A Dieter's Worst Nightmare.

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13

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  • ilovedeadlifts
    ilovedeadlifts Posts: 2,923 Member
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    thats gotta be rough.

    I'd want to eat goodies all the time.
  • CJ_Holmes
    CJ_Holmes Posts: 759 Member
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    I used to work in a bakery, and I totally understand. I'm also diabetic, so it was literally a dangerous place to be!

    What worked for me was just an absolute ban on eating stuff from work. If it's there all the time, it's no longer a treat, it's a habit. In general, I don't cut out any particular food from my diet, but if I'm surrounded by junk only a total ban works for me. Same with the work candy bowl. It's just too hard to be intentional and avoid constant grazing.

    I also tricked myself mentally by just pretending the food was "merchandise" and not edible.
  • xMonroeMisfit
    xMonroeMisfit Posts: 411 Member
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    This may be a bit odd but bring a little bottle of mouthwash to work. If you get the craving for something sweet, take a good swish of it to (hopefully) destroy any yumminess that the baking may have if you indulge. Make sure it's something STRONG so that it completely overpowers your tastebuds and will make everything taste like listerine (or whatever brand you pick).


    THAT my friend, is genius.
  • lisamac62
    lisamac62 Posts: 305 Member
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    I don't work in a bakery or in the food industry. However, I work in an office where people bring in baked goods or candy quite often. I say to myself several times a day this quote I heard on a show on the Cooking Channel called "Drop 5 Pounds"

    TEMPTATIONS are EVERYWHERE......VISUALIZE your SUCCESS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

    Just saying this sometimes I even have to say it outloud.

    Good luck to you and remember all of us on here are here to help you
  • FinallyFindingLisa
    FinallyFindingLisa Posts: 222 Member
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    One thing that I read that helped me stop eating chocolate during lent, was that instead of saying to yourself 'I can't eat that' say 'I don't eat that'. I don't know why but it worked for me, perhaps the first way of thinking makes it sound like denial whereas the second is a choice?

    THIS!! This is a huge help for me. Saying I can't is like waving the red flag in front of the bull - the minute you say I CAN'T do something it becomes my number one priority. Saying I don't says I have a choice and choose not to, at least not now. And you do have a choice! Best of luck!
  • SusieDerkinsRocks
    SusieDerkinsRocks Posts: 30 Member
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    Try tracking it before you eat it. Pre-log your food, and watching those calories mount up *before* you put them in your mouth, makes them taste much less sweet. I've gotten to the point unless it's *awesome*, it quickly loses it's appeal if I know what it's going to 'cost' me.
  • petstorekitty
    petstorekitty Posts: 592 Member
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    I worked at a bakery in college too. It was a bakery coffee shot and seriously the most amazing baked goods I've ever had before and since.

    on the up side, I'm so picky about baked goods now having had the best, that it's easier for me to avoid them now.
    But at the time, I gained 10 lbs working there at first.

    I got free lattes and muffins every morning. I love coffee cake...

    Honestly the trick is to make sure you have other things to eat and a written out shedule of your snacks and meals: (however that works best for you - notebook, smart phone, dry erase board, write on your arm).

    Y aknow 8am - breakfast: xxx
    11am: snack: xxx

    and stick to it.

    Since you are actively trying to lose weight, avoiding the baked goods as snacks is the best option.

    My lattes killed me too. I had to stop putting syrup in them and started drinking cafe au lait b/c it has less milk then a latte.

    You don't wanna be starving yourself. If you have lots of healthy snacks prepared and you eat them on schedule, you won't be hungry.

    Then maybe treat yourself to something once a week :)

    If the stuff isn't free - that would be another incentive for me since I Hate spending money.
    call me Scroodge McKitty.
  • Christina_3192
    Christina_3192 Posts: 150 Member
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    I work in a bakery too!!
    IT IS SO HARD NOT TO EAT EVERYTHING!

    I try to stick to ONE treat when I work. and I usually pick a bagel with cream cheese. (Or a slice of their bread that's on special)
    So far no weight gain.

    Though sometimes I have 2 treats if I am working for 8 hours. :/
    But lately I've been doing well with the one thing a day.

    I ask myself: Do I want this? Do I need this? Do I want those 40 pounds back?

    Also sometimes I work out before work and running 2 miles makes me not want to ruin that awesomeness with a cookie/cupcake.

    Good luck!
  • swimcoach07
    swimcoach07 Posts: 31 Member
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    How about setting aside a box as previously selected, but also or just include in it everything that you would have legally been able to eat (a piece of broken brownie or broken cookie for example) and not tell yourself that you can't have it, but that you can't have it now.

    At the end of the day, set aside what you'd like to eat then, or after dinner, or for breakfast the next morning, and that fits in your calorie goals. Then, either give the rest away to someone who would appreciate it, like the homeless shelter, or if it's not worth that, like a tiny piece of stale cake, just throw it away.

    Something similar to this, but collecting the food items in a box allows you to see what you would have eaten. It could be an eye-opener for how much "small" bites add up. Plus you could do as suggested above, purposefully choose one thing from the box to eat on your way home as an end-of-shift treat. And toss/donate the rest. Good luck!
  • kcritter77
    kcritter77 Posts: 162 Member
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    Do the math!

    Pick out your favorite things and figure out the calories for them. (A whole slice, a bite, etc).

    Pick a day or two a week (maybe the days you do more intense exercise and have more calories?) and pre log those items that you will have as a snack. Then, you will have to fit your macros around them, or lessen the amount you eat. IE, half a brownie instead of a whole one, etc.

