Eating too much @ work hELP!

alspran
alspran Posts: 14 Member
in Motivation and Support
Any of you that work a desk job have any tips? I find myself starving even after I've eaten while being stuck at my desk all day at work. A lot of my coworkers will eat/snack at their desk and I've been known to do the same. I can stand up from time to time, but that's about it. I noticed when I took a day off I won't get hungry until 12 or 1 PM, but if I'm at work 30 minutes into my day I'm contemplating a snack and looking up lunch menus. I don't know how to break this terrible cycle!

Replies

  • TavistockToad
    TavistockToad Posts: 35,719 Member
    Are you actually hungry or eating because you're bored or everyone else is?
  • alspran
    alspran Posts: 14 Member
    I think it is boredom mixed with seeing others snack around me. Everyone seems to keep a candy dish, plus we have a full deli in our cafeteria with mostly unhealthy options.
  • TavistockToad
    TavistockToad Posts: 35,719 Member
    alspran wrote: »
    I think it is boredom mixed with seeing others snack around me. Everyone seems to keep a candy dish, plus we have a full deli in our cafeteria with mostly unhealthy options.

    You either have smaller meals and save some cals for snacks, or you just say no... your choice?
  • mariluny
    mariluny Posts: 428 Member
    it's hard to say no when surrended by easy choices that are not actually good for us but so tasty. Maybe print out the hunger scale that kommodevaran posted and try to assess your actual hunger when you feel like snacking.

    My number one tip for work would be to drink all day long. I like munching and eating, it's a habit for me, almost a comfort. I swapped it out with water and tea. I always have a few tea option at my desk and usually will drink one or two through out the day. I also have an insulated water bottle and i'll fill it 2 or 3 times a day. I was always bad and feeling thirst, I always mistake it for hunger. Now I'm better since I drink so much.

    My second tip would be to bring your own snack and stick to it. I never liked raw veggie stick, it's the most boring thing ever if you asked me. So I used to bring some with hummus because I like hummus. It's more caloric with the hummus sure, but still better than chips (nutriotion wise and calorie depending on the portion). I love fruits, so I bring some and cut them up in the morning when I make my lunch. I feel bad not eating them if they are already prepared because they'll go bad faster, so I eat those instead of whatever sweets available. I make and freeze "healthier" muffins, because I always liked those. I swap out the oil for apple sauce, try to cut down on sugar. They still taste great (Don't be fooled, never as good as the real thing lol but years later I can't eat the sugary and rich stuff anymore, it's too much most of the time and 3 bites in I don't want it anymore lol).

    Good luck!
  • kimny72
    kimny72 Posts: 16,011 Member
    edited August 2018
    alspran wrote: »
    I think it is boredom mixed with seeing others snack around me. Everyone seems to keep a candy dish, plus we have a full deli in our cafeteria with mostly unhealthy options.

    For community food, think of all your co-workers coming out of the bathroom, sneezing into their hand, then reaching into the bowl. Done.

    Bring small portioned snacks with you, pre-logged. Schedule snack times throughout the day.
    Drink tea or diet soda.
    Chew minty gum.
    If you want to eat something you didn't bring, log it first. Look at what it will do to your numbers, then make a conscious decision to either eat it, wait 15 minutes and see if you still want it, or pass on it.
    If you're allowed, whenever you start thinking about food, get up and take a quick walk around the office, even if it's just 60 seconds.

