How do you say no to temptation?

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plutomoonlily
plutomoonlily Posts: 4 Member
in Motivation and Support
The past few weeks I have really started to try to keep my food consumption under control. I work long hours (15-18 hours a day) sitting in front of a computer screen plus commuting. These hours give very little time for any sort of activity so I need to be be careful of my calories. My problem is that there are so many temptations for tasty food at work that I catch myself trying to justify a bite or two and then end up going down hill from there for the rest of the day. For example, Yesterday pizza was delivered to work, yum yum. I had some and ended up hungry when I got home so ate again justifying the fact by already ruining the day with pizza. Today two chocolate bars were gifted to me by a random person. Last week it was a BBQ held at work. Some days it's donuts that people bring into share or other grazeable food. I am able to say no a lot of the time but find it difficult when food is the social event.

I want to know what are some things you guys do to resist the temptations and not be awkward in social food situations?

Replies

  • deannalfisher
    deannalfisher Posts: 5,600 Member
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    or if you want to have some - plan it into your daily macros - so you can eat it without thinking that you have blown your day
  • Penthesilea514
    Penthesilea514 Posts: 1,189 Member
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    I like to bring my lunch and snack and log them. That way if I am tempted, I have something to fall back on. Otherwise, if I was gifted something, I would offer them around the office to see if anyone wanted to "share" aka get the candy away from me. Or if it fits calories/macros, I eat some pizza. Just log it accurately and plan around it where you can.
  • nikkipoooo
    nikkipoooo Posts: 33 Member
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    Don't think of a slip up at 2pm as "blowing the day"... think of it as an overage in your weekly balance that you're going to have to make up for somewhere else this week.

    Is your commute by car, or public transportation? Do you have the option of walking one station/stop further than usual, or parking in the very furthest space possible? Can you go for a walk at lunch, or maybe walk to run errands or park in one place and then walk between errand sites?
  • Hypsibius
    Hypsibius Posts: 207 Member
    edited May 2017
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    plutomoonlily wrote: »
    The past few weeks I have really started to try to keep my food consumption under control. I work long hours (15-18 hours a day) sitting in front of a computer screen plus commuting. These hours give very little time for any sort of activity so I need to be be careful of my calories. My problem is that there are so many temptations for tasty food at work that I catch myself trying to justify a bite or two and then end up going down hill from there for the rest of the day. For example, Yesterday pizza was delivered to work, yum yum. I had some and ended up hungry when I got home so ate again justifying the fact by already ruining the day with pizza. Today two chocolate bars were gifted to me by a random person. Last week it was a BBQ held at work. Some days it's donuts that people bring into share or other grazeable food. I am able to say no a lot of the time but find it difficult when food is the social event.

    I want to know what are some things you guys do to resist the temptations and not be awkward in social food situations?

    Very similar situation! I work similar hours at certain times of the year, and it's an environment that lends itself to a lot of donuts, bagels, pizzas, etc.

    For the last three months I've had to do a few different things:
    • Eat breakfast every day.
    • Bring a lunch every day. Eat it at noon exactly.
    • Keep seltzer or Diet Cokes and nuts or blackberries for snack.
    • Let some folks know I'm on a new diet!
    That's helped me to stay full and avoid treats and unhealthy freebies. People have been cool about it.
  • alb32010
    alb32010 Posts: 10 Member
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    Will power is like a muscle. The more you train it the stronger it will become! I struggle with the same thing all the time. I'll give into temptation and then let it ruin my whole day! I try to keep plenty of healthy snacks at work and instead of eating out of the candy bowl on my desk I'll opt for a handful of almonds or some fruit. Water helps to fight the cravings too!! I agree that No, thank you is a perfectly acceptable response. In time saying no will be much easier. Good luck!!
  • moonstroller
    moonstroller Posts: 210 Member
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    Where I work it's pretty much the same thing, there is always free food for the taking. Pizza, crackers, chips and salsa, bagels and cream cheese, and candy, lots of candy, ice cream, cakes, pies, full on party spreads with pretty much anything you can imagine. Pizza is the most difficult for me to pass by because I love pizza. I went gluten free for medical reasons, and that certainly helps, but when I'm tempted to grab at the free food I step back and remember my goal. In my mind I say "Stick to your program." Sometimes I have to repeat it many times, but I refrain from taking the free food.
  • Gisel2015
    Gisel2015 Posts: 4,140 Member
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    1) No, thank you!
    2) No thank you!
    3) What part of NO don't you understand (plus >:) )
    Problem solved.
    If you want people to take you seriously then you have to be strong, determined, confident and assertive, especially with pushy people. People in this forum can give you lots of ideas but it is up to you to put them in practice. And you can do it!
  • WayTooHonest
    WayTooHonest Posts: 144 Member
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    I don't. I have a couple bites, push it around the plate for a while, then throw it out. Load up on veggies first, then one piece of pizza. Candy given to me can be regifted. Crap food for for lunch? Heavy on the veggies for dinner. For me, denying myself the things I like lead to epic binging disaster. Better to have a small bit to satisfy the craving, and compensate elsewhere (calories or the gym).
  • intelligentevil
    intelligentevil Posts: 12 Member
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    This happens all the time where I work! I just say no thanks without even thinking about it. No hesitation! If you hesitate they sense the doubt haha. I'm so used to it now that even when someone offers me something healthy I automatically say no and then consider it. If I can move some cals around I'll go back and say- actually yeah I want some.
  • plutomoonlily
    plutomoonlily Posts: 4 Member
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    nikkipoooo wrote: »
    Don't think of a slip up at 2pm as "blowing the day"... think of it as an overage in your weekly balance that you're going to have to make up for somewhere else this week.

