How do you avoid temptation?

anitabrabazon
anitabrabazon Posts: 6 Member
in Motivation and Support
Sometimes at work we have guests come in, so sandwiches and treats are bought by the bosses. There is always some left over, and it is given to the rest of the office to finish up. They are really nice finger food and I find myself always eating some!

The food is generally placed in the main kitchen (downstairs, whereas we have a small kitchen upstairs) but I find myself making excuses to have a look and see what food there is and then it is too late!

How do you avoid situations lile this?!

Replies

  • bertoliniracing
    bertoliniracing Posts: 20
    I feel for you. We always have treats in our lunch room(which is our only one). I try to live by the rule if its not in my lunch bag I am not allowed to have it. It works sometimes.
  • ullgetthere
    ullgetthere Posts: 96
    We have the same thinf here. On certain days we can have candy, doughnuts and left over lunches all at once. However, I tell myself that if I have one, it won't end there. I'll have several others and I still won't be satisfied. So why start?? Plus, in the morning I log my food for the day in advance. So when I see that I have no place for extra junk food then it's easier to say no.
  • applemad69
    applemad69 Posts: 5
    We have exactly the same situation here, in fact our office actually has food lying around on top of a fling cabinet all the time, as I type this there is a box of scottish butter shortbreads waving back at me from 10 yards away, but when this happens then I force myself to think that I want to spend as much time as I can with my loved ones and hopefully by losing weight I'll lengthen my lifespan, when I think like that then it's no contest, and I go make a coffee or drink some water to bloat me out.

    They also do things here for charity and it is nearly always food orientated, the one last Thursday was a 'Big Breakfast' day where everyone brought in breakfast foods, pancakes and other goodies and then paid in to the charity to have some, I just avoided going into the room where all the food was until later in the day when it had all gone and then went and paid my donation without actually being able to eat any and stuck to the food I had brought for lunch.

    It is difficult, but just keep thinking of the prize and not the work to get there, and you will get there....:wink:
  • aerochic42
    aerochic42 Posts: 843 Member
    While I try to follow the lunch bag rule, I've found it helps if I apply the wait and see rule. If any of the food that is desirable to me is still available at lunch time or afternoon snack time or after whatever arbitrary time frame (meeting, 10 o'clock, whatever) then i can eat it. If it's gone, so's the temptation. I also try the only eat when I'm actually hungry rule, not because the food is there. the last one is very much a work in progress, but occasionally it will work.
  • SoDamnHungry
    SoDamnHungry Posts: 6,998 Member
    I don't even go in the lunch room if there's really good food there. Unless I don't care and feel like blowing it, which sometimes I do.
  • SheilaN1976
    SheilaN1976 Posts: 266 Member
    i ask myself it it is worth the extra hour or so of cardio to burn off those calories
  • bpotts44
    bpotts44 Posts: 1,066 Member
    I pretty much always bring my lunch. What I do is just not eat until its my lunch time. Then I heat it up, eat it, get on MFP the rest of the time. No eating allowed otherwise.
  • Terree83
    Terree83 Posts: 93
    I have the exact same problem! I swear, it's on a daily basis.. leftover bagels, sandwiches, pizza, cookies, cakes.. it's crazy! I am always one to go in and see what's leftover. BUT.. before I let myself get carried away, I usually turn to MFP. For example.. we always have Jason's Deli leftovers here.. and they have the most amazing chocolate brownies.. I happened to look them up before I shoved one into my face, and saw that they were over 400 calories a pop! I wouldn't even allow myself to eat half of one after that. So much of that stuff is full of calories that I don't need and can't afford to spare, so that usually helps me. If I can't control myself and am in the mood to snack.. I'll at least try to stick with the healthy stuff.. leftover salad or fruit.