    This way you have something to look forward to... "I don't need to eat this cookie today, I get to have a brownie tomorrow". It's not a "NO", it's a "Not right now".

    The main thing is, make it fit your macros. If you get all your protein in and have the calories, go for it! It will make you work harder to make better decisions. Some days you'll realize that it doesn't fit that day and that's ok, there will be another day when it will.

    For me, if I outright deny myself something I want it more. If I have to work for it I appreciate it more and then next time get to decide whether it's worth it.
  • RunFarLiveHappy
    RunFarLiveHappy Posts: 805 Member
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    Chew gum, drink lots of water and don't restrict!!!! Allow yourself some treats. I am a home baker and cook and I make yummy things all the time, sometimes skinny versions but usually full fat/calorie versions. Also, try to have some protein before your shift so you'll stay fuller! Good luck! (P.S. sounds like heaven on earth for me lol)
  • AJinBirmingham
    AJinBirmingham Posts: 497
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    I used to work at a pizza by the slice restaurant, so I can sympathize with the temptation aspect. We used to donate all our left over pizza at the end of the day to a homeless shelter. You could start collecting the "not pretty enough to sell but still delicious" bakery items in a designated box. Then run it by your local homeless shelter or after school program every couple of days or after your shift. The biggest thing for me is to get it out of sight, out of reach, and off your workstation where you can't eat any way.

    That is a GREAT idea! What kind of jerk would eat a cupcake that would otherwise go to a homeless shelter? You won't do it! (Well, not as often.) :)
  • BlueInkDot
    BlueInkDot Posts: 702 Member
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    One thing I've found to help me out - even though this seems harsh - is that it's okay for food to go in the trash can.

    I mean. Where would you rather it go? Into the trash or add itself onto your face fat and belly fat and butt fat and thigh fat??? UGH. I'd rather throw it out!

    Before you pop it into your mouth - think - do I really need this in my body?? I think it needs to go into the trash can instead.

    Another thing: According to http://scoobysworkshop.com/calorie-calculator/ I burn 2370 calories on average per day. So I eat an average of 2015 calories per day. I'm still creating a caloric deficit, but I am definitely not hungry.

    So far today I've had two scrambled eggs, a coffee with skim and splenda, 3 oz of chicken, a potato patty, a protein bar, a tuna wrap with spinach and cheese and an apple. It's 1pm, I'm super full and I still have 830 calories left for the day.

    Anyways, just thought I'd mention that. *shrug*
  • voxbeth
    voxbeth Posts: 4 Member
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    Have you thought of trying hypnotism? There are weight-loss hypnotism discs that plant the idea in your head that those types of food are repulsive, disgusting, inedible...can really help with your willpower.
  • JingleMuffin
    JingleMuffin Posts: 543 Member
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    Okay I don't like the word "diet", but I couldn't think of a better word.

    Remember on The Biggest Loser, when they locked the contestants in a room with junk food as torture? Well that is my life. I work at a bakery, surrounded by cheesecake, cupcakes, cookies, brownies, lemon bars, pecan bars, pie, cinnamon rolls, coffee cake, muffins, etc.

    6 HOURS A DAY, 5 DAYS A WEEK!!!!

    You'd think being around it all the time would make me not want it. FALSE. Every day is a battle. It's so easy to eat a cookie here, a broken piece of a brownie there, "oops this cupcake isn't pretty enough for the display, I better just eat it", taste-test the icings, and so on and so forth. By the end of my shift I've probably just had 600 extra calories, more if I caved and had a slice of cheesecake.

    I've been working on my willpower... but it's just so HARD. I lost 20 pounds between October and December, and then I found this job which I LOVE, and it all went downhill. The last 3 months have been disastrous. I want to get back on the wagon, but being at work is like being in a torture chamber.

    I need tips, ideas, and motivation for how I can survive work and learn to "turn off" my desire to eat every piece of sugar in sight.

    I've been where you are!
    i used to bake delicious treats all day in an assisted living home. It was tough - im a total sweets lover and there was ample oppurtuinty to eat that sweet suff all day long. and i did.

    I would advise you to just assume every little broken piece of food you popped in your mouth or tasted was 100 calls. and then LOG it. be consistent and you'll see its not worth it. Start an work out regimen and log that too. Logging and using logic will set you free.
  • AlongCame_Molly
    AlongCame_Molly Posts: 2,835 Member
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    Chew gum while at work. On the sly, because it's probably a health violation. :wink:
  • HeidiCooksSupper
    HeidiCooksSupper Posts: 3,831 Member
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    We used to donate all our left over pizza at the end of the day to a homeless shelter. You could start collecting the "not pretty enough to sell but still delicious" bakery items in a designated box. Then run it by your local homeless shelter or after school program every couple of days or after your shift.

    We volunteer at a local food pantry that gets the left over goodies from bakeries to give out to folks who have a birthday in the family or something. So, I bet your local pantry would be happy to have these things.
  • LissaK1981
    LissaK1981 Posts: 219 Member
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    Practice your will power girl. You will an iron will power that could kill Chuck Norris by the time you are done. Keep up the good work.
  • chellec23
    chellec23 Posts: 147 Member
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    You are stronger than I..... no way in hell I could be around all that every day and not weigh 500 lbs! Cheesecake is my weakness!! So is anything pecan.

    My hat's off to you for staying as strong as you do!
  • ergumm
    ergumm Posts: 82 Member
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    I both envy you and feel sorry for you!! I can't imagine how hard it is for you. I say take some of you favorite healthy snacks to work with you and then once a week, treat yourself to 1 brownie or 1 cupcake to reward yourself for doing so well all week!! It will make you appreciate the special treat so much more and you will like the scale better too!!!

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