    Is your commute by car, or public transportation? Do you have the option of walking one station/stop further than usual, or parking in the very furthest space possible? Can you go for a walk at lunch, or maybe walk to run errands or park in one place and then walk between errand sites?
    nikkipoooo wrote: »
    Don't think of a slip up at 2pm as "blowing the day"... think of it as an overage in your weekly balance that you're going to have to make up for somewhere else this week.

    Is your commute by car, or public transportation? Do you have the option of walking one station/stop further than usual, or parking in the very furthest space possible? Can you go for a walk at lunch, or maybe walk to run errands or park in one place and then walk between errand sites?

    Thanks! I think if I start looking at the calories by week it gives me more wiggle room to adjust food.

    As for my commute it is a company provide bus. Occasionally I am driving to the office to catch the bus other times it picks us up at the front door of a hotel
  • plutomoonlily
    plutomoonlily Posts: 4 Member
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    88olds wrote: »
    I turned into a germaphobe at work. Take a close look at your coworkers and what they do around food there. I was working in a supposedly professional setting. One day I watched the donuts for a while. In about 3 minutes 2 people picked up donuts to examine them more closely and put them back. 1 guy poked a hole in a jelly donut with his finger to check out the filling before putting it back in the box.

    I started looking closely at my coworkers. They were well dressed but still slobs. The food got a lot less appealing. I ended up with this rule- if I didn't bring it, I'm not eating it.

    I'm now afraid to watch. Yikes!
  • plutomoonlily
    plutomoonlily Posts: 4 Member
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    stelly76 wrote: »
    If it's a planned work function, lunch, etc I'll plan ahead for it and enjoy myself.


    Otherwise, I bring my own food to work and put it in MFP in advance. Usually, the food just appears on the kitchen table. Most days I will just ignore it. Sometimes, I literally talk to myself (almost like an internal argument)

    "I want that.
    No you don't.
    Yes I do.
    C'mon, you don't want someone's old, leftover cake from the weekend!
    I think maybe I do.
    You have a yummy, juicy apple at your desk.
    It's not cake, though."

    I feel like such an @ss, that I just walk away and pout at my desk with my delicious apple. Not awkward at all.

    Haha, I find myself arguing with myself now too. My tastebuds are bullies. I like the idea of tracking your meals at the beginning of the day. It will give me a visual representation of what I eat. Thanks for the tip.
  • stelly76
    stelly76 Posts: 120 Member
    edited May 2017
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    [/quote]

    Haha, I find myself arguing with myself now too. My tastebuds are bullies. I like the idea of tracking your meals at the beginning of the day. It will give me a visual representation of what I eat. Thanks for the tip.[/quote]

    You're welcome!

    I always aim high when I plan....there's something satisfying about erasing calories I didn't consume (though sometimes, if it's close, I'll just leave it as is to make up for potential mistakes). It also helps to see what you've planned for the day in case you've under or over estimated. (I also track my exercise in advance - 90% of the time it motivates me to do it) So much of this is more mental than anything else!
  • jpoehls9025
    jpoehls9025 Posts: 471 Member
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    Depends on the temptation, some are just to good lol
  • TonyB0588
    TonyB0588 Posts: 9,520 Member
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    Portion control is the key. You can share what's available, but it doesn't have to be a giant portion.

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