Comments in the staff room......

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  • ketorach
    ketorach Posts: 430 Member
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    Mmmm, salad. Am I the only one that genuinely loves salads?

    No you're not lol! I often order off the salad menu cause they look so darn delicious. NOT because it's "all I'm allowed to eat".
    Mmmm, salad. Am I the only one that genuinely loves salads?

    No you're not lol! I often order off the salad menu cause they look so darn delicious. NOT because it's "all I'm allowed to eat".

    You are not alone! This is my favorite salad in the whole world!!!

    http://www.blueapron.com/recipes/chopped-chicken-bacon-brussels-sprouts-blue-cheese-currants


  • PRMinx
    PRMinx Posts: 4,585 Member
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    yoovie wrote: »
    PRMinx wrote: »
    yoovie wrote: »
    I wish people could just not make situations awkward by making silly comments. It's lunch. Time to eat. You are eating. No comments needed thanks!
    If you seriously consider complimenting someone's salad to be "making a situation awkward" I'd say the problem is yours. ETA: If you don't want people talking while you eat your best bet is to eat alone.

    You are right. I don't understand the need for idle chit chat. Hate it actually. The problem is mine. Some people are more introverted than others and when other people need to comment on every single move we make it makes us feel awkward.

    Introversion actually means that you create and recharge your own energy instead of pulling it from your environment or getting it from an entirely external source.

    I think you may be confusing introverted with shy or socially intimidated. those are not nearly the same thing :flowerforyou:

    Thank you.

    As an introvert in the workplace, I'm constantly fighting the faulty stigma that I'm shy, reclusive and anti-social, which is why I correct it when I see it.

    HA! same here!!!!!!

    but you seem so outgoing! but you laugh so loud! but you have so many friends!

    and on topic, i can understand how introverts may not want their goals to have a lot of outside involvement from people that they dont deem 'part of it', but we can tell the difference between invading our privacy and just being friendly.

    i think your coworkers were being friendly and probably working some subliminal trick on their own minds to remind themselves that they want to be eating healthy too right now and salads do actually look lusciousssssssssss

    LOL! But you can't be an introvert....you're in public relations!

    Your laugh clearly means you're a closet extrovert...duh.

    Sigh...:-)



  • Time2Change42015
    Time2Change42015 Posts: 25 Member
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    Sounds like totally harmless chit chat! Why assume the worst...
  • yoovie
    yoovie Posts: 17,121 Member
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    BFDeal wrote: »
    What is it about women that makes them think everyone is out to get them? I've had people comment on me using my food scale at work. Nothing bad. Mostly "oh, that looks serious" or "I should be doing that" type of comments. Rather than taking it in a negative way I just chalk it up to the fact that I do stand out a little considering most people don't weigh their food in the break room. It's just small talk. No need to freak out.

    it's not WOMEN, it's women who are just starting to change their lives.

    for some reason, someone told them at some point that everyone else is their enemy and it's the furthest from the truth.

    i wish whoever started this vicious rumor would cop to it.

    I recently saw someone write a blog about how someone had the nerve to ask her if she was okay because he face was all red and she was breathing hard. She viewed it as an attack and an act of fat intolerance.

    i think she called it 'concern trolling'. it was heartbreaking to see what people can convince themselves about people who are truly just compassionate or supportive. it makes everyone else out to be the enemy of their progress.
  • SrMaggalicious
    SrMaggalicious Posts: 495 Member
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    Hilarious...food is like porn in our workplace....commenting on each others' lunches is as normal as answering our phones.
  • Danny_Boy13
    Danny_Boy13 Posts: 2,094 Member
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    Yeah, I would get the same in the break room... "I wished I had time to cook meals like that" comments. But these individuals are also there heating up there fried chicken, mashed potatoes & mac & cheese. I look at them and say "It did nto take me any longer to make this than it did your meal you are eating right now".
  • jgnatca
    jgnatca Posts: 14,464 Member
    edited January 2015
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    I make positive comments on people's lunches all the time. Chit chat. I got to sample my neighbour's home-made soup yesterday.

