Office goodies and how to avoid them?
LaughHappy907
Posts: 43 Member
This week in my office there have been cupcakes twice, donuts, cookies, cheddar rolls, cinnamon rolls, and special chocolates all in addition to the usual 3 candy bowls on various desks. I have had a tablespoon of frosting and 1 cheddar roll. I think I did pretty good considering I was eating upwards of 10 pieces of chocolate each day a week or two ago but seriously, I think it is just making me depressed. How do you deal with having all this temptation and not only that but when someone brings in homemade cinnamon rolls how do you turn it down three times without being rude or "That person who is always on a diet."
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if it's something good like home made cinnamon rolls I might have half but if it's someone's leftover birthday cake from the grocery store or their stale coookie leftovers after a wedding or shower no thx. I have no trouble7
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Because I have pre-logged my food diary before breakfast, I can go into it and see if I want to make that treat work with the rest of my day. Sometimes I do and sometimes it's not worth it.
Everyone knows in my office that I don't eat those treats often. It's not a big deal. (Unless Nicole makes lemon bars. All bets are off for Nicole's lemon bars!)10 -
I pretty much have a no work food rule (unless it's a specific event and then I plan for it and log it). I just envision all of the hands that have been in the food and that usually does it. Since I've been on a "diet" for 2 1/2 years and have lost almost 100 lbs, no one would dare say a word. Who notices what you eat anyway? Also (this is kind of rude) - look at the size of the people who bring or eat the food and decide what will help you get to your goal.8
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It is a fight, as the "food calls us", and that can make it worse.....You could turn it down by saying you'll have some later. Is there a detour around the food layout? Our food offerings are in a lounge area, so when I don't want to be tempted, I can avoid it, or just avert my eyes. Is there a delicious alternative that you can treat yourself with, plan ahead and bring your special snack bar or treat (like nutella on graham cracker.) Recognize this: Just because food is offered does not mean you have to partake of it!! Oh, another thing that might help.....think of all the germs shared on community food!!
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Like this
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Also (this is kind of rude) - look at the size of the people who bring or eat the food and decide what will help you get to your goal.
Really though I think this is going to be my strategy. That was the only way I was actually able to not have a donut this morning. I started working here the same time as this other girl and I've watched her balloon, I almost caved but she took two donuts right as I got there. I just turned around and logged cheese in my soup tonight.
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quiksylver296 wrote: »(Unless Nicole makes lemon bars. All bets are off for Nicole's lemon bars!)
Sounds like some seriously good lemon bars!
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I don't know about your office, but in my office so many things are just not worth it. I will never take something if it's something that I can easily get any time (like a cookie from the store or a brownie from a mix or regular candy) unless it is something that is an absolute favorite and I know I can fit it in my calories. If it's something special that is out of the ordinary and I really want some, I'll take it. But if it doesn't taste as good as I thought it would, I won't finish it. If you practice your willpower on the everyday temptations, it won't be that big of a deal when you decide to try a homemade cinnamon roll.5
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Bring your own snacks to work
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prioritize - My little quote to myself "Not really worth the calories" applies for much of that stuff. Like box cakes & canned icing are not worth the calories in my opinion. Homemade cinnamon buns? Oh Yeah!
General rules-I made a rule in my 20's not to eat sweets before lunch. I found that much of it is gone by lunch...like Friday donut club...gone by lunch.
Keep hands full--Walk around the office with your hands full...paperwork, cup of tea/coffee, etc. Somehow easier to resist with a warm cup in my hands to grip...very...tightly...
attitude--I used to get angry 'cuz everyone was making it so hard on me. I've learned no one cares about my self-discipline. All they want to hear is "thank you". It can be preceded by a 'no' & they're just as happy.
Some things I eat triggers binging. Quality chocolate candy is such a treat. I cannot partake if there is the option of unlimited more. I would eat until I get sick. I had a coworker who had a giant punchbowl of fun-size candy bars outside her cubicle diagonal from where I sat. It was awful. Most days I didn't partake at all. If I did, I was at least able to make it the end of the day when I would be leaving soon.
As far as not being "that person always on a diet". People don't care that you are on a diet. Just "no thank you". Only your intimate friends & family care...and only so much...8 -
I will take one bite if it is something I have never tasted before, otherwise it sits in my brain and tortures me. Otherwise I just think to myself I've had this before and there is nothing special about it and walk away.2
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prioritize - My little quote to myself "Not really worth the calories" applies for much of that stuff. Like box cakes & canned icing are not worth the calories in my opinion. Homemade cinnamon buns? Oh Yeah!
General rules-I made a rule in my 20's not to eat sweets before lunch. I found that much of it is gone by lunch...like Friday donut club...gone by lunch.
Keep hands full--Walk around the office with your hands full...paperwork, cup of tea/coffee, etc. Somehow easier to resist with a warm cup in my hands to grip...very...tightly...
attitude--I used to get angry 'cuz everyone was making it so hard on me. I've learned no one cares about my self-discipline. All they want to hear is "thank you". It can be preceded by a 'no' & they're just as happy.
Some things I eat triggers binging. Quality chocolate candy is such a treat. I cannot partake if there is the option of unlimited more. I would eat until I get sick. I had a coworker who had a giant punchbowl of fun-size candy bars outside her cubicle diagonal from where I sat. It was awful. Most days I didn't partake at all. If I did, I was at least able to make it the end of the day when I would be leaving soon.
As far as not being "that person always on a diet". People don't care that you are on a diet. Just "no thank you". Only your intimate friends & family care...and only so much...
