Binging on free food at work

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  • xWendyJonesx
    xWendyJonesx Posts: 266 Member
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    I work in an office that always has sweet and savoury treats, chocolate, cakes, biscuits, I find it really hard to resist.
    What works for me most of the time, I take my own lunch and treats into work each day which I pre log, I do give in sometimes, but if I do I log it and then do an extra workout or go for a walk to help burn it off.

    My colleagues know I'm watching what I eat and I've asked them not to bring food in for me, they understand and respect me and try and keep the food away from me as much as possible.

    It does get easier.
  • sunsetzen
    sunsetzen Posts: 268 Member
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    Well, you could have ONE treat, right?

    Also, try not to let your blood sugar get out of control. Eat frequently and healthily before you enter that panic eating mode (I do it too, then I eat all my toddler's raisins or something)
  • sphillips7143
    sphillips7143 Posts: 12 Member
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    I also work in education and there are bake sales literally every day! I was eating so much crap and was feeling really bad about. One day I decided I just needed to stop buying the baked goods. I started just donating money to the students and not taking the baked goods. Once I got in this habit, it was easy to stop eating the junk!
  • Aaron_K123
    Aaron_K123 Posts: 7,122 Member
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    Eat it, log it, skip meals if you have to.

    I'm not sure I would recommend the "eat biscuits, skip meals" suggestion.

    This comes down to willpower as you already know. Getting fit is more about developing your willpower so you can remain fit rather than just forcing yourself to choke down broccoli or punishing yourself for eating a biscuit. How do you develop your willpower? Well that is a tough one and hard to answer.

    You can give yourself little artificial goals and rewards. Think of your favorite snack and have that at home and tell yourself that you can have one of those snacks if you don't eat free food at work that day. Of course that will only work if you have the willpower to not eat that favorite snack regardless. The problem with developing willpower is it takes some willpower to develop it. Have to boot-strap it up, start with a little willpower and build on it.
  • TNM2014
    TNM2014 Posts: 40 Member
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    chew gum or brush your teeth and put on your best and most expensive lipstick. Looking pretty and feeling elegant and expensive will stop you from selling yourself short :wink: :heart: :flowerforyou:
  • chelljo12
    chelljo12 Posts: 187 Member
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    I'm in the same boat. Today a patient brought in cupcakes and brownies(to die for), Reese's peanut butter eggs and Cadbury eggs. I was given one of each egg. I hid them and decided to eat my afternoon snack(pineapple chunks). Not saying I won't eat the eggs, just won't be right now. I'm full and still have my calories for dinner.
  • gelar93
    gelar93 Posts: 160
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    Just think of it this way. They are giving some food, if you eat it, you'll gain weight and it'll leave your body in a few hours as poop. If you say no, you'll stay healthy and get closer to your goal. Which one would you go with?
    I'd also try to stay away from the location where food is since they can be very tempting sometimes.
  • lavaughan69
    lavaughan69 Posts: 459 Member
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    I would normally suggest having your own snacks at hand but I see you already do that. Another little trick I do is chewing gum. I find the minty flavor makes you feel like you just brushed your teeth and it seems to curb the need to eat. Before you go wandering past all the goodies stick a piece of gum in your mouth and keep on walking!
  • LolBroScience
    LolBroScience Posts: 4,537 Member
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    chew gum
  • SheridanLT
    SheridanLT Posts: 47 Member
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    I just think about all the germs going around. And people sneezing ...and coughing...and doing god knows what to the food when they prepare it.

    Nope. Not worth it.
  • albayin
    albayin Posts: 2,524 Member
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    I just think about all the germs going around. And people sneezing ...and coughing...and doing god knows what to the food when they prepare it.

    Nope. Not worth it.

    LOL....my husband never eats other's homemade food...we rarely go to restaurants either...he gets sick all the time. just saying..
  • kitlynnJ
    kitlynnJ Posts: 78 Member
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    Could you put in a suggestion of having the free food kept in one specific place? For example in our office free food is left in the lunch room. If I know there is food in there, I can avoid the room. For me if I don't see it, it is easier to say no.

    Along the same lines perhaps make an attempt to change the culture. Bring healthy food of your own to share, or make a request for people to stop bringing junk food. I'm not sure what kind of school you work at (young kids, college type institution), but there may be parents of students who are also tired of the culture of "just say no".

