My biggest weakness is food at work!

mkiers1
mkiers1 Posts: 6 Member
in Getting Started
At work there’s always pastries for the staff. Today they brought in skones from a bakery, cupcakes and fresh donuts! I love pastries and it’s hard to say no while I’m all stressed out at work. I’m a stress eater for sure. Anyone have advice on how they avoid the temptation to stress eat all the tasty snacks that are out for everyone?

Replies

  • mgalsf12
    mgalsf12 Posts: 350 Member
    My coworker brought in Krispy Kreme donuts, I told myself no. I even opened the box and looked, but closed the lid and walked away. I was very proud of myself. I like wine, so I would rather save calories for that!
  • yirara
    yirara Posts: 9,985 Member
    Log them. Maybe your mind learns this way that having pastry is cool, but it also means you have less calories for the rest of the day. Or can you eat half a pastry once or twice a week if you really want it? When I was losing weight someone constantly brought in donuts. I did exactly this, and all was fine.
  • crb426
    crb426 Posts: 661 Member
    yirara wrote: »
    Log them. Maybe your mind learns this way that having pastry is cool, but it also means you have less calories for the rest of the day. Or can you eat half a pastry once or twice a week if you really want it? When I was losing weight someone constantly brought in donuts. I did exactly this, and all was fine.

    Yes! If you plug in the numbers of how many calories are in that pastry before you eat it, it will be easier to decide if you really want it enough to sacrifice calories from other meals. Sometimes it will fit nicely in your calorie goal, sometimes not.

    This works best if you've already pre-logged your calories for all food that day.
  • penguinmama87
    penguinmama87 Posts: 1,155 Member
    crb426 wrote: »
    yirara wrote: »
    Log them. Maybe your mind learns this way that having pastry is cool, but it also means you have less calories for the rest of the day. Or can you eat half a pastry once or twice a week if you really want it? When I was losing weight someone constantly brought in donuts. I did exactly this, and all was fine.

    Yes! If you plug in the numbers of how many calories are in that pastry before you eat it, it will be easier to decide if you really want it enough to sacrifice calories from other meals. Sometimes it will fit nicely in your calorie goal, sometimes not.

    This works best if you've already pre-logged your calories for all food that day.

    Yes! I don't work in an office but I do regularly attend meetings etc. where there are snacks served, often very tasty home baked things. If I've prelogged my food I know if I have any calories to spare. If I don't, or if I decide it's not worth it (I do in fact make that decision sometimes now!) I decline, and it's really fine. I used to think it would be rude and people would notice if I didn't eat. They really don't.

    If I do eat it, I log it, and I pick an entry in the database that is middling-to-high (if I have options.) Sometimes I see donuts for ridiculously low calorie counts, and I think those are wishful thinking - or maybe homemade ones. But usually there's a range where most of them fall, and I'll pick one of those.
  • MaltedTea
    MaltedTea Posts: 6,286 Member
    Donuts, pastries and whatnot are great as a treat. I find heavy carbs make me tired though so eating something like this at work would mean my productivity would wane pretty quickly: not cool.

    Not sure if you have any "adverse reactions" to eating sweets (or the timing of the things you choose to eat). If so, perhaps do a risk/benefit analysis based on what you have going on at work that day. Like, if you're leading a meeting, or need to manage a team though some kind of crisis...errm, maybe no donuts 🤷🏾‍♀️
  • DeterminedDivaMN
    DeterminedDivaMN Posts: 20 Member
    This is probably the top reason why I enjoy working from home for the last 4 years. Well, that and I get way more work done due no one stopping by to chat. (We still chat via Teams but not as often.) I will confess that sometimes I was the person bringing in baked goods… either stuffed I baked myself or I stopped to pick up cookies at a coworker’s favorite place.
  • angelic843
    angelic843 Posts: 252 Member
    mkiers1 wrote: »
    At work there’s always pastries for the staff. Today they brought in skones from a bakery, cupcakes and fresh donuts! I love pastries and it’s hard to say no while I’m all stressed out at work. I’m a stress eater for sure. Anyone have advice on how they avoid the temptation to stress eat all the tasty snacks that are out for everyone?

    A strategy I have found helpful with office/breakroom treats is to take one for the next day.
    (Place it is a container or ziploc baggie and build it into my plan for the next day)

    1. I don't feel like I'm missing out.
    2. I practice the art of staying committed to my plan for the day.
  • Hollis100
    Hollis100 Posts: 1,408 Member
    edited May 2021
    mkiers1 wrote: »
    At work there’s always pastries for the staff. Today they brought in skones from a bakery, cupcakes and fresh donuts! I love pastries and it’s hard to say no while I’m all stressed out at work. I’m a stress eater for sure. Anyone have advice on how they avoid the temptation to stress eat all the tasty snacks that are out for everyone?

    Are the pastries in a breakroom that you have to enter before you can see them?

    Or are they out in the open where you pass them no matter what? If this one, I'd suggest you ask in a friendly way if the pastries could be banished to the breakroom. That might go over like a lead balloon, but on the other hand, maybe the boss will move them. I did that years ago and it helped. The key for me was not to blame the place, but to put it on me and say I had a health problem and couldn't stop eating them (which was the truth).

    Today I just have to make up my mind that I'm not eating that kind of food. Once I start, I can't stop. That decision is the key for me. I have to remind myself of why I don't eat trigger foods. I also bring my own snacks that I enjoy -- enjoy is the key word.

    Good luck!
  • Lazz5k
    Lazz5k Posts: 251 Member
    sameeeeee.
  • cwolfman13
    cwolfman13 Posts: 41,865 Member
    I actually think it's kind of gross...bunch of food just sitting out with everyone in the office rummaging through the box of doughnuts with god knows what on their hands, coughing, sneezing, etc. It's also rarely good doughnuts or pastries or muffins, etc...usually the crap stuff from the grocery store. I also have a lot of misgivings about home baked goods...I've been to too many people's houses and wondered when the last time they did more than just declutter and wiped down some surface areas and really cleaned the house.

    All in all, I just find that stuff kind of gross...same for samples and whatnot at Costco and other stores. It's just not all that tempting to me when I'm pretty sure many people don't wash their hands frequently or have good hygiene in general. Hell, I don't even shake people's hand, and I had that rule way before COVID.
  • socajam
    socajam Posts: 2,530 Member
    How about this: just imaging that the person who baked the goods did not wash their hands after using the bathroom - problem solved.
  • work_again
    work_again Posts: 125 Member
    socajam wrote: »
    How about this: just imaging that the person who baked the goods did not wash their hands after using the bathroom - problem solved.

    I know that's supposed to stop me... but like... donuts. :D

    I agree with @yirara and @crb426 . Log them. If you're not hell bent on macros... you have to give yourself some kind of space. Remove the stigma and maybe the pressure won't be as bad.

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