    This summer when I was pulling butternut lettuce out of my garden every day, I made Martha-Stewart-esque mason salads for myself and my daughter. We're talking fancy sliced radishes, the works. My daughter got so many compliments on those salads. I think people recognize the extra work and attention that a meal like that represents.

    http://www.grouprecipes.com/138446/hen-n-chicks-mason-salad.html
  • CaitlinW19
    CaitlinW19 Posts: 431 Member
    edited January 2015
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    My co-workers are constantly saying how their lunch doesn't appeal to them after smelling my tasty salad. I bet more of them than you think just really wanted something as good as your salad to eat. You ever notice how many of them are eating Lean Cuisine? A meal prepared from scratch beats that anyday.
  • CorlissaEats
    CorlissaEats Posts: 493 Member
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    Here are some things that I think when I see a person eating a salad:
    1. That is not a sustainable diet. Its too few calories that will likely lead to night binge eating. Causing further self-despair and self-loathing. I wonder if I can say something and have it come out right?
    2. I bet you that's 400 calories in dressing and they just ruined their efforts at dieting.
    3. Lettuce and a few limp veggies is not healthier than my homemade _{insert lunch for the day}__.
    4. Without a fat source their body is going to have trouble absorbing the nutrients in that salad. What a shame. What a waste.
    5. There is a crazy amount of sugar in that "low-fat" dressing! They are better off drizzling a TBSP of olive oil and balsamic than that crap.
    6. I bet you they have a bag of chips in the their desk drawer to go with that publicly eaten miniature salad.
    7. Where is the protein? Your body needs a balance of protein, carbs and fat, people!
    8. I wonder if they even like salad?
    9. Oy. They would have been better off calorie-wise by ordering the burger and fries than that salad monstrosity!
    10. And very occasionally: Wow that salad looks good! (I'm just not a salad person..)

    Truth be told these thoughts are not limited to "fat" people with salads. I think them every time I see a salad ordered. Salad has been placed on a pedestal. It is tasty but it is not the best "diet" food out there.

    We have hundreds of judgmental thought in a day, randomly. Most have more to do with ourselves than the other person. I only worry about the ones that escape my mouth or colour the way I relate to a person. Sometimes comments by others are just them trying to connect in some small way with us, like talking about the weather. :)
  • bennettinfinity
    bennettinfinity Posts: 865 Member
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    PRMinx wrote: »
    I wish people could just not make situations awkward by making silly comments. It's lunch. Time to eat. You are eating. No comments needed thanks!
    If you seriously consider complimenting someone's salad to be "making a situation awkward" I'd say the problem is yours. ETA: If you don't want people talking while you eat your best bet is to eat alone.

    You are right. I don't understand the need for idle chit chat. Hate it actually. The problem is mine. Some people are more introverted than others and when other people need to comment on every single move we make it makes us feel awkward.

    Introversion doesn't mean what you think it means. Please stop making introverts sound bad.

    You are shy and reclusive. That's ok, that's who you are. It has nothing to do with being introverted.

    PREACH! :)
  • iLoveMyPitbull1225
    iLoveMyPitbull1225 Posts: 1,691 Member
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    That happens to me alll the time. Sometimes people don't realize that healthy can be delicious, and they are shocked that a salad looks so good.
  • obscuremusicreference
    obscuremusicreference Posts: 1,320 Member
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    I cashiered while I was a teenager on my own for the first time. I was that person asking people what they used ________ for because my mom cooked the same handful of dishes over and over again (she has vastly expanded her repertoire since 2/3 of her picky eaters are gone). I didn't know what to do with chives or shallots or acorn squash or loads of other things. Look at it as a chance to enlighten some poor soul who has never cooked your favorites.

    I once had the pleasure of working with a woman who really was vicious and blackhearted in her lunch comments. Luckily, she was miserable in other ways and was let go. But most people, most of the time, are simply making conversation. What can you talk about with the people you work with, since politics/religion/hot-button issues generally are out?
  • gothchiq
    gothchiq Posts: 4,598 Member
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    Man.... I don't think I've ever paid attention or noticed what someone else has for lunch. I only care what I have lol. Plus I eat at my desk and not in the break room because I don't want to be bothered. I don't want to have to make conversation to be polite. Instead I'm going to sit here at my desk and text my husband while he's on *his* break. That's the only communication we can get during the work day. I understand that people are social creatures, but really sometimes it gets crazy.
  • yoovie
    yoovie Posts: 17,121 Member
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    1. That is not a sustainable diet. Its too few calories that will likely lead to night binge eating. Causing further self-despair and self-loathing. I wonder if I can say something and have it come out right? depends on what is in the salad actually. My salads are about 6-700 calories.
    2. I bet you that's 400 calories in dressing and they just ruined their efforts at dieting. some people use things other than dressing. like plain yogurt or olive oil or nothing.
    3. Lettuce and a few limp veggies is not healthier than my homemade _{insert lunch for the day}__. that's actually pretty elitest to decide that a salad is only those things or that any salad is less nutritious than what you are eating.
    4. Without a fat source their body is going to have trouble absorbing the nutrients in that salad. What a shame. What a waste. my salads includes walnuts, olive oil, cheese, avocado... plenty of healthy fats.
    5. There is a crazy amount of sugar in that "low-fat" dressing! They are better off drizzling a TBSP of olive oil and balsamic than that crap. Im starting to be scared of the 'salads' you encounter?
    6. I bet you they have a bag of chips in the their desk drawer to go with that publicly eaten miniature salad. now i know why people think everyone is judging them LOL!
    7. Where is the protein? Your body needs a balance of protein, carbs and fat, people! points to the ham and hard boiled egg....
    8. I wonder if they even like salad? you cant pry it from my cold dead goal weight fingers
    9. Oy. They would have been better off calorie-wise by ordering the burger and fries than that salad monstrosity! i hope you realize what you are starting to sound like. Im getting worried.
    10. And very occasionally: Wow that salad looks good! (I'm just not a salad person..)

    obviously... LMAO!