    You are already doing many of the things I would suggest. Good luck!
  • amethyst7986
    amethyst7986 Posts: 223 Member
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    Completely understand where you are coming from. I work at a dr's office where the drug reps, patients and employees are constantly bringing in lovely sweets and other foods. Our office buys us lunch for every staff meeting, the reps bring food everyday both breakfast & Lunch. And although we all think "oh I just had a little bit of that chocolate muffin" we have a little bit every single day and by the end of the week you have just eaten a whole box of muffins!

    It's definitely tough...so this week I started taking other routes thru the office to get to my desk or eating my snacks before I go any where. Also make sure I have been drinking a lot of water before I step foot near the kitchen(s)---we have 3 here!
  • Grumpellina
    Grumpellina Posts: 49
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    Grab a piece, take a bite out of it, fling the rest into the garbage or let it soak in your coffee until it's completely soaked.
    "Drop it" on the floor. Anything. Trick your brain into not wanting to finish the rest.
    Eventually, you will train your brain to be annoyed at dropping that food so much, you won't want it.
    Conditioning works, just takes a lot of time and in this case, wasted food.
  • DeadliftAddict
    DeadliftAddict Posts: 746 Member
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    You could quit your job. Or, you could take responsibility for yourself. I know that's not what you want to hear, but it's what needs to happen, regardless of your sensibilities.

    Rigger

    This. Nothing anyone on here is going to help you. It is up to you to develop the will power to not what you don't want to eat. You are an adult. Sorry.
  • DeadliftAddict
    DeadliftAddict Posts: 746 Member
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    Could you put in a suggestion of having the free food kept in one specific place? For example in our office free food is left in the lunch room. If I know there is food in there, I can avoid the room. For me if I don't see it, it is easier to say no.

    Along the same lines perhaps make an attempt to change the culture. Bring healthy food of your own to share, or make a request for people to stop bringing junk food. I'm not sure what kind of school you work at (young kids, college type institution), but there may be parents of students who are also tired of the culture of "just say no".

    You are already doing many of the things I would suggest. Good luck!

    So others that don't have the same lifestyle as her which is probably most of the office should not get to eat free food because she can't say no.
  • DeadliftAddict
    DeadliftAddict Posts: 746 Member
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    I am sitting at my desk as I type this, eating a turkey and spinach sandwich brought from home while my colleagues eat a fully catered hot meal in the break room. I can tell myself over and over and over that I can be like them and use "portion control" and "moderation" and "splurge a little"..... in reality I will eat plate after plate of that *kitten* until there's nothing left on the serving platters but that weird lettuce-like garnish and crumbs.

    I cannot eat food when its quantity isn't limited to a correct portion (by someone else, not me). When this sandwich is gone, it's gone. But if I go in that breakroom there will be enough goodies to snack on for the rest of the afternoon... and that's just what I would do.

    Yes, it makes me hate life in this moment. But so would the result of bingeing on free food that I only gorged on because it was available and unlimited.

    This
  • LolBroScience
    LolBroScience Posts: 4,537 Member
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    Grab a piece, take a bite out of it, fling the rest into the garbage or let it soak in your coffee until it's completely soaked.
    "Drop it" on the floor. Anything. Trick your brain into not wanting to finish the rest.
    Eventually, you will train your brain to be annoyed at dropping that food so much, you won't want it.
    Conditioning works, just takes a lot of time and in this case, wasted food.

    Why in god's name would do you this to cake?

    You evil monster.
  • CallMeCupcakeDammit
    CallMeCupcakeDammit Posts: 9,377 Member
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    I used to be the same way, but you know that just because it didn't cost you anything money-wise, it's costing you something calorie-wise. You need to remind yourself of this, and if you know there will be food, shoot, I'd save my money and allow for it in my diary, because free food! Also, what Lolbroscience said. That's wasteful, and the cake cow will cry!
  • chargraves
    chargraves Posts: 65 Member
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    It helps me to pre-log my meals so that I know exactly how many calories I have left over for snacks. I can resist the office goodies 95% of the time but if there is something that I really want I log it and move on. Sometimes just taking half a serving is enough.

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