Any bakers trying to lose weight?

dessyjo
dessyjo Posts: 176 Member
Before I decided I wanted to lose weight I decided I wanted to be a baker when I grew up. However I'm a little worried my profession choice will interfere with my new lifestyle choice. How do you lose weight or at least maintain when you're surrounded by baked goods? Do you skip the test-tasting and just hope it tastes well enough for your customers? Or have others try it and hope they're honest?
I know baked goods wasn't what made me overweight, but i'm worried because I have little to no self control. (Yes, after 3 cookies I can say, No more, but there's nothing to stop me from eating those first 3. I'm working on it.)
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Replies

  • bonjovi27
    bonjovi27 Posts: 144 Member
    Bump! I love to bake at home for fun, but haven't been doing it so much lately because I'm eating healthier, and I know I will eat most of what I bake! Anyone have some good recipes or tips maybe?
    All I can think of is to keep drinking water to stay fuller for longer!
  • jontay81
    jontay81 Posts: 39 Member
    I work in the food industry also, and taste testing is a frequent part of the job. You have to just make a conscious choice and decide what's more important to you. I only taste calorically dense foods if absolutely necessary. You can also have just one bite or spit the food out when done tasting. I do this sometimes. It really hasn't hampered me too much.

    Make sure to allow room in your diet for your baked goods too. It helps to know that you can still enjoy them, just not every meal or day.

    Good luck.
  • dessyjo
    dessyjo Posts: 176 Member
    Bump!
  • Hi there I'm a pastry chef and have been one for 22 years, u have ur bad days where u misbehave but you also get desensitised to it as well and even get fussy with quality over quantity.

    Feel free to add me if u want some to chat with

    Mike
  • 3foldchord
    3foldchord Posts: 2,918 Member
    Slightly off topic..... My son wants to be a pastry chef and as a supportive mom, I can't refuse when he makes scones or cupcakes.....LOL.
    Thankfully it's not daily, just a few times a month he makes goodies.
  • rebbylicious
    rebbylicious Posts: 621 Member
    Not a professional but I consider myself a foodie and I go through phases where I watch food network and make every thing that I crave from the show. I will sit in front of the tv and chop veggies -

    It sucks because I make pasta , paczkis , periogi, cookies, and i love my cheese and wine. I have not had much of it since i started 36 days ago.
  • jdhoward_101
    jdhoward_101 Posts: 234 Member
    I LOVE baking! When me and my boyfriend were together, i used to bake in the evenings and we would usually dmeolish whatever i had baked, but now we've split up i have no-one to help me eat it all! The other night i made, and scoffed myself, an entire batch of chocolate chip shortbread, I felt awful.

    Now my friends bare the brunt of my cooking lol. Gives me an excuse to bake and they love me for it :p
  • PhattiPhat
    PhattiPhat Posts: 349 Member
    Not professional, but I love cooking and baking!!! The challenge now is to make everything healthier and taste fabulous at the same time!
  • ChrisRS87
    ChrisRS87 Posts: 781 Member
    All the power to you. I have a soft spot for donuts, cannolis, pastry hearts... and all manner of baked goods really.
  • auntygill
    auntygill Posts: 108 Member
    I have a small business baking celebration cakes for the public , one of my problems has been i would eat too many of the off cuts and i mean too many . something had to give . I DO NOT eat them now , i take them to work and let the others get fat !!
    I don't find it hard any more to say no , it does take time but its worth saying no in the end. Be strong.x
  • itsjustdawn
    itsjustdawn Posts: 1,073 Member
    I recently started my own cupcake business... It's not horrible with regards to sampling and what-not, but unfortunately as bakers (and chefs/cooks) we have to sample our creations. I tend to sample the batter and frosting with just a dab of the finger. I very rarely eat the cupcakes. My problem is certain candies/cookies that go into my cupcakes. I bought a package of Oreos for cupcakes, the market I am in was canceled due to rain that Saturday so I never baked. But I sure did devour those cookies. Did it with a 2nd bag too. Ugh. None of my cupcakes are healthy but fortunately I only bake like once a week.
  • Kyledrums
    Kyledrums Posts: 56 Member
    I'm bake for fun so may not be any help. I enjoy the baking side of things so much and I make sure I don't eat much of what I bake. I also trust my friends and family to let me know when it's not up to scratch. I'm hoping you have employes/coworkers that can do the same.
  • summerstate
    summerstate Posts: 33 Member
    I'm not a professional baker. But I love to bake. I do taste. But only a bite. I ask my bf (the unofficial taster) to finish.