"Not worth the calories" is one of the most useful phrases I've heard.4 -
I want to be brutally honest here. My break room is ALWAYS full of junk food so I have experienced this struggle for 40 hours a week or more for a long time now. The best way I have found not to indulge in the junk food I don't need and haven't budgeted for is... to look at my over weight coworkers and remind myself I do not want to end up like them. I work in a really high stress environment and I think a lot of people use food to cope with it. Me, I know I can't do that and live the life I want to live. If people ask me if I am on a diet, I just say no, because that's the truth. I may not be on a diet but that doesn't mean I want or need the junk food available.4
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Like this...
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They don't fit in my calories, so I don't eat office treats. I had to tell my self that every day as I stared down the candy jar of death until seeing Kit Kats and Milky Ways no longer affected me.3
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I've just made it very clear that i`m trying to lose weight. i started at 265 though so it wasn't like it was a big thing. took a bit for them to stop asking if i wanted a coffee on the coffee run but i made a firm stand and explained why. i drink 1 coffee a day. or i didn't attend the bbq because the options weren't for me (it was all burgers and sausages and buns.. sodium & fat fest really) it took a month or so but really just stand your ground and eventually people have a bit of respect for your choices4
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I think about the temporary and fleeting pleasure of eating the snack and weigh it against the remorse and regret I might feel later. Whichever is heavier, wins.
So if it's an unappetizing dry cookie, I know I'll be kicking myself when I log it later so I feel totally fine not eating it. If it's something good and enjoyable enough that I will log it with pleasure later on, then yes!
For me, knowing I will be logging whatever I eat later on keeps myself in check.2 -
LaughHappy907 wrote: »This week in my office there have been cupcakes twice, donuts, cookies, cheddar rolls, cinnamon rolls, and special chocolates all in addition to the usual 3 candy bowls on various desks. I have had a tablespoon of frosting and 1 cheddar roll. I think I did pretty good considering I was eating upwards of 10 pieces of chocolate each day a week or two ago but seriously, I think it is just making me depressed. How do you deal with having all this temptation and not only that but when someone brings in homemade cinnamon rolls how do you turn it down three times without being rude or "That person who is always on a diet."
1) I think of most food in the office as "not mine". You wouldn't go into the office fridge and just help yourself to someone's lunch, would you? Baked goods, etc. are the same. They aren't mine so I'm not going to eat them.
2) Who knows where this food has come from. We get stuff that was left over from the birthday party on the weekend ... great. Who sneezed on it or touched it at the birthday party. Ick! How long was it left sitting out? Is the reason why 3/4 of that cake was left after the birthday because the cake is really awful? What is the state of the kitchen where this stuff was made?
3) Occasionally, I will make room in my day for a little bit of something. I might climb more stairs or something. But it had better be freshly made and really good!
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My rule is this: If I didn't bring it, then I don't eat it.
Not because I don't trust peeps or whatever, but it's the easiest way for me to make sure I know exactly what I'm eating. Also, I tend to log everything I'm going to eat first thing in the morning. If I've already logged, I usually don't want to go through the effort of logging an unexpected item midway through the day.1 -
I went vegan, problem solved! No one brings vegan goodies lol0
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Typically, I won't eat anything store bought that I can buy myself. It doesn't feel like denying myself because if I want some and can't fit it into my day I can always buy some and have some another day.
Homemade stuff I might eat. I preplan my meals and leave a couple hundred calories a day for snacks. It's no big deal then for me to have one of the homemade cookies so and so bakes that I love or for me to have a slice of homemade cake.2 -
Wow I have been wondering this ever since I started working as a receptionist! Sitting all day abd my coworkers celebrate EVERYTHING! Three of them have gained 20+ lbs because they eat junk that people bring in and order out every day! The only way I (usually) can stay away from goodies is to watch the older receptionist I work with. She eats so much sugar that her doctor told he she should be on a diabetic's diet! She also gets bad headaches and has a beer gut looking stomach because all she eats is sugar! It makes me see that if I attacked the sweets in the same way she does... that could be me! YIKES! Good luck!3
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If someone actually offers me the food I just say "no thank you", no explanation, no comment about "oh I really shouldn't" just a straight out no thanks and they go away. If you start offering an explanation people want to try and twist your arm.
If the food is in a communal area I just go with what a lot of posters have done - I just think "that's not mine" or "I don't eat that" and forget about it. I only eat what I brought to the office with me.1 -
For me, it was like some kind of mental switch got flipped, where I knew that eating that stuff would cause me to exceed my calorie budget, and after a while it was easy to avoid it.1
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My advice:
Stop thinking of them as "goodies" or treats. They are just food.
Realise that, as an adult, you can choose to either:- have this food and pull back the calories later in the day
- have this food and fail to hit your goal for the the day
- leave this food and spend you daily calories elsewhere
As others have mentioned - people often decide that, when taking into account the calorific hit from these types of foods they become much less appealing, so if you are considering indulging, then also consider pre-logging it to see the calorific impact on the rest of your day.6 -
I struggled with that too... I just started saying NO all the time... Even to little things. I gained like 20 pounds in six month eating mindlessly (most of them sweets at work) and Idon't even like sweets so much so I decided to completely avoid everything... 4 months after people understood that and don't offer me anything.
I just prefer saving my calories for the weekend
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I usually politely decline or work it within my cals if possible.
Sweet treats don't tempt me as much but the cheddar roll sounds good. Lol1 -
I usually just say no and that's it over and done with. My team at work know I am working on my weight so don't tend to offer me now.1
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