like my progress would be so much more effective if I could just stop giving in to the temptations at work so often!

970Mikaela1

Practice. willpower gets stronger. it gets easier. you'll find what treats are worth it to you:)

vismal

I'm also a nurse and our break room looks just like yours. You have 2 choices, you either leave room in your daily calories to have a treat or two or you just simply don't eat the food. No one is pointing a gun at your head. Just don't eat it. If you can't enjoy the food in moderation then you are forced to choose option 2. I find that you can practice moderation and get better at it. Make it a challenge. Allow yourself 200 calories to have something you enjoy from the break room. After you have that, you simply don't eat any more. As a nurse you know you won't stave to death even if you eat nothing for the entire 12 hour shift. I would bet money you've had a shift or two where that has happened (haven't we all?). So really its just a matter of how important your goals all vs how much you want to eat the food. If you stop and try to remind yourself of your goals before deciding to indulge, you might rethink and grab something you intended to eat from your lunch.

I also know the feeling of lunch breaks being hit or miss. For that reason I pack a lunch that can be eaten all at once if time allows or can be eaten piece by piece if needed. I usually pack a piece of fruit, a protein bar, a Greek yogurt, a few low calorie/high protein cookies, and usually some kind of meat. The meat is the only thing that needs heated and like I said, I can eat this all at once or I can eat this piece by piece.

IvyLuci

I don't know if it's agains any rules, but could you pack something like a protein bar as a part of your lunch and then carry it with you? If you have time to eat something from the break room, you have time to eat a protein bar. (I suggest a protein bar as opposed to something homemade because it is packaged, and less likely to spoil if it stays with you all day)

Branstin

If you can't change the situation, change the attitude in which you deal with it. If the temptations aren't at work, they will be someplace else. Yes, it is very tempting but you have to remind yourself of the commitment you made to your health. Temptations are going to be a part of your life whether you overeat and blow your deficiency or control yourself with moderation. The choice is yours. Since you know these events will take place, save or earn some calories ahead of time. If you really want some, plan for it. Otherwise, pack yourself some snacks along with your lunch to eat when you are in the snack room.

AlabasterVerve

Be happy and satisfied with your diet so your food is just as tempting and delicious as the baked goods. For me that means eating LCHF (if I don't eat it, I don't want it and the fat keeps me full) but everyone is different. I know others, especially here at MFP, incorporate planned sweets into their diets to make them "worth it" and they say that makes resisting temptation easier -- knowing they can eat sweets anytime.

Once you have that going for you -- a diet that's truly delicious and satisfying -- eating the sweets becomes something you consciously choose to indulge in because you want to; not something you couldn't resist.

jazzie_red

I am lucky because my breakroom has some good options. Dehydrated apples, cranberries, nuts, Bonnie Bell Cheese. I just allow myself to pick from those options. So if your break room doesn't have those types of options, maybe you can bring them from home.

When we have pot lucks, I just avoid them. I join the group but still eat my lunch that I bring in.

Or you could add something to the table and make it a healthy option for all. Like fruit kaboobs...