    Make sure you aren't trying to eat too little, or an overly restrictive diet too!
  • 88olds
    88olds Posts: 4,534 Member
    I became the office germaphobe. Doesn’t cover everything, but the communal candy dish, box of donuts sitting out? No thanks. Take a good look at your coworkers around the food that’s sitting out.
  • alspran
    alspran Posts: 14 Member
    edited August 2018
    Thank you all, these are wonderful bits of thought! I'm sitting at my desk working on my third nalgene(32 oz) for the day and am feeling less hungry/more motvatied
  • cheryldumais
    cheryldumais Posts: 1,907 Member
    I drink water with kool-aid drops in it. While it isn't quite the same it gives me some mouth pleasure without eating and virtually no calories. Since my goal at work is to get at least 6 eight ounce glasses of water while at work it helps on that score too.
  • deisebayer
    deisebayer Posts: 21 Member
    I chew non-sugar bubble-gum. It kind of hides my desire to eat a lot.
  • TLBentley1
    TLBentley1 Posts: 10 Member
    I have a desk job and I find myself doing much of the same. I keep healthy snacks at my desk and I pretend I'm a smoker an go outside every few hours.
  • mhlew
    mhlew Posts: 377 Member
    I do IF and I have black iced coffee every morning (no cream/no sugar). Coffee will curb your appetite as I do not in breakfast in the mornings and the coffee helps big time with not being hungry
  • NicelyVulgar
    NicelyVulgar Posts: 7 Member
    I work at a desk/in meetings most of the day and know what you mean. I’ve started to make sure I always have a cup of tea or water with me. If I’m still really hungry and drinking a bit then I’ll grab something to snack on. Otherwise I know it’s just out of habit/bored!
  • elsie6hickman
    elsie6hickman Posts: 3,864 Member
    Bring your own food. I worked in offices my whole career, usually with a bunch of men who were forever bringing stuff in. At lunch time can you get out for a short walk? Sometimes that will break the boredom and the "hungry" cycle.
  • wendip84
    wendip84 Posts: 10 Member
    I would recommend packing all your own snacks and establishing a routine. Personally, as soon as I settle into my desk and start reviewing my inbox, I start mixing my granola into my yogurt. This is usually between 915 and 940am. I drink my entire bottle and make a cup of tea. At 11am, I have a 1/3 cup of pumpkin seeds (the shelled ones). I eat them one at a time and focus on chewing them. The volume makes me feel like I'm eating so much and takes time. Usually, by 1130am, I pop a piece of sugar free gum and drink more water. I usually eat a little fruit I brought at noon and wait to eat lunch until 1 or 130. More water until around 3. Then I'll eat the other fruit brought and have a cold brew coffee or some tea. When I'm starving it's usually because my carbs are too low at that point in the day.
  • Vonny198334
    Vonny198334 Posts: 178 Member
    edited August 2018
    I understand. Half of the week I work from home & if I'm going through a hungry-all-the-time phase I can think about nothing else but food!

    Ways I combat it that don't include doing something else (understand you have restraints with that) are:

    Ensuring I have low cal snacks in. For me this includes single serve packs of things so I can graze responsibly ;). Ex: crisps that are 64 Cal's a pack & popcorn that is 63. Cereal/cake bars that are maximum of 90 etc.

    If I want something more substantial, I guesstimate what I will eat during the rest of the days meals (can't be sure as I weigh at time of preparation) & then log everything I want to eat in that moment, no matter how unreasonable or calorie dense it may be. (Think two loaded slices of grilled cheese on toast followed by a massive slice of cake - for a snack!)
    That allows me to actually see just how far over my calories I would be if I ate everything I wanted on a whim. My logical brain kicks in & I don't think about eating it anymore because it's really not worth the hit. After all, I'm not even truly hungry!

    Another "trick" is to be like, okay, if you really are hungry, go & quickly microwave yourself some frozen plain veg. You'll have eaten & it will be low cal but very filling. I've yet to become THAT hungry between meals haha

    I also personally prefer to have my biggest volume of food in the evening, so I know that if I go too heavy in the day, I will have to forgo my after dinner goodies & that's no fun. Sometimes that thought alone is enough to stop my brain in its tracks.

    Lastly, gum helped me a lot in the beginning. Kept my mouth busy as if I was eating & as that was my almost constant habit, helped a lot.
    It also helped when my hubs began having to eat more calorie dense food in order to maintain his weight. Difficult to sit next to someone who is eating all the goodies, but in the long run I'd have to say it actually enhances my self discipline!

    Really hope you find something that works for you, I know how torturous it can feel! Best best luck :)

  • hesn92
    hesn92 Posts: 5,966 Member
    edited August 2018
    It's hard to say no when there's free snacks all over the office for sure lol. Thankfully it's not an everyday thing here. I pack my lunch and my afternoon snack and that's all I eat. I do occasionally have a donut if someone brings them in (I love donuts so much). Since it's boredom eating, something that helps me is to drink some type of herbal tea. No calories and it give me something to "do" or consume. I do this at night when me and my husband watch TV. If someone brings in something that looks really good, I usually find someone and ask them if they want to share one with me.
  • shaf238
    shaf238 Posts: 4,022 Member
    Also try having lower GI foods to keep you fuller for longer.
  • 75i8080
    75i8080 Posts: 4 Member
    Meal prepping and planning ahead for snacks (have healthier options at the ready) helped me get past these things. Once in a while some cake if there's a b-day celebration or something, but that's once a month at most.
  • psychod787
    psychod787 Posts: 4,099 Member
    Set meal times help me. I refuse to snack mindlessly.

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