Stay Skinny with a Bakery?

caribirdie
caribirdie Posts: 9 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
So I'm trying to lose weight, but am finding it really hard because, besides my day job, I also own and operate a bakery. I don't want to sell people bad goods, but hate the weight that "quality control" has given me. Any ideas?

Replies

  • myfitnessval
    myfitnessval Posts: 687 Member
    well its not like you *have* to eat the entire pastry, why not sample it with coworkers or customers once you've cleared it to be delicious?
  • suribruise
    suribruise Posts: 10
    I sell artisan cupcakes at farmers markets and I have the same issue. I've found the best thing to do is have one bite, then hand it to someone else or throw it in the trash.

    And if you're in the bakery all day, just make it your policy to never, ever eat your own stuff for any reason other than quality control- it's a slippery slope.
  • yo_andi
    yo_andi Posts: 2,178 Member
    It's called "willpower" and "working out harder" to earn your quality control process.
  • stargazer008
    stargazer008 Posts: 531
    Can you get someone else to do quality control for you?
  • julimonster
    julimonster Posts: 243 Member
    Where are you, I'll be right there to help (just kidding)
    Agreed, if you are working with reliable recipes everytime, then there is no need for you to taste test, is there?Hmm, maybe rubbing Vick's under your nose while you're at work? :noway:
  • tommygirl15
    tommygirl15 Posts: 1,012 Member
    I am a cook and baker for a living, so I feel your pain. I try my best to make a calorie allowance for tastings that are absolutely necessary. Most of the time I try to get away with it by asking another cook to do the tasting.
  • suribruise
    suribruise Posts: 10
    It's called "willpower" and "working out harder" to earn your quality control process.

    Wow, that's so super helpful and not at all snarky and condescending.
  • endlesoul
    endlesoul Posts: 98 Member
    If you must really taste something why not do what coffee & wine tasters do. Take a small bite and then spit it out, you can discreetly do it into napkin.
  • paperlily
    paperlily Posts: 17 Member
    I work part time in a bakery so I understand where you are coming from. My situation is different because I am not required to test all the products (although I am supposed to) or do tasting quality control but I will let you know my approach anyway in case it helps. Firstly, I pack a lot of yummy snacks to eat in my breaks so I am not reliant on the food in the bakery if I get genuinely hungry (which I do because customer service is exhausting). Little tubs of yoghurt, bananas and Carmen's muesli bars are my staples. Secondly, if I am going to have something: I decide in advance (often on the bus to work, obsessive I know) and then save it for when I get home as a treat after my shift. If I have that to look forward to I feel less inclined to sneak treats from the taster box (in fact I never do now)! Finally, my bakery is part of a franchise so it was easy to find out the calorie count and nutritional data for the foods. Keeping that in mind and planning my days eating in advance means I can allow myself to pick a bun or muffin and stay within my calorie count. Furthermore, knowing fully what 'one little bite of danish' will actually do (diet crippling), I can better resist the rest. So try and keep your quality control sample sizes small and try to work them into your calorie limit by adjusting what else you eat in the day if possible.

    Anyway, I realise our situations are different: yours is a part of your job and mine is just me being greedy while doing my job! Best of luck with it! It seems like a tough thing to get around.
  • lovingmymuscles
    lovingmymuscles Posts: 11
    Well, i've worked in a bakery before and we were not allowed to eat anything, however i was always sneaking bites, and throwing out the rest in the trash. a few bites all day long really adds up.
    I think as a baker you probably already know the quality by the shape/colour of what you're baking. If you actually need to do quality control, then someone else suggested relegating that to some other lucky person, who will be happy to have the treat.
    Someone else said it...it's a slippery slope. One bite here, one bite there...don't throw in the towel if you do too much 'quality control' in a day. One day at a time. Try to aim for no bites. Quality control or otherwise.

    also, someone said it's about willpower and extra exercise. I don't think it's possible to "work off" a bad diet...you are what you eat, but it is calories in, calories out right? So, that poster was right, and i don't think they were rude. When people ask for motivation, sometimes they do need a stricter perspective. It is about willpower, and working out a little more. People give themselves too much leeway, that's how they become unhealthy or overweight to begin with.

    Also, log everything. Estimate what those bites added up to, and over estimate. Log those bites. Everything counts. It's so hard to eat a little, or put it in your mouth, and then spit it out. It's too dangerous.

    Re-examine your honesty with yourself about how much quality control you really have to do.
  • lodro
    lodro Posts: 982 Member
    I'm a baker (small Community Supported Bakery), but we do mainly breads, and with bread it's really sufficient to smell, look at the crust and crumb and perhaps sample a small cube of bread. If you've made it well, it looks good, smells good, there's less of a need to taste it, I'd think. That being said, I do factor in for a small slice of bread with some wonderful salted butter. Baker's treat, but there can only be one in my schedule.
  • CaseRat
    CaseRat Posts: 377 Member
    It's called "willpower" and "working out harder" to earn your quality control process.

    Wow, that's so super helpful and not at all snarky and condescending.

    It's the truth, though.

    Try packing all your meals into a lunch box/bag the night before so that when you're at work, you've got all your healthier options there already
  • jdforshort
    jdforshort Posts: 269 Member
    Oh dear, this thread is igniting my cravings, so I am off to bed!
  • tommygirl15
    tommygirl15 Posts: 1,012 Member
    If you must really taste something why not do what coffee & wine tasters do. Take a small bite and then spit it out, you can discreetly do it into napkin.

    This was going to be part of my suggestion but I thought it might sound too gross for some! I do 'taste and spit' as well, lol.
  • rmcannell
    rmcannell Posts: 23 Member
    I have a similar issue. I run a cookie business for gluten free & vegan cookies. Unfortunately, after starting the business, I had to give up sugar because of an illness. We don't use much sugar and no refined sugar ... but still, I am not sure how to do quality control and not force my body to readjust to sugar - no sugar - sugar - no sugar, even in small amounts. I have a business partner, but he's not as experienced in baking so I can't entirely rely on his feedback.

    I wish I had a solution, but you're definitely not alone!

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