How to handle co-worker sabotage?

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  • martintanz
    martintanz Posts: 280
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    Tell them you gave up sweets for lent. ;)
  • bushidowoman
    bushidowoman Posts: 1,599 Member
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    I bring my own delicious, healthy snacks to share. :smile: And sometimes, they will even come up and ask me for them..."hey, do you have any of that baba ghanouj stuff with you tonight?"
  • ohtobe140
    ohtobe140 Posts: 93
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    Have a stack of napkins at your desk and when offered, take one, leave it on the napkin and drop it in the trash when no one is looking and then say how yummy it was if asked. I do this ALL THE TIME! Two of my main bosses are serious bakers and they are very good at it, but I have had all their stuff before, I know what it tastes like and that's not what I want to choose for myself. There are two things that they bake for me, meaning, they know I love them. So, I took one, discreetly tossed it in th trash and proclaimed it marvelous! No one was the wiser. I have thrown away cake pops, candy, brownies, cookies, tarts and pie. No one knows it went in the trash and that don't have to, all they know is that I was happy to receive it and proclaimed it delicious. Don't let your desire to stay on track outweigh your ability to be kind.
  • maddieprice87
    maddieprice87 Posts: 56 Member
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    I would bring healthy snacks but also bring in mini versions or low cal versions of 'treat' things- so if you DO get that sweet craving you're not faced with something that at best has a few hundred cals, at worst is home baked therefore you can't accurately gauge the calories in it. I've stocked up on mini packs of smarties and jellybeans that are 60-90 calories per packet. That way I know that even if I do have the whole packet, it's still only as many calories as I'd burn off walking for 20 minutes!
  • LMT2012
    LMT2012 Posts: 697 Member
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    Just lie. Say something like, "Oh God no. I just ate like a half a loaf of bread for breakfast." But thank you. Always be "soooo full"
  • Chikipiwi
    Chikipiwi Posts: 117 Member
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    Peple feeling shouldnt get hurt just because you dont want to eat a cookie.... Just say no and walk away from the temptation
  • WendyTerry420
    WendyTerry420 Posts: 13,274 Member
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    It may not be very nice for me to say, but I honestly do not believe that someone else can sabotage your efforts, unless they are literally holding a gun to your head. If it's simply a matter of your "being nice," then just say "No, thank you." If they refuse to accept that, then it's their problem, not yours. These are co-workers, not family members. You are under no obligation to be "nice," only professional.
  • IrishHarpy1
    IrishHarpy1 Posts: 399 Member
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    Being an avid (and pretty darned good!) baker, *I* am one of "those people" who bring treats into the office on a regular basis. This time of year I do it more often, as I like to experiment with new recipes for the holidays.

    No, I am not trying to "sabotage" anyone -- it's just impossible for my husband and I to eat entire batches of things, and I'm not giving up doing something I love to do. However, I take every single recipe I make and enter it into the recipe calculator here on MFP. When I put the container out on my desk, I have a printout of all the nutritional stats right next to it so people can make a more informed decision as to whether or not they want to have some.

    No pressure, no pushing... totally someone's choice if they want to have a bite.
  • Jenny775
    Jenny775 Posts: 108 Member
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    Just say NO! ;)

    The only person who can sabotage your efforts is yourself.



    ^^^ THIS!
  • WendyTerry420
    WendyTerry420 Posts: 13,274 Member
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    I have a container of fresh fruits and vegetables on my desk and I always just say "No thanks I am changing the way I eat"
    You don't have to feel bad if their feelings are hurt. Never apologize. Never explain. You don't owe them anything.
    If they push it. Repeat again. " No thanks I am changing the way I eat. Smile and move on.
    Don't eat anything at work you didn't bring with you. Otherwise it never stops.
    Funny, some of the veggies are fruits have the same caloric value of cookie and cakes.

    Oh the irony.

    Yes, but at least the fruits and vegetables help you meet your daily nutritional requirements as part of your overall diet. Calories aren't the only thing that matters in a healthy lifestyle.

    What vegetable has as many calories as a cookie or piece of cake? None that I have ever logged, and I've logged plenty of veggies, cookies, and cake.
  • LorinaLynn
    LorinaLynn Posts: 13,247 Member
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    You really aren't hurting anyone's feelings if you simply say "no, thank you". They offer, you decline. No reason for hurt feelings over that.

