Navigating office politics and snack food

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  • F00LofaT00K
    F00LofaT00K Posts: 688 Member
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    If it's super often, like you can nearly guarantee you'll be offered something each week, maybe reduce your calories by like 30 each day and then say yes once per week. Or save a few hundred calories every Friday or Tuesday, whatever and if they're offered on that day, allow yourself to say yes. I eat a bit less than I "want" to because I know something is going to come up on the weekends and I'll go overboard. By eating 2000 cals per day instead of 2300, I'm still losing weight even when I get a random invite for drinks or dinner on a Saturday night. Different things work for different people, but this has been working well for me.
  • Happymelz
    Happymelz Posts: 536 Member
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    Strawberry rhubarb pie with fresh fruit from my coworker's garden? Yes please, I can work that into my calories for the day even if it means 3 oz broiled catfish and roasted radishes for dinner.


    I would work an entire strawberry rhubarb pie into my day if I could!
  • Elsie_Brownraisin
    Elsie_Brownraisin Posts: 786 Member
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    I don't say no to everything. But I am much pickier than I used to be.

    Chick-Fil-A breakfast biscuits? No.
    Glazed donuts? No.
    Substandard cupcakes? No.
    See's dark chocolates after I ate a salad & tuna for lunch? Yes...but I'll take 1 per day for 5 days, not 5.
    Banana bread when I just ate a big breakfast? No.
    Random Halloween candy? No.
    Strawberry rhubarb pie with fresh fruit from my coworker's garden? Yes please, I can work that into my calories for the day even if it means 3 oz broiled catfish and roasted radishes for dinner.

    That's how I operate and it works for me.

    Fortunately at my current office there are honestly not a lot of treats or dinners etc. When there IS an office lunch, though, I find it important to be a part of that. In the past someone who was in my position kept a very strict diet and refused to attend work related meals and I know beyond a shadow of a doubt that it really affected the view of her as a poor team player. I go along and no one cares if make my lunch from a chunk of pulled pork and some veggies while they're piling on ribs and BBQ beans and dinner rolls...the important thing is that I attend. We all have to make our own calls with this stuff, though.

    Good approach. I tend to steer clear of the those wodgy of spongy cupcake things or shop bought millionaire's shortbread and stuff. I usually make a beeline for the donuts though.

    You could bring your own snacks in and leave them out as well, so you look like you're joining in, but only eating what you planned to eat anyway. I bring in baked stuff, or biscuits I like. I was going to eat some anyway, but it looks a bit more sociable.
  • aethre
    aethre Posts: 150 Member
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    I appreciate the 'just say no' thoughts, but sometimes it's really not quite as easy as that.... lol... Early on in the job, I refused offers of icecream from and treats from the bakery a couple of doors down, and I did get the impression that a couple of people were offended... 'You know I'm offering to buy it for you, right...?' I'm doing temp work. I have a mortgage. I live alone. If I have a shot at something permanent, I can't really afford to be messing around with this stuff. Around here, it really is impolite to decline a 'gift', even if that gift is an offer of food or drink. (I and many others have had stages of strategically 'forgetting' drinks in random spots at staff parties or weddings in the past, but that's a much easier strategy at a party than in an office of four people with a gooey home-baked brownie!)

    So I guess the key here is to work some calories into my day (maybe every second day?) as a cake allowance, and being sure to stick to it. Might need to figure out some lower-cal dinners but it's something to think about, definitely.

    Thanks for your help!
  • 2kellymike
    2kellymike Posts: 72 Member
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    My co-workers know I've worked really hard to lose my weight. They also get a kick out of my method of resisting - for me, it's usually satisfying enough to just smell it. So they often bring a treat by for me to smell, knowing I likely won't have one anyway. It's all in good fun.
  • wkwebby
    wkwebby Posts: 807 Member
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    You can tell people you're allergic to things but this can come back to bite you. If you tell them you're allergic to nuts someone might make something "just for you" and it would be even more rude to turn that down. Also if they ever catch you near your "allergy" food they will freak out.

    Sometimes honesty is best. Just say you're watching what you eat and you have a special treat at home so you can't partake in any of their goodies today, but maybe next time.

    My husband once told a pushy baking co-worker, "I'm allergic to cake...I eat it and I get fat".