    It's tough, but like others have said, just keep thinking of why you're doing this.. that should help! :)
  • kristen6022
    kristen6022 Posts: 1,923 Member
    I just have a rule: If it's brought into work, I don't eat it. Donuts, sandwiches, pizza. It might be free, but it's not for me!
  • NJSunshine13
    NJSunshine13 Posts: 116
    Our office is like that too. I found that when I do cheat and grab something, it's never as good as it looked. I take a bite and think are these calories really worth it? 99% of the time, they aren't. So now before I even take that first bite, I tell myself it's just not worth it. I'll save my calories for something worth every last bite.
  • BarbellBlondieRuns
    BarbellBlondieRuns Posts: 511 Member
    I take full advantage of all the really pretty designs that are made on duct tape lately. I always tape my mouth shut with something that sets off my outfit ;-)
  • wfnugent
    wfnugent Posts: 30 Member
    I chew gum. I am chewing gum, I will not grab a fistful of M&Ms or a couple of pretzel rods that we have in big jugs around the office because mixing the these with gum is gross. Eating a treat takes a conscious decision to spit out the gum. By the time, I make this decision, I usually conclude that the 120 calories for three pretzel rods just aren't worth it.

    My wife hates gum so I don't do it at home but there I have her and the kids to help me.
  • Drussander
    Drussander Posts: 266 Member
    I never eat the company grub! It's soylent green!

    My company is constantly handing out icecream, cookies, cupcakes (really nice ones too, such as Magnolia, and Crumbs) and other assorted goodies. The problem is, it happens all too often at work (I can hear the boss saying "give them cake!").

    I view these things a poison to my health goals and that helps me avoid the temptation. That's not to say I won't have a piece of b-day cake or a cider donut now and then, but part of getting healthier for me is not putting in high calorie, low nutrition density foods.

    To be honest, the biggest deterrent is thatI don't want to distrubute my calories that way, not to mention the afternoon sugar rush will make me tired too.

    Either way, it works for me. Once you get your mindset, it's not hard to avoid tempation.
  • krisalexine
    krisalexine Posts: 78 Member
    This is a little crazy and kinda creepy but whatever lol. I made my phone wallpaper a picture of Elizabeth Akinwale (Google her... she's a BEAST). Two months ago it was Annie Thorisdottir (Google her too). I'm constantly checking my phone throughout the day and looking at these women's bodies is enough to get me to not dig in to the crap food at work.
  • nisha0612
    nisha0612 Posts: 75 Member
    Rate the food item! I usually give it points from 1 to 10... so for example a donut would be a 5 = not even worth it.. if you're going to cheat let it be with the gorgeous gateaux or ganache down at the specialty french bakery... ;) which would be a 9! and because quality treats are expensive, I save them for special days...

    SO only cheat if the food item scores above 7, our bodies are special and we should only spoil it with treats that are worth it :)
  • redheaddee
    redheaddee Posts: 2,005 Member
    I don't, because I feel avoiding temptation can eventually lead to complete and total meltdown & failure. I allow myself the treats, log them into my journal, and if needed, up my exercise for that day to balance it out. One retirement party I took pictures of what I ate so I could log it later (and could not eat the rest of the day since I used all my calories, LOL). It gave some of my colleagues a giggle, but it helps me to see how much damage these things do in one sitting. I now allow myself no more than 3 bites, but I will not deprive myself!
  • BrianSharpe
    BrianSharpe Posts: 9,248 Member
    Why avoid it?

    Log (as best you can) whatever you eat and try to stay within your overall daily caloric limit. It's only a problem is you're eating this in addition to your normal meals, and even then it's not going to kill you if you go over every now and again (think about it this way - assuming you're set up to lose 1lb per week if you go over one day by 300 cal you're still in a 200 cal deficit for that day)
  • ubermensch13
    ubermensch13 Posts: 824 Member
    You just don't eat it...plain and simple. There is no secret involved. If you want it bad enough, you won't give into any temptation, this fits in all areas of life, not just being healthy.
  • redheaddee
    redheaddee Posts: 2,005 Member
    Rate the food item! I usually give it points from 1 to 10... so for example a donut would be a 5 = not even worth it.. if you're going to cheat let it be with the gorgeous gateaux or ganache down at the specialty french bakery... ;) which would be a 9!

