Anyone else have this problem? Free food?

FitandFab33

Look into food safety, foodbourne illness, and safety regulations... Studying that while studying nutrition pretty much ruined buffets, "grab" foods, foods that have been sitting out, and a whole host of other styles of dining. As far as temptation and willpower- my mantra: "I have a goal, it means more to me than _______" fill in the blank with whatever the current culprit is. :-)

Looking at nutrition data/calorie and fat content is always a helpful deterrent too.

PriceK01

"I have no idea how to count that," is my response when the food pushers are offering something. It's hard, but has been working for me thus far.

darrensurrey

Don't see the problem If It Fits Your Calorie Goals.

Yes, yes, you should eat healthy food.

jmeyer925

Free food is by far my biggest downfall...

I swear if I could just shut myself away from the world I would never have a food problem (yes, i know that's no way to live life, but you get the point).

And I AM a poor college student, so normally I'm going from day to day on what I can afford and what I can make healthily. But you throw in in some free food, and i'm sure I look like a dog who just saw a bone lol.

Office food is the worst sometimes...because I have this mindset that I never know how long it's going to be there for, so it's a now or never thing! OORRRR it just sits there calling my name ALL day, and it's communial, so it's not like I can throw it in the trash.

Mind over matter and all that... doesn't mean it's not hard. Just stick with logging, use moderation, and always tell yourself there'll be more at another time.

think48

I love you all of you!! You make me laugh and feel so much better, or at least, halfway normal!! Brilliant idea about grabbing some and sticking it in the freezer too. That helps with the thought of "oh, it's free, I gotta!" and then save it for a later time to see if I really want it. What really bums me out is I had planned good HEALTHY homemade pizza for dinner tonight, so obviously pizza sounded good. I ate that stuff and now? Eh, it doesn't sound so good for dinner. lol.

Thanks everyone. Love this place.

Moxie42

If I'm dying for something that shows up at work for free, like donuts or pizza or cake, I log onto MFP, search the calories and that usually turns me off. I pre-log my food and I can easily tell if I have room for a snack. There were tim horton's donuts last week and I realized that for less calories I could have a turkey pepperoni stick, a cheesestring, and an apple.

Love this idea!!! Perfect for those times you're not expecting free food but it shows up!

Planning against free food you know ahead of time will be there helps too. We have bagels at work every Friday. Knowing that, I try to plan ahead and pack a light lunch (like a salad, or veggies w/ hummus) so I can treat myself to a bagel. Also, think about whether or not you really want the food- for a while I was getting sicks of bagels but I ate them anyway because they were there! It took me a while to realize I was eating them purely out of habit- once I realized it, I stopped eating them for a few weeks.

zenchild

I'm generally OK with pizza (I'm a pizza snob, I won't touch anything from Pizza Hut, Domino's or Papa John's). My downfall is sweets. Most of the time that means an occasional slice of birthday cake. Unfortunately, I work in a business where we have a lot of vendors. And we spend quite a bit of money with these vendors. And to make sure we keep spending money next year, they send us treats this time of year. Pralines by the box, cookies, malt balls, popcorn, pizzas (good, Chicago pizza), caramel, fudge, etc. The best I can do is try to limit my portions and work extra hard on Insanity.

rainhadoqueijo

Free food is the reason I'm on this site! We cater for clients all the time, and everyone a work is divided into teams (that are named after animals - really, I could go on about the comparisons of my work place to a primary school, but I'll refrain..!) who have totake turns to put on company breakfasts (bacon rolls) and company evenings out (starting with beer and pizza in the office) - aaaargh and the place is full of graduate trainees who aren't old enough for calories to have got the best of them yet! (I'm not bitter, no.... )

I LOVE FREE FOOD!

aimeerocksx3

I work at a chocolate store, and while I'm working, everything there is fair game. So yes, I feel your pain.

SideSteel

Perhaps you could donate your regular food to people in need, then you could just eat the free food. This way, everyone eats free and you eat less calories.

Contrarian

Free food makes me happy.

saraann4

willpower. Easier said than done.

pixiestick

Gum--for five calories, it will distract you from the urge to splurge.

Cranktastic

Surely 2 pieces of pizza can fit in your day.

DontStopB_Leakin

Yea, free food is the worst, yo.


Damn people and their generosity.

janiesue101

this happens to me too! sometimes (and this might be even weirder) i grab a piece or two of the free pizza to take home and put in the freezer. I'll have it as a meal later on in the week that i can plan for and i'll add some veggies. Doesn't mess up my calories for that day and serves as a little treat for later

What a great Idea!

elenathegreat

Yea, free food is the worst, yo.


Damn people and their generosity.

The Basterds.

WinnerVictorious

louiselebeau

and throw it on the ground! (because you're an adult!)

ebailey710

This is the number one reason I'm glad I don't work in a cafeteria anymore. Or live in the dorms. I would eat CONSTANTLY. One for you, two for me. It was awful.