Restaurant workers

jesz124

Provided your shifts are longer than 4 or 5 hours this seems to violate some pretty important labour laws...no?

In the UK you have to work a 6 hour shift to be entitled to a 15 minute rest break. Not sure how it works over there though?

h_met

To answer questions: I swear this is not all any sort of bull. Admittedly I work for an extremely strict company, but they're willing to allow me prepackaged snacks because I have a doctors note.

We aren't supposed to leave to go to our cars at any point in time during our shift. My shifts are anywhere from 3 hours, to 8. It depends on business and the shift given to me. It's hard to eat before or after because I often arrive for work at 4 and then get home at 9:30. I get hungry in the middle of my shift and don't want to eat a huge meal so late at night.

This job pays mildly well, but I'm graduate at the beginning of December, so I don't want to find a new job, train, and wait to be given good shifts. By then I'll graduate, and move to Phoenix for my new job in January, making the whole situation pointless.

Rogue_Minx

I love how everyone is complaining about how bizarre it is that you aren't allowed to bring in outside food (which I agree is weird), instead of offering advice on what to do. :ohwell:

Seeing as how I work in a restaurant, too, I know exactly how you feel. I put some money into appetite suppressants for a while but they didn't really work too well. Meal replacement shakes work the best for me. Have one right before your shift and it could help. To make you feel a little fuller, add some plain dry oatmeal and let it sit for a few minutes.

Otherwise, drink A LOT of water. It will be good for cutting water weight and hydrating your body but it will also help you feel fullish. These are tricks I use and they work alright.

Last resort: stay out of the kitchen at all costs, if possible. It's what I do when I know my resolve is weak that day.

Hope this helps and good luck!

homeyjosey

Intermittent fasting

melonclarinet

I put myself through 9 years of college working in a restaurant. I usually didn't eat during the shift if I could avoid it (I didn't want to miss out on tables and therefore MONEY). There's always SOMETHING that you can have if you have to eat. Otherwise, bring in a protein bar. You said they let you do that. There are lots of bars that have a lot of protein, little sugar, and will keep you full. I agree with everyone else, drink lots of water along with it.

jesz124

I love how everyone is complaining about how bizarre it is that you aren't allowed to bring in outside food (which I agree is weird), instead of offering advice on what to do. :ohwell:

Seeing as how I work in a restaurant, too, I know exactly how you feel. I put some money into appetite suppressants for a while but they didn't really work too well. Meal replacement shakes work the best for me. Have one right before your shift and it could help. To make you feel a little fuller, add some plain dry oatmeal and let it sit for a few minutes.

Otherwise, drink A LOT of water. It will be good for cutting water weight and hydrating your body but it will also help you feel fullish. These are tricks I use and they work alright.

Last resort: stay out of the kitchen at all costs, if possible. It's what I do when I know my resolve is weak that day.

Hope this helps and good luck!

Erm I think if you read back over the thread you'll see quite a few suggestions? Meal replacement drink, protein shakes, nuts and just a few I can remember.

soleilxo

um just control yourself. i know exactly what you are going through i am in the sameeee situation. im a bartendar at a pub& grill and when its slow, or there are no people, i munch munch munch on these stupid kettle chips we have. and than if I am really bad i go into the kitchen and go crazy like find food that I crave, and it has everything so thats terrbile. right now, ive been getting wayyyy better. ive realized that if i start, i dont usually stop. so i just dont even start haha. and now i drink diet pepsi there like its no tomorrow, and a lot of water. lol that keeps me feeling full but honestly, its all about your control and willpower. some people may obv disagree. if you cant bring your own food (which I do sometimes) than thats just weird.:) wish you luck

Ruthe8

If your shift isn't long enough for a break then you can eat before or after it.

jaws3153

What she's saying sounds pretty normal for restaurant work. From high school until after college I worked 6 years between two national chains. I never saw anyone bring their own food in. And you really don't get breaks. The only time you might get a break is if you work and open to close double. When I worked at Friday's and open/close meant getting there at 10AM and they didn't close until 2AM.

As a waiter you really can't get breaks. Doing so would mean having the hostess stop seating you for an hour. Say you have a four table station and decide you need a break. As the first three tables left you'd have to keep them empty, waiting for the fourth table to leave. After they finally leave you'd have to go somewhere else to eat, do that, and then come back. Then you can't get all four tables sat at once unless you want to provide the worst service ever. Taking an actual break and leaving would probably cost you six table turns altogether. At $5 a table that break cost $30.

Working at Friday's during college when I also stopped playing sports and starting drinking more (oh, yeah, a bar right in the workplace!) is what helped me go from 190 in high school to 275 at 24. Now, if I had today's attitude and MFP back then I think I could've managed my weight better. Instead I was living the Animal House credo of fat, drunk, and happy. And I took a french fry off of every plate.

Gidzmo

Provided your shifts are longer than 4 or 5 hours this seems to violate some pretty important labour laws...no?

In the UK you have to work a 6 hour shift to be entitled to a 15 minute rest break. Not sure how it works over there though?

