My Job is Ruining my weightloss...

CiciPorcayo

About a month ago I got in trouble for to many bathroom breaks at work.... Stupid if you ask me because I drink about 2liters of water at work and that is just so I feel better hydrated and can concentrate well through the day...... But now I can't take TOO MANY bathroom breaks and that sucks so I barely drink WATER at work and when I am home barely either because I only have tap water and I don't wanna go out n by water bottles every five minutes! .. Plus everyone at work eats such garbage and always buys me lunches and I sometimes eat em a little, other times I put em in the fridge but one time I didn't eat it and left it in the fridge and my supervisor said he was offended. I wanted to be like "well I was offended you thought I would put that garbage into my body" ugh i honestly donno wat to do any advice

CiciPorcayo

BUMP... someone should have some advice idk what to do anymore...

LittleMissNerdy

Just tell them you appreciate them thinking about you at lunch time but that you bring your own lunch and don't want them wasting their money on you.

AprilShore

Check with your human resources supervisor. I don't think you can be denied trips to the bathroom. I would suggest having a conversation with your boss and telling them that you don't want to offend anyone, but you are trying to have a healthy lifestyle and brown bag it! I work in a school and gained 25 pounds before I realized it. I am not politely decling small children's birthday cupcakes. It was difficult, but I am doing it. You can too! Good for you wanting to have a healthy lifestyle!

chevy88grl

You can still drink water at work, just don't' drink as much (though I'm not sure they can legally tell you when you can/can't go to the restroom) as you have been. There's no reason you can't still drink water though.

As for lunches, take your own and tell everyone "I don't want to hurt anyone's feelings, but I'm going to be bringing my lunch from now on. Please, don't buy me anything anymore"

Problem solved.

Bronx_Montgomery

You got in trouble for taking too many bathroom breaks? Do you work in a concentration camp? You should speak to the Department of Labor. There is def something wrong with that

CiciPorcayo

You got in trouble for taking too many bathroom breaks? Do you work in a concentration camp? You should speak to the Department of Labor. There is def something wrong with that

right? becuase they say if I take to many bathroom breaks I don't get enough work done... wow I was like I won't take lunch & you have to give me that because it says it in the application I filled out, so ill use that time to GO PEE 30mins total I can spread that out in a day, but they said no.... haha ! Office jobs! pffff

NYCDutchess

You got in trouble for taking too many bathroom breaks? Do you work in a concentration camp? You should speak to the Department of Labor. There is def something wrong with that

Agreed. I mean running to pee cant take more than 3 minutes...really? I think this is illegal.

YukonJoy

Just start peeing in your chair.

Pocket_Pixi

Is it a case of too many bathroom breaks or the breaks are too long??? I used to have a co-worker that would go to the bathroom about once an hour and would be gone for 30 minutes at a time.. they were reprimanded because the breaks were frequent and long.

Frequency of bathroom breaks should not matter, but if you are disrupting others work, or are taking too long work places can reprimand you for it... I would talk to the person who reprimanded you and find out WHY, if it is a case of "you are taking to many" go to HR and find out what exactly they consider too many bathroom breaks - sometimes it is the person who has reprimanded you is being unrealistic and needs to be talked to.

sburde2

What type of work do you do? They can't limit the amount of bathroom breaks you take, talk to HR!

cloud2011

I'm sorry for your trouble at work. To increase your water at home, you can always buy a bottle that has a filter inside of it, then you can fill it with tap water. (I drink straight tap water...tap water is usually very safe, so if you have concerns, check with your local water company about it. You can also buy a testing kit).

A concern about too many breaks at work is legitimate, but if it's for health reasons, maybe you could talk to someone about it. And, I think another poster gave you great advice: stand up for yourself in a very polite way.

SPBROOKS68

Get a Brita faucet water filter and/or a water filter pitcher for your refrigerator. I did this and no longer buy water and drink more because it is in the refrigerator cold and ready to drink.

Rae6503

Drinking water or not drinking it won't effect your weightloss.

It's dumb that your boss is offended that you don't want his food. Maybe sit down with him and explain that you'd simply rather he didn't buy you anything that way he didn't waste his money.

csparon

OSHA

The rule which covers bathrooms at work is: 29CFR Toilet facilities.1910.141(c)(1).

If you don't have enough bathrooms or your boss doesn't let you use the bathroom, you can file a complaint with OSHA. If you decide, OSHA will not tell your boss who filed the complaint.

Geeky_Girl

Talk to your boss and let them know about your new healthy lifestyle. Sometimes people get talked to about too many bathroom breaks because the boss thinks they're taking a smoke break or chatting with people instead. If you don't want to offend people who buy you food, go ahead and just take the food home (if you can) and offer it to a friend, roommate, etc or dump it off site.

Just my opinion though. I'm not sure how helpful it is where you're at. Good luck though

Pattiann237

Tell them you've developed some weird food allergies and they should ask you before they buy you any food. As for the bathroom thing. i used to have a job where I couldn't go to the bathroom much, so i drank a big glass of water before work, a big glass at lunch, and two big glasses when I got home. Good luck!! Work can make eating healthy very tough!!

sobriquet84

1. Talk to your human resources person!!! That's flippin ridiculous.

2. Put your foot down and simply don't eat the stuff others buy you. If you stop eating it, they'll stop buying it for you.

Put into your body what YOU WANT to put into your body, and take all the damn pee breaks you need to.

KA29

What about people who have conditions where they go often? Your work can't tell you to reduce the amount of bathroom trips you take. I agree with those who have advised you to talk to HR regarding this matter.