  • Lounmoun
    Lounmoun Posts: 8,426 Member
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    So today as I was chopping up my salad in the staff room I must have got about 15 people comment "ooo, that looks nice and healthy""wow, that looks healthy""that looks really tasty""thats a colourful salad"etc etc etc

    I wondered how many people genuinely thought yeah that does look yum and how many were thinking look at the silly fat girl eating salad, i bet thats her new yeas reso, i bet it wont last more than 2 weeks.

    I guess i can just use it as motivation to show them nope fat girl really did stick to it and is now fit girl, that will show em, hehe.

    I bet they all just thought your salad looked good. Don't read into it so much. People of all sizes and fitness levels enjoy tasty and healthy food. If they had been making negative comments that would be different.
    Since you were chopping it up in front of everyone, you were calling attention to it by your actions. If you brought it from home already prepared and just sat down to eat you probably wouldn't have got as much attention.
  • ketorach
    ketorach Posts: 430 Member
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    Here are some things that I think when I see a person eating a salad:
    1. That is not a sustainable diet. Its too few calories that will likely lead to night binge eating. Causing further self-despair and self-loathing. I wonder if I can say something and have it come out right?
    2. I bet you that's 400 calories in dressing and they just ruined their efforts at dieting.
    3. Lettuce and a few limp veggies is not healthier than my homemade _{insert lunch for the day}__.
    4. Without a fat source their body is going to have trouble absorbing the nutrients in that salad. What a shame. What a waste.
    5. There is a crazy amount of sugar in that "low-fat" dressing! They are better off drizzling a TBSP of olive oil and balsamic than that crap.
    6. I bet you they have a bag of chips in the their desk drawer to go with that publicly eaten miniature salad.
    7. Where is the protein? Your body needs a balance of protein, carbs and fat, people!
    8. I wonder if they even like salad?
    9. Oy. They would have been better off calorie-wise by ordering the burger and fries than that salad monstrosity!
    10. And very occasionally: Wow that salad looks good! (I'm just not a salad person..)

    Truth be told these thoughts are not limited to "fat" people with salads. I think them every time I see a salad ordered. Salad has been placed on a pedestal. It is tasty but it is not the best "diet" food out there.

    We have hundreds of judgmental thought in a day, randomly. Most have more to do with ourselves than the other person. I only worry about the ones that escape my mouth or colour the way I relate to a person. Sometimes comments by others are just them trying to connect in some small way with us, like talking about the weather. :)
    Wow, I guess there *are* bitchy people judging my lunches after all. I stand corrected!


  • Need2Exerc1se
    Need2Exerc1se Posts: 13,576 Member
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    TR0berts wrote: »
    Now I'm kind of regretting telling a co-worker that her lunch smelled amazing earlier. :\


    MEANIE!!!

    Well, I did offer to bring her a couple of squashes from my root cellar (she was having a dish made with spaghetti squash and I had a bumper crop this year) so hopefully that offest my meaness.
  • 42carrots
    42carrots Posts: 97 Member
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    A really important thing I've learned to keep in mind is that people's comments say a lot about them, and usually actually have little to do with you. There are probably all sorts of motivations behind comments about food, ranging from judgement, to curiousity, to a simple attempt to engage, to guilt about that individual's own eating habits. The negative motivations are coming from a negative place or frame of mind, and if they're judging you they're probably also judging everyone else, and probably also themselves more than anyone else, deep down.

    Personally I've been "teased" quite a bit over the years about the foods I bring to work (I'm a vegetarian and "health food experimenter" I guess you could say, I eat food that most coworkers tend to find "interesting" or "strange"), but I learned over time to take the range of commentary lightly and try not to let it irritate me. Ultimately, I noticed that quite a few coworkers were actually just very interested in learning more about what I was eating and why, because they also had their own aspirations to eat and feel healthier. It actually resulted in some great rapport building and food experimentation/bonding between us.

    Just try to be confident in your choices and know that most people don't have bad intentions, and the ones that do are probably struggling more with their own issues, which can manifest in strange outward behaviours and comments, but probably have little to do with you in the big picture, so try to take them with a grain of salt (or a leaf of lettuce).