    SO only cheat if the food item scores above 7, our bodies are special and we should only spoil it with treats that are worth it :)

    This is good too! We had doughnuts in our last staff meeting, but they were from Wal-mart. Ick! They sat right in front of me for two hours and I ate not a single one, because dammit, if I am going to do the damage, it better be Krispy Kreme!!
  • AliceNov2011
    AliceNov2011 Posts: 471 Member
    Walk away.
  • lkcuts
    lkcuts Posts: 224
    We have exactly the same situation here, in fact our office actually has food lying around on top of a fling cabinet all the time, as I type this there is a box of scottish butter shortbreads waving back at me from 10 yards away, but when this happens then I force myself to think that I want to spend as much time as I can with my loved ones and hopefully by losing weight I'll lengthen my lifespan, when I think like that then it's no contest, and I go make a coffee or drink some water to bloat me out.

    They also do things here for charity and it is nearly always food orientated, the one last Thursday was a 'Big Breakfast' day where everyone brought in breakfast foods, pancakes and other goodies and then paid in to the charity to have some, I just avoided going into the room where all the food was until later in the day when it had all gone and then went and paid my donation without actually being able to eat any and stuck to the food I had brought for lunch.

    It is difficult, but just keep thinking of the prize and not the work to get there, and you will get there....:wink:

    As far as the scotch short bread I am with ya I cannot say no ,so I looked it up after i made some in 2 round cake pans pressed it out almost like a cookie) to take to work. a 2"x2" isn't as bad as you think. I ended up with 2"x1" square and its 120 cal. The fat content is the biggest thing because of the butter, the sugar isn't as bad. its the carbs in the flour. but I can use whole wheat.. I find them a great snack occasionally.
  • MinnieInMaine
    MinnieInMaine Posts: 6,400 Member
    I've slowly become very picky about my treats. I've wasted way too many calories in the past on stuff that I ate just because it was sweet and fulfilled my cravings at the time. As my dear departed step-Dad used to say, I'd eat **** if it had sugar on it! LOL But as time has passed and I've had to put a lot of work in at the gym to earn some extra calories, I've become a bit more of a food snob. Like, is it really "worth" my time and energy to eat that? Sometimes it is, most of the time it isn't...especially since I know the sugar high is just going to leave me feeling like crapola later. Better to pack healthy snacks and stay the hell away from the company food! Don't get me wrong, I love my treats, but like most conflicts, you have to learn to pick your battles.

    Plus, I heard someone sneezed on them. :)
  • chivalryder
    chivalryder Posts: 4,391 Member
    I remind myself of one of the reasons why I want to get back into shape: I look at pictures of women I find to be very beautiful.

    In my current state, I feel too uncomfortable to kick my flirting back into high gear (though I have started again). By seeing the pictures, it reminds me that I'm doing this for myself, so I can be comfortable to get back into a relationship I can be comfortable in.
  • WendyTerry420
    WendyTerry420 Posts: 13,274 Member
    We have treats at work from time to time. I usually let myself indulge, especially if it's ice cream or cookies. I nearly always give myself 200-300 "play/fun-food" calories each day - some nights I don't eat any fun food, so it balances itself out. I am trying to lose my weight slowly and to make my exercise a regular part of my life. So I don't stress out on stuff like this, just go with the flow and plan for the fact that life throws out curve balls from time to time.
  • Britt_Duffy
    Britt_Duffy Posts: 40 Member
    Keep something special in your desk for those moments of weakness! I find that a skinny cow chocolate bar is THE BEST! Totally helps to kick that sugar craving!
  • GBOGH_5
    GBOGH_5 Posts: 174 Member
    When I know that there is going to be stuff like that around, I bring something for myself that I like but that will not destroy my day. For instance, we have a huge bucket of Halloween candy at the front desk right now. It's all chocolates and candy bars. In my desk until Nov. 1st, I have a small bag of Jolly Rancher Cinnamon Fire candy. That way when I am tempted to go have a candy bar, I put one of those pieces of low calorie candies in my mouth that lasts forever. They are like 23 calories each and last an eternity. Saves me from grabbing a couple packages of M&Ms!
  • WhatDoesLisa
    WhatDoesLisa Posts: 214
    I am actually pretty disciplined at work. But after work, I am my own worst enemy.

    i work for a huge company and we are not allowed to order food for meetings, birthdays, etc. It's due to budgetary constraints but it is actually a good thing for everyone. Come and work here!
  • MED2012COLORADO
    MED2012COLORADO Posts: 238
    I stuff my face.................... :angry:

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