As far as passing on the free lunches, it is your decision to eat what you want. If your boss is offended then that is their problem. Just tell your boss you appreciate the thought, but you are working on eating healthy. I do that at my work, along with a majority of my co-workers, when lunch is offered and that has actually got my boss to bring us healthier food.

Regardless of how you decide to handle this, do not let your work ruin your diet. Overcome the negativity there and think about your ultimate goals and achieving them :happy:

grinch031

Only an idiot would buy someone unwanted lunches and then be offended that they weren't eaten. You work in a pretty weird environment it seems.

_Shelley_

I can relate regarding the food part.

I work with the Native American population and in their culture, it is offensive to turn down food. When I first started there, I NEVER said no. Oh goodness, I gained 5 lbs very quickly as a result of this. They eat a lot of fatty, fried foods which did not set well with me.

It is hard to say no now but my clients understand that I'm very focused on my diet and that I watch what I eat. I think if you make it clear to your co-workers and boss that you're trying to get healthy and fit, they should understand

Best of luck to you.

PS. Use it as an educational thing for them too. Maybe "feed" them a little knowledge about the food they are feeding their bodies and the toll it is having.

juliegin

This might be the cowards way out, but start telling people you are developing food allergies and need to adopt a highly restrictive diet. So if they'd like to do something nice like bring you in a treat something like fruit or salads would be good. Maybe claim a gluten allergy?

amanda52488

Drinking water or not drinking it won't effect your weightloss.

It's dumb that your boss is offended that you don't want his food. Maybe sit down with him and explain that you'd simply rather he didn't buy you anything that way he didn't waste his money.

Ive been told that NOT drinknig water will definitely affect your weightloss?????

robin52077

From OSHA Website:

"Medical studies show the importance of regular urination, with women generally needing to void more frequently than men. Adverse health effects that may result from voluntary urinary retention include increased frequency of urinary tract infections (UTIs), which can lead to more serious infections and, in rare situations, renal damage"


Entire page here. My quote came from the section highlighted in yellow.
http://americanrestroom.org/gov/ohsa/index.htm

Novikay

Do you take your phone or something to the bathroom? Maybe they think you're just going in to make a call or something and not actually need the trip to the bathroom....either way, it's ridiculous that they tell you that you can't go to the bathroom. I'd flip out if someone said that to me, I drink about a gallon a day at work and go a lot lol.

GlitterGoldJem

YOU CANNOT BE DENIED trips to the bathroom especially since you are going to relive yourself. Now if you go in there and are on your phone or something else then maybe that sends the wrong message. (I'm not saying you are just using an example) If you do not get a reliable answers from your HR manager then go to whoever us above him/her. Explain to them you're in the process of making your life healthy and part of that is getting water into your system. Until your body becomes accustom to the extra water, you're going to pee a lot and they need to understand that. Also if your job is your health insurance provider tell them that by bettering your health you will less likely need to use your health insurance ... that will perk them up right away. If all else fails go to your Dr and have him write a note.

As for the lunches ... my job is like that too ... constant ordering out, goodies being brought to snack on, etc. I simply deny it. People do get mad or turn their nose up at me from time to time but too bad. It's a free country and I can pick and choose what I want to eat. My boss always used to bring me hot chocolate which I loved but the 300+ calories weren't worth it. I told her that and she completely understood, now she asks first or gets me tea or something healthier.

There's compromise in every situation regarding work and sometimes even tho it may seem scary you have to talk out things. It'll make your work a better place to be. Your boss and coworkers will see you care about your job and yourself and that's always a good face to show!

sobriquet84

Only an idiot would buy someone unwanted lunches and then be offended that they weren't eaten. You work in a pretty weird environment it seems.

i agree. it even seems inappropriate.

ara005

Hi, I am in the HR field and to limit the frequency of bathroom trips is ridiculous. It sounds like HR needs to have a discussion with your manager. If you are disrupting other people by talking to them on the way to or from the restroom, that would be a different story.

Also, the tap water here is terrible at my house too. I bought a filter that fits on my faucet and I absolutely love it- no more gross tasting water. It comes with different adjustments to fit any type of sink and was like $25. Here's the link:

http://www.walmart.com/ip/PUR-3-Stage-Faucet-Vertical-Mount-Filtration-System-FM-3700/7386195

samandlucysmum

Get a doctors note!!!

carriem73

You got in trouble for taking too many bathroom breaks? Do you work in a concentration camp? You should speak to the Department of Labor. There is def something wrong with that

right? becuase they say if I take to many bathroom breaks I don't get enough work done... wow I was like I won't take lunch & you have to give me that because it says it in the application I filled out, so ill use that time to GO PEE 30mins total I can spread that out in a day, but they said no.... haha ! Office jobs! pffff

are you in the US? If so, the Dept of Labor specifies that if you work 8 hours you are required a minimum of 30 minutes for lunch and two 15 minutes breaks a day. This does not apply to wait staff, because they are supposedly given "down time" between tables"....

That being said, I once managed a call center, where the phones had to be manned 100% of the time, and staff could only take bathroom breaks during thier scheduled 15 minute breaks, unless it was an emergency... but- each and every staff person was scheduled a break during thier morning and afternoon slots....

morgansmom02

I can't believe they would actually tell you that you can't use the bathroom that often!! It takes 2 minutes to pee! Like everyone else said, talk to HR. For the food thing if they keep buying it for you, just throw it away if you don't want to eat it. Or take it home for someone at home to eat.