Goodies at work

If it's more of a problem when you're hungry because you didn't get lunch... fix whatever made you miss lunch? Bring your own, eat at your desk, meal prep on weekends or find a convenience option that fits your calories. You're entitled to have time to eat during the day and not spend the afternoon starving! But if you end up having cookies and no lunch, hey you just had cookies for lunch! At least you got some food in you! Log it, adjust dinner kcal if necessary and plan better for tomorrow.

We also have plenty of treats and cakes floating around the office but when you have your own food options closer at hand it definitely makes sticking to the plan a bit easier. I keep rice cakes at my desk, sometimes a box of those NAKD snack bars and we have a fruit basket in work. Just bring something you like and account for it in your calories. I find single serving things easier to moderate when I'm stressed or bored than having a bag of something (like roasted pistachios, that was a habit I had to cut out very quickly).

smolmaus wrote: »

If it's more of a problem when you're hungry because you didn't get lunch... fix whatever made you miss lunch? Bring your own, eat at your desk, meal prep on weekends or find a convenience option that fits your calories. You're entitled to have time to eat during the day and not spend the afternoon starving! But if you end up having cookies and no lunch, hey you just had cookies for lunch! At least you got some food in you! Log it, adjust dinner kcal if necessary and plan better for tomorrow.

We also have plenty of treats and cakes floating around the office but when you have your own food options closer at hand it definitely makes sticking to the plan a bit easier. I keep rice cakes at my desk, sometimes a box of those NAKD snack bars and we have a fruit basket in work. Just bring something you like and account for it in your calories. I find single serving things easier to moderate when I'm stressed or bored than having a bag of something (like roasted pistachios, that was a habit I had to cut out very quickly).

I like that there's a fruit basket. OP--why don't you start a trend in your office bringing fruit? You might be surprised that your co-workers will like it better. Nobody says anything, but maybe others are struggling too. Now fruit, or too much, can blow you off course, but it's a lot less than a dessert.

Reflecting on your problem OP I started remembering all the threads where people have goodies left over around the house and don't want to eat them. The advice is almost always--take it to work.

I agree with others that what you actually need to address is your lack of lunch and healthy foods at work. I sometimes have to work through lunch and sometimes I don't have time to pack one in the morning. So I found places that deliver healthy food (Panera Bread for one) and just deal with the delivery fee as my cost for not prepping ahead.

Otherwise I have a nice big lunch bag with a frozen block on the bottom that I fill with healthy foods: cooked chicken breast, thin sliced steak, cooked potatoes, steamed veggies, fresh fruit, carrot sticks, yogurt, string cheese, etc.

Pre-log your food for the day. It helps you know that if you eat that cookie, you are going over your calories.
Bring lunch to work, pack it the night before if you are pressed for time. Same with some healthy snacks.
Try bringing in some healthy options to share with everyone. It may help prompt a shift in your work culture.

2 things-

1. I always have an emergency meal/snack around. Something like a can of vegetable soup (150 cals), a protein bar (200 cals) and a piece of beef jerky (100 cals). If needed, I can eat all that and have a decently balanced meal, but it's not tempting to eat just because it's there.
2. When others bring stuff and leave it out, I tell myself, "that is their food, not mine, and I wouldn't eat someone else's food." And, if they are bringing it to schlep off to others, it probably wasn't that good to begin with. If it is something that is brought in specifically as a holiday treat and you really really really want it, have a bite and share it with another coworker.

I ask myself whether the food is special. If it's a thing I can't get anytime I want it *and* it looks particularly appealing *and* I have the calories for it, then I'll eat it. But if it's ordinary candy, cookies from the local grocery store bakery, etc. then I know I can get those things anytime and I don't need to eat them just because they're in front of me right now.

Thinking of other peoples hands touching/ opening / grabbing grosses me out and helps me resist shared food at work and prelogging my calories helps me resist because I am lazy and don't want to re-log or mess up what I logged previously!

I am the secretary at an elementary school and my office is right next to the staff break room. There is often food left in there after parties or other events. Until I can get a handle on it, my personal rule is not so much that I'm cutting off a food group but instead a food location -- nothing from the break room. The one exception is actual parties for the whole staff where food was brought specifically for the party, and then I'll only eat homemade stuff that looks really worth it. If it was bought at and presented in the box from the grocery store, then it it isn't worth it to me.