    If I'm baking for a party I'll factor it into my cals so I can enjoy.

    My test batches usually get brought to work for my coworkers, or friends or family who want them. If I think it comes out bad it goes to garbage (I'm a perfectionist) I only want happy tummies eating my food.

    If for sale I taste the smallest or least pretty. The rest is for $. I'm not eating profit.
  • saraweise
    saraweise Posts: 2 Member
    Just read this article a day or so ago and think maybe it is relevant.

    http://greatist.com/health/jesse-schenker-healthy-weight-loss

    I like how he tailors his approach to his personal motivations and preferences for eating (he is a "finisher" so he chooses foods he can finish) and he is cognizant of needing to 'taste' as a part of his profession.

    Personally I have enjoyed the challenging of seeking out and testing super tasty and satisfying recipes that might be more healthy (e.g. where sugar might be reduced and protein increased etc). I am enjoying the trial and error of it and getting my family's feedback. Like last week I heard, "Mom, these black bean brownies are the pits but those other brownies were AWESOME - can you bake them for my friends?"

    Anyway...hope you enjoy and happy baking!
  • Nerdybookgirl
    Nerdybookgirl Posts: 105 Member
    I love baking! I take the baked goods to work, or my knitting group, or to my teenage daughter's friends. Giving things away and freezing is the wy to go.
  • Alidecker
    Alidecker Posts: 1,262 Member
    I love to bake, I do it when I am nervous or stressed out about something. Of course I sample some, but the rest goes to work, my family or my personal trainer (he is actually the one I like to give it to, he appreciates it the most)

    I have been trying to find some healthier options to bake...Pinterest has been good for that. The stuff isn't the same, but I bake, get to eat something to satisfy the sweet tooth and my trainer appreciates my attempts at healthy baked goods. I even found one that is actually really good, not low cal, but healthy ingredients.
  • HotAshMess
    HotAshMess Posts: 382 Member
    I'm an extreme hobby baker. Luckily....summer is coming and I'll tone it down a bit, just because I don't want to pay for the a/c. But...the tasting thing....sometimes I bake just to try new things, but then I have to taste it. Even if I'm feeding it to other people. And if I bring it to my day job, I'll have more while I talk about it with my very honest reviewers so that I can understand what they are saying when they tell me what they think! I'm working on it.
  • runilious
    runilious Posts: 45 Member
    I love cooking and baking but I try and be good and offer the end product to people in work, neighbours or my family and this way I get to make something nice, see the final result and make people happy by giving them a freebie :-)

    You could try books on healthier baking but in the end the smell of freshly baked goods is still going to require a lot of your own willpower to resist.

