How Do You Resist Office Temptation?

InMyJeans
InMyJeans Posts: 87 Member
edited September 23 in Health and Weight Loss
I work in an office, where most achievements are rewarded with food. We have good survey scores, free lunch! Our manager thinks we're stressed, free breakfast AND lunch! Food, food, food is everywhere! They feed us so much that no one really uses the snack machine. In turn most of my office is overweight and most are not into exercise. Our lunches mainly consists of burritos, BBQ, cookies, brownies, etc. Every year we have scheduled lunches one day a week and a snack day one day a week in January (and this year Jan/Feb). Ive never worked somewhere where there is just SO MUCH food. Next week there are 4 scheduled lunches that will be provided for us. I don't want to deprive myself but I want to lose weight and there isn't enough exercise in the day to burn all the calories I would be eating off. Im just feeling sabotaged. How do you resist office temptation?

Replies

  • MelHoneyRocks
    MelHoneyRocks Posts: 223
    I have the same thing here in my office. I just prepare for these things. I always bring my lunch, have plenty of fruit on hand and do my very best to focus on MY goal.
  • vballer21
    vballer21 Posts: 37
    Honestly, I just think of how whatever bad food I eat will most likely be stored as fat. on my *kitten*. or stomach, lovehandles etc lol So that makes me choose wiser foods!
  • camaris
    camaris Posts: 36 Member
    It's tough, my work is the same. I just go to the lunches etc to sociable but not eating anything (the morning teas I would just stand away from the table), or just picking stuff from the mneu that I know are ok (at the lunches).

    The worst is people who deliberately offer you stuff, knowing you are dieting, I think it is because they feel bad about what they are eating or their weight.
  • mrmarius
    mrmarius Posts: 1,802 Member
    best i can say is bring your own food, be it lunch or snacks and if possible log right before you eat, that way say if you grab a pizza as you are logging and you see all the calories, you may change your mind
  • elid
    elid Posts: 209 Member
    I hear ya... it's tough in the office... people often bring food to my office that they don't want at home because then they'll eat it! :frown:

    I make sure to always bring my own snacks and meals. Nuts, trail mix, fruits (apples, bananas, easily portable things), veggies (carrot sticks, celery sticks), etc. I eat on those throughout the day. If we have an office lunch, I'll eat a very small portion of what everyone is having (maybe half a portion or even less), and eat fruits or veggies with it. This way I don't feel deprived, and I'm also not seen as rude for not eating lunch with everyone else--but I'm saving calories by eating low-cal foods instead of a full portion of the higher calorie foods.
  • Nikstergirl
    Nikstergirl Posts: 1,549 Member
    Just because they offer, doesn't mean you have to partake! I had a week this month when we were going through a computer conversion and there was SO much food (most of it not good) in the office I had to just plain say "no" and go to Subway for a good meal. Helped that I felt the need to leave and get out of the stress for a bit anyway. If it's a birthday, we have a treat, if someone feels like it, we have a treat. We even have a "candy" drawer that is supposed to be for mints and gum but is usually filled with chocolate as well. That thing is my downfall!!! Usually I try to stick a piece of gum in my mouth when I get there and just drink water until noon, then have Subway, then another piece of gum and water all afternoon. If there's cake or something I might have a small piece (and count it) but then say no to the rest.

    Good luck, and maybe if you start saying no the others in your office will start to see a difference in you and follow suit!!!
  • HungryTuna
    HungryTuna Posts: 141
    Same here. My office does potlucks for birthdays, and catered lunches, lunch outings, etc.

    I pack my lunches everyday, and being vegetarian (eating a primarily vegan diet), my lunches are relatively healthy ones. For the potlucks we have here, I always bring a vegetable dish (or fresh veggies) so I have something that is guilt-free and satisfying. It's hard at times, because I have given into the desserts on occasion. :)
    With our upcoming potluck next Friday, I don't have any temptations seeing that the numbers are finally going down on my scale.
  • AidaR
    AidaR Posts: 28 Member
    My work place use to be the same way piles and piles of junk food, sodas and juices so most people that have been here for a while are overweight. At the beginning of the year a lot of them started talking about losing weight then few of us sent an email inviting everyone to start "Biggest Loser" at work. We all put in $20 and asked our VP if she can match it or have purchasing buy better snacks and lunches for us. Long and behold our food menus and well as snacks have changed big time. Since that whole thing about healthy weight and work productivity came out in the news last month i heard a lot of companies doing same thing.

    So maybe try pitching something like that to your coworkers and management and if not as people stated earlier best thing is to bring your own food and try to eat somewhere where you won’t see them eating all that crap... Good luck...
  • llbates
    llbates Posts: 25
    Everyone knows that I am on a diet and no longer offer to get me food or reward me with food
  • maymay305
    maymay305 Posts: 1 Member
    I too am surrounded by food in the office, I work in the catering department of a hotel! We have monthly pot luck lunches and regularly someone brings in a homemade snack and god forbid there goes a birthday without a celebration of guilty pleasures. I bring my own healthy snacks daily which help me curb the frequent indulgences I never deprive myself and if there is something I am dying to taste or just simply have a craving for I ask a co-worker if they would like to split with me. I generally don't linger around the food too long just enough to mingle with my coworkers and grab a snack.

    Good Luck!
  • wolfchild59
    wolfchild59 Posts: 2,608 Member
    I feel ya, we have ridiculously unhealthy food in our office all the time. I just always make sure to have my own lunch with me, my own snacks on hand in my desk drawer and avoid the actual food location best I can. And any time I'm tempted, I just go into my log and start to add it, then when I see how bad it all is, I close the log and walk away from the food.
  • edorice
    edorice Posts: 4,519 Member
    1: I pick and choose what I want to eat. If it's healthy options like baked chicken, then I'm in.
    2: I bring my lunch every day.
    3: I imagine my coworkers that are USUALLY sick coughing and standing over the food.
    4: Half of my coworkers have health issues and are over weight. I keep my goals in mind.
    5: I keep my Palm Springs vacation in mind.
    6: What ever it takes.
  • InMyJeans
    InMyJeans Posts: 87 Member
    Lol good suggestions. Today was ok bc I persuaded the offc lunch buyer to pick a healthier option but tomorrow I will bring my lunch. I will also be doing this for the rest of the week. Sucks to miss out on free lunches but I need to buckle down on my diet (as in choices of foods I eat). Thx MFPers!
  • lilRicki
    lilRicki Posts: 4,555 Member
    I stay out of the kitchen as much as possible. Bring my own lunch and snacks...if you know what they're bringing in, maybe you can budget accordingl with your meal plans.
  • ashers1819
    ashers1819 Posts: 160
    OMG mine is the same. I find the office the hardest part of keeping on track.

    I have just completely switched to herbal tea so hopefully that will make things easier.
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