    That is awesome! :bigsmile:
  • 40andFindingFitness
    40andFindingFitness Posts: 497 Member
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    I know what you mean. Some people won't take "no" for an answer. When I come across those folks I take the item then I place it in one of the break rooms. That way 1) I am not wasting it and 2) someone just got a treat. Good job on staying strong.
  • bugaboo_sue
    bugaboo_sue Posts: 552 Member
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    Say "no thank you" or take the baked treat and toss it in the garbage later on. I know that the latter is rude but you shouldn't feel obligated to eat something that you do not want.

    I worked in an environment where my department would have pot-lucks and pizza parties once every few months. Sometimes I'd partake in the pizza (if I didn't bring lunch) never the pot lucks (I have this thing about wondering how clean someone's house is, especially after seeing how gross their cubicles were and how they never cleaned up after themselves in the coffee room) or I'd just eat my own food. When we would have company meetings and there were treats after wards or even the annual ice cream social I would go to it, be social but never partake in the treats. After a while people got that I didn't want to eat that stuff.

    If it's an office lunch type of thing go to it and try to eat something that fits in your daily calories and if treats are offered and they try to entice you by saying 'But I'm BUYING!" again, gently decline the offer. If you can't feel that you can do that then accept the treat, bring it home and eat it at another time.
  • Asherah29
    Asherah29 Posts: 354 Member
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    I'm a food filled office worker too. My approach rather than totally say no to the food (unless its something I don't really care for) is to take small servings of it. You don't have to eat everything that is offered - although it is tempting! lol
  • enterdanger
    enterdanger Posts: 2,447 Member
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    I have the same problem at my work. It is always someone's birthday, baby shower, team building event.

    My solution, I told my co-workers that I'm tired of being fat so I have to be careful what I eat. I'm not a private person at all and I'm visibly chubby. It made them uncomfortable when I stated it so baldly. People didn't know what to say so they stopped offering. I don't think anyone was offended because it was obviously the truth. If you go this route, don't use nice words like "diet" "rubinesque" "slimming down". Put it out there flat out. "I'm tired of being fat, so while your food looks delicious I have to pass." lol
  • T1DCarnivoreRunner
    T1DCarnivoreRunner Posts: 11,502 Member
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    My co-workers know I'm trying to lose weight. It is a tradition / expectation to bring in treats for our birthday, and this year I cut up some honeydew, cantaloupe, pineapple, and grapes and brought that in. It fits the expectation and is healthy. When others bring in unhealthy items that don't fit my calorie intake, I just decline and remind them I'm trying to lose weight.

    Today, someone brought in cupcakes (she brought them in for her last day before she leaves town for college; but when someone is actually retiring, the company will often buy donuts). I do not plan to eat a cupcake, and I think she understands. There are no hard feelings from either side.
  • Dgydad
    Dgydad Posts: 104 Member
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    Have you tried telling these kind folks, in plain, direct, polite language that you are restricting your calories for health reasons? If they understand they're putting you on the spot with their offers, they'll stop. Unless they're *kitten*, in which case they won't. The real question is "do you want to work with people who amuse themselves by tormenting co-workers?"......
  • T1DCarnivoreRunner
    T1DCarnivoreRunner Posts: 11,502 Member
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    I am going to add that, on busy days, our boss will buy lunch for the department (there are 3 of us total, so it isn't that big). While this is a financial benefit for me, I know it is really a benefit for our manager and the company... there are deadlines to be met, and he is asking us to work through lunch and ordering in food so that we do not have to leave. I'm OK with that, but every time that happens, I always remind the others that I'm trying to lose weight. One of them (co-worker, not the boss) gets upset sometimes that I won't participate if they just order a pizza, but he gets over it eventually. There have been a few times where he was stubborn also, so we ordered a pizza for them and a sandwich for me.

    I don't feel bad because ultimately, it helps the company more than it helps me to bring in lunch during those times... and I don't feel like it is fair to sacrifice my calories 2-4 days every month just because other people want pizza.
  • sho3girl
    sho3girl Posts: 10,799 Member
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    You can tell people you're allergic to things but this can come back to bite you. If you tell them you're allergic to nuts someone might make something "just for you" and it would be even more rude to turn that down. Also if they ever catch you near your "allergy" food they will freak out.

    Sometimes honesty is best. Just say you're watching what you eat and you have a special treat at home so you can't partake in any of their goodies today, but maybe next time.

    My husband once told a pushy baking co-worker, "I'm allergic to cake...I eat it and I get fat".

    that's my favorite line i've read today !

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