    This. And they're probably offering because they don't want to hurt YOUR feelings. As in, "If I don't offer her a cookie, she might think that I think she needs to lose weight."
  • supplemama
    supplemama Posts: 1,956 Member
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    Just say No thank you. Don't worry about hurting feelings. Why are their feelings more important than your health??
  • Simona40
    Simona40 Posts: 50 Member
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    I just say no. People at work are now used to me saying no now so they expect it and it doesnt cause hurt feelings. If we have a pot luck or something like that I'll take a plate so people will see but I may not eat everything. What I dont want...I throw away.

    Today the building I work in hosted a breakfast. It's all sugary pastries and cookies. I took a box to be polite but I'll either give it to a co-worker to throw it away. I have my egg sandwich to keep me satisfied until lunch.

    I find the more you say no, the easier it gets and people really dont get hurt feelings.
  • chivalryder
    chivalryder Posts: 4,391 Member
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    PUNCH THEM IN THE FACE!
  • sunsnstatheart
    sunsnstatheart Posts: 2,544 Member
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    They're being polite. Just politely decline.
  • AntWrig
    AntWrig Posts: 2,273 Member
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    I have a container of fresh fruits and vegetables on my desk and I always just say "No thanks I am changing the way I eat"
    You don't have to feel bad if their feelings are hurt. Never apologize. Never explain. You don't owe them anything.
    If they push it. Repeat again. " No thanks I am changing the way I eat. Smile and move on.
    Don't eat anything at work you didn't bring with you. Otherwise it never stops.
    Funny, some of the veggies are fruits have the same caloric value of cookie and cakes.

    Oh the irony.

    Yes, but at least the fruits and vegetables help you meet your daily nutritional requirements as part of your overall diet. Calories aren't the only thing that matters in a healthy lifestyle.

    What vegetable has as many calories as a cookie or piece of cake? None that I have ever logged, and I've logged plenty of veggies, cookies, and cake.
    Sweet potatoes can get up there, bananas are calorie dense as well.
  • WendyTerry420
    WendyTerry420 Posts: 13,274 Member
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    I have a container of fresh fruits and vegetables on my desk and I always just say "No thanks I am changing the way I eat"
    You don't have to feel bad if their feelings are hurt. Never apologize. Never explain. You don't owe them anything.
    If they push it. Repeat again. " No thanks I am changing the way I eat. Smile and move on.
    Don't eat anything at work you didn't bring with you. Otherwise it never stops.
    Funny, some of the veggies are fruits have the same caloric value of cookie and cakes.

    Oh the irony.

    Yes, but at least the fruits and vegetables help you meet your daily nutritional requirements as part of your overall diet. Calories aren't the only thing that matters in a healthy lifestyle.

    What vegetable has as many calories as a cookie or piece of cake? None that I have ever logged, and I've logged plenty of veggies, cookies, and cake.
    Sweet potatoes can get up there, bananas are calorie dense as well.

    I've never logged a sweet potato, except for sweet potato casserole on Thanksgiving, which had butter and brown sugar added to it. Bananas are still lower than one cookie, and much lower than a slice of cake. I'm not afraid of baked goods, to be sure. I was thinking you might say carrots. Two cups of carrots equals one sugar cookie. :tongue:
  • Luv2ChewBaca
    Luv2ChewBaca Posts: 15 Member
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    PUNCH THEM IN THE FACE!
    HAHAHA, Now THAT IS FUNNY!!! :)
  • Acg67
    Acg67 Posts: 12,142 Member
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    Okay, my co-workers aren't intentionally sabotaging me, but I find myself bombarded with junk food offers nearly everyday. Chips, candy, cookies, cakes... and of course it's worse now during the holidays. Sometimes it's homemade goodies and I don't want to hurt anyones feelings. Sometimes it's the "if I eat one, you have to" angle (trying to sharing the guilt?).

    How do you handle co-worker sabotage? Just trying to get some new ideas from how other handle this sort of thing. Maybe a new line to use to politely turn down the junk? Maybe a new way to explain why I'm not interested, without getting into details?

    So... chime in and let me hear some of your experiences and answers to this never ending problem! :)

    -Cat

    Easy, stop being weak and get some will power
  • leeann0517
    leeann0517 Posts: 74 Member
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    I used to work with a retired Marine who was a poster child for physical fitness and health. When goodies were getting passed around during the Christmas season, he'd always say "I don't put that poison in my body". He said it facetiously and with humor, and nobody took offense to it; in fact it became a standing joke amongst us - but we knew that he wouldn't/didn't eat that kind of stuff. Everybody respected that and didn't push it on him.

    i don't care how much humor he said it with, it's still rude. Basically he's saying that anyone that does eat it is putting poison in their body. What's wrong with a simple no thank you?

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