I used to work at a McDonalds (before the salads, lattes, and such). In CA (where I live), the rule was:
a) under 4 hours--no breaks.
b) 4-6 hours--10-minute break.
c) 6-8 hours--2 10-minute breaks AND a half-hour break.

They have to let you eat sometime.

sara3rose

Clearly the vast majority of people don't understand how the service industry works ...

I also work in a restaurant. I am a bartender, and my shifts start at 4 p.m. I am unable to eat during my entire shift because I am constantly "on show" to all of my guests, which means I go for about eight hours without eating anything at all (on a good night I can be done by around midnight). So I feel your pain, girl.

My BEST advice for you is to just try your absolute best to try to eat on your way to work, and have a protein bar or something waiting for you in your car for when you leave. Unfortunately, having a set eating schedule does not work for people with our schedules, and you're just going to have to work around it. If you're eating bread throughout your shift to get you by, just be VERY conscious of exactly how much you're eating. Limit yourself to just a couple of pieces, but only eat small bits at a time and really think about whether or not you are actually hungry / it just sounds yummy / you're bored. A lot of mental effort is going to have to come into play for you!

In summary, limit your bread intake and really pay attention to how much you're eating. Eat on your way to work, and have something waiting for you when you leave. That's all I've really got ... hope that helps!

cmriverside

And I took a french fry off of every plate.

Thanks, this totally made me laugh. I worked at Fridays for 13 years. I think everyone does that. At one point we got "fined" a quarter if we got caught. But, managers are three and we were 15.....odds were you could eat a lot of fries in a shift.

OP, those are some odd rules.....and there has to be something you can eat from the kitchen. Cheese and some turkey slices? An apple and cheese? An egg fake McMuffin? You have to eat. Not eating isn't the answer.

makkman

U have been there awhile now. Can u talk with management about providing an inexpensive alternative such as a salad?

etb23

A food court. At a mall. Which isn't healthy in the least. I'm not given breaks during my shift, so I couldn't leave to go find food half way through.

The sandwich could contaminate food, fall into other people's plates, and then there's the issue of food stuck in my teeth, guests seeing me eat the sandwich, no where to store it, etc.

By law they HAVE to give you breaks depending on the amount of hours you work. If you are wotking 30-40 hours you should be given 2 15 min breaks and a lunch.... I'd look for another location to work

Depends on the state. I know here where I live, breaks are not mandatory. I work 8+ hour shifts. But some companies abide by different state laws and so they will give breaks.

"Arizona does not have any laws requiring an employer to provide a meal period or breaks
to employees, thus the federal rule applies. The federal rule does not require an employer
to provide either a meal (lunch) period or breaks." http://www.employmentlawhandbook.com/State/Arizona.html

Charmed285

To answer questions: I swear this is not all any sort of bull. Admittedly I work for an extremely strict company, but they're willing to allow me prepackaged snacks because I have a doctors note.

We aren't supposed to leave to go to our cars at any point in time during our shift. My shifts are anywhere from 3 hours, to 8. It depends on business and the shift given to me. It's hard to eat before or after because I often arrive for work at 4 and then get home at 9:30. I get hungry in the middle of my shift and don't want to eat a huge meal so late at night.

This job pays mildly well, but I'm graduate at the beginning of December, so I don't want to find a new job, train, and wait to be given good shifts. By then I'll graduate, and move to Phoenix for my new job in January, making the whole situation pointless.

I work in fast food too and I can't mention the name since the company or bosses made the crew sign a contract not to post anything about them on any social or public forums or we can get fired. we aren't allowed to eat either and a most times we don't get breaks even if we work 8 hours or more. some people sneak food but if *some* people are caught we get written up, or the manager makes us clock out for the day so we can't continue working but no one has been fired for it YET but it could happen. according to my boss if your're not in high school they are NOT required to give breaks by law. we are allowed to drink though but only tea if it's from the fast food place unless we bring our on.

dmwells3

A food court. At a mall. Which isn't healthy in the least. I'm not given breaks during my shift, so I couldn't leave to go find food half way through.

The sandwich could contaminate food, fall into other people's plates, and then there's the issue of food stuck in my teeth, guests seeing me eat the sandwich, no where to store it, etc.

By law they HAVE to give you breaks depending on the amount of hours you work. If you are wotking 30-40 hours you should be given 2 15 min breaks and a lunch.... I'd look for another location to work

In my state, employers do not have to give you a break or lunch for an eight hour shift. Not all state labor laws are the same. I agree with bringing a pre packaged protien drink and having that at work. The only other thing you cou can do is find another job.

wallacam194

I work at a restaurant as well. its not a fast food restaurant so idk how much help this is but i have a good relationship with all of my co workers and they make me wraps and stuff for lunch that are "healthy" so that i dont have to eat their delicious-but-fattening homeade fries, crazy burgers, and what not. even stuff that isnt on the menu they still allow me to eat. is there anything that you guys have back in the kitchen that you could make yourself to eat that is "healthy?" an example of what i eat is turkey, lettuce, tomato, and a little bit of mayo on a whole wheat wrap. that isnt on our menu but they will still make if for me if i ask them too.