    I really enjoy making full fat baileys and chocolate cheesecake but the calories in it are a killer haha.
  • cacklingcat
    cacklingcat Posts: 150 Member
    Im a cook at a non prophet so we don't do a lot of baking , but iv never had a problem with over eating at work. Maby its because i only get a break at my lunch time and then that's very little. But really your on your feet all day and moving, as long as your not taste testing by eating a whole serving of every thing you should be good. But if you cant stop maby have another person taste it for you, or take a sample to a customer and ask what they think that would probably love that. :drinker:
  • HermioneDanger118
    HermioneDanger118 Posts: 345 Member
    Bump! I love to bake - it's my stress relief!
  • liddienicole
    liddienicole Posts: 45 Member
    Bump!! Baking is what made me fat to begin with. I've always loved baking, but the past year I've been doing it loads. There's just me & my boyfriend in my flat and I'd bake loads of things - oreo cupcakes, flapjack, biscuits, cakes, scones. We'd demolish the lot and then I'd make some more - a constant supply. I still bake a bit but just make sure I cut them into much smaller portions and add up all the calories in my baked goods so I can fit it into my daily goal. I do bake cupcakes and cakes for the public too though, so that gives me an excuse to bake I just wish I could do more tasting like I used to :P
  • baker150
    baker150 Posts: 112 Member
    I'm a baker, have been for about 8 years now. It is one of the main contributing factors to how I gained all of my weight. In the last year I have lost 110 pounds. The first 6 months or so at work, I didn't eat a single bite of anything I made, but if I absolutely had to try it for quality control, I would try the tiniest piece or amount or whatever, and then spit it out. But now that I've gained more control, I'm able to have a couple bites of things now and then. Some days though, the smells really get to me and I cave, I just make sure to work out more that night lol. Good luck!
  • andreamelo1
    andreamelo1 Posts: 161 Member
    OMG so glad someone asked i love baking & i hate the fact that i have to limit my 3 fresh baked hard chicago rolls or homemade filo dough :( makes me sad
  • arlenem1974
    arlenem1974 Posts: 437 Member
    I'm a baker too. I make Angle food cake and Banana Bread a lot. I found a recipe for Banana Bread that only has 60 Cals and 1 gram of fat.
  • meeper123
    meeper123 Posts: 3,347 Member
    You can make some great things that are light :) Make it a hobby to be a light baker its what I did its a blast to modify recipes to see what works and what doesnt
  • ellepribro
    ellepribro Posts: 226 Member
    I'm a competitive baker (only compete a few times each year though). I usually sample a little and work it into my calorie goal. I find that once I've baked a number of goodies I don't feel like eating them anymore. Husband, brother, and father are my taste testers. They can be pretty honest so I trust what they tell me.
  • kiern18
    kiern18 Posts: 61
    Wholeheartedly, I believe that I was born to bake. I grew up around a loving grandmother who expressed her love through foods. I got to where I am today because of the food addiction that I developed. But I will not let my food addiction stop me from doing what I love to do. Baking is my passion. I put my heart into every single thing I bake. I go to culinary school. The temptations are high. I make danishes, croissants, cakes with rich butter creams, fruit tarts, and tons of bread. When I first started my new lifestyle a few months ago, I knew this was going to be hard. I have cried many tears and have had many conversations with myself about my future, if this is right for me, and if I should choose something else to do with my life. But I looked at myself in the mirror for a really long time and told myself that enough is enough, that the reason I am unhappy is because of my addiction to food. And here's the answer I have found: it's about maintenance, it's about loving your baked goods enough to know when to walk out of the kitchen if you are feeling a temptation rise, and it's about baking because you love to bake....not because you want to eat everything that you make. I bake out of love and for people. Having a healthy lifestyle does not mean depriving yourself and focusing on every single calorie that you take in. It's about enjoying your life and knowing when to set limits for yourself. It all comes down to you. If you love baking with all of your heart, do not give it up. Be happy. Set goals for yourself but learn to live a little. Be strong. :)
  • knittnponder
    knittnponder Posts: 1,953 Member
    I'm a cake decorator/baker doing it as a cottage business in my state. When I first started I tasted a lot but now my recipes are pretty well set. Occasionally I'll need an opinion but I'm gluten intolerant so I usually have to ask a trusted friend or family member for their opinion. Being gluten intolerant does keep me from tasting! :)
  • Maidofmer
    Maidofmer Posts: 908 Member
    baker and cake decorator. didn't realize how bad my "testing" had gotten until now. would back two cakes, one for me, and one for the person the cake is for.
  • I am a professional baker at an ice cream shop and bakery. I too have little to no self control. Food and I have a troubled relationship. I don't hate myself for the amount of sweets I will consume in a sitting but when my tummy starts pooching and my chin doubles I try to control myself. Honestly what I am thinking of doing is just upping my activity level however possible. I don't mind exercising more but I work two jobs and go to school. Time is quite limited. But with my current activity level and several "cookie lunches" I have stayed the same weight for 3 years. Including two years in culinary school. That was like pig out heaven almost every day!! What has helped with me a little is that I have made a rule with myself that it must be baked/cooked. No more cookie dough and brownie batter. Having to be short a brownie or bake an extra cookie can deter me sometimes. But then you have the brownie that sticks to the pan, the cookie that is a bit too brown. Those mistakes are usually taken care of by a quick munch!!