working at a bakery

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honu18
honu18 Posts: 294 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
So--here's the thing. I love to bake. Absolutely LOVE it. I get ridiculously happy when I can bake things that I can bring somewhere else. I try to make excuses that people need things just to bake them. I obviously don't want to eat much of anything I bake, and oftentimes don't have that many places to bring things, so I don't get to bake as much as I want. Like really, I want to do it all the time. I'm in the middle of job searching for a full time job (as I just graduated), and I need some money on the side. That brings me to you know, a mediocre part time job. I really kind of want to work in a bakery or something, but I do love sweets a lot. Does anyone have any experience with this? Does it test your willpower like no other, or does it make you so sick of baked goods that you don't want them anymore? I'm wondering if I won't have such a strong desire to bake at home if I do this. Thanks :)
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Replies

  • MaggiePuccini
    MaggiePuccini Posts: 248 Member
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    I wouldn't do it!!!

    When I was 17/18 I had a part time job in McDonalds and I put on about a stone in a year. And it wasn't as though I really loved McDonald's food. It was just THERE. They weren't exactly giving it away to me either. You had to earn points per hours worked but when you went on your break you'd always have 'earned' a filet of fish or something. Anyway, my point is, that even if you have cast iron willpower, you will be tested, not just by tempation, but by convenience. Unless you know that every single night before you will be organised enough to prepare something that you can bring with you..... then yikes, eeek, seriously, I wouldn't put myself through it. And a bakery!!! of all places!? I just love the smell of bread. I try not to eat much of it but I'm only human, and if I were in an environment where I were surrounded by the smell of bread... then, flip, I would just order myself clothes two sizes up before I did the first shift.

    Can you find another part time job somewhere else? a dog food factory!? :-)
  • sc1572
    sc1572 Posts: 2,309 Member
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    I think it's a great idea because you're not making it at home, and you wouldn't be feeling the urge to eat it since you're in a business. Of course, there are always leftovers, but I know you're strong enough to say no. :) I loveeee baking as well, and when I am baking for someone else, I always find it easier, because if it's for me, I'll eat so much. Same goes with other people's houses, I never have the urge to eat the stuff we're baking since it's not just me.

    It might be tough some days to smell all of it, but, I think over time it helps with will power! You'll see everything that goes into the foods you're making and it will help you determine whether or not it's worth it.

    :D
  • deadbeatsummer
    deadbeatsummer Posts: 537 Member
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    I used to work at a station cafe serving bacon rolls etc to commuters. That was a test but I was very strict with myself and would be so proud if I didnt touch anything. It was diet cokes and sugar free drinks that kept me going. You just have to be strong
  • Justjoshin
    Justjoshin Posts: 999 Member
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    It's all about what you can handle. If you want to eat bakery more than you want to be ripped.. then it's probably a bad choice.

    If you think you can stay on track, then take the job
  • Amanda0325
    Amanda0325 Posts: 245 Member
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    work at pizza place a few days a week.. everything looks and smells amazing everyday... but i bring home a salad on most nights.. and 1 night a week i bring home a small pizza for me and the bf. just practice a little self control and you will be fine!
  • vickilowell
    vickilowell Posts: 37 Member
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    I worked in a bakery in high school..... it's not as "sweet" as you might think. After the first week, I didn't even smell the bread baking or the cookies coming out of the oven. Cleaning the huge bread hooks and enormous dirty pans of all the gook at the end of the day also curbed my appetite. Just like when at home you are baking and someone walks in and says "your house smells amazing" and you look up surprised (you're so involved in the process you stop smelling it consciously) you will get used to being surrounded by it. I'm not saying do or don't do it, just telling you what it was like to actually be there. The first two weeks it was such a novelty and I did want to taste things and then after that it was not even real food to me. It was a job.
  • hrtoftx
    hrtoftx Posts: 32
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    Im a baker too! Love it. Quite a few years back I did cake decoration. I loved cakes and thought it such a great idea. After a little while...LOL....I couldnt eat the cake. Even just the baking and decorating I could taste the cake in my mouth without eating any. To this day I am not a big cake eater.
    Then a few years back I had a parttime job at a Panara Bread......Yes when I first started I had to taste it all....but by helping to make it and then just having it right there all the time....after a while I really didnt eat any of it. I actually lost weight while working there.
    Just keep your willpower and dont eat what is there. Its all about the willpower really.
  • CakeFit21
    CakeFit21 Posts: 2,521 Member
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    You won't have as much time to bake at home. But honestly, if you have no experience baking you probably won't get a job actually baking in a bakery. Working in a bakery can make you lose your taste for sweets, though it does take a LONG time to get to that point. Also, some people have an increased desire for sweets because, hello, sugar is addictive. My desire decreased after a year, then over the course of three years steadily increased into a full blown addiction. This is just my experience. I fully believe that it is possible to work around sweets an not eat them. I am going back into baking and plan on proving this point.

    I think it's more likely that you will used to being in a bakery and won't have the desire to bake at home because the equipment isn't as nice and you don't have everything at your finger tips. Also, the bakery is so much easier to clean and it's easier to focus.
  • Bronx_Montgomery
    Bronx_Montgomery Posts: 2,287 Member
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    Its all about will power. I work onsite at a chocolate factory and have been able to control my sweet tooth. Everytime I have a craving I would drink water or have some sort of fruit. Its def tough but you get the hang of it. Also its ok to indulge once in a blue moon. Do not make it a habit. I do have a piece of chocolate once in a while and make sure I add it to my calories.
  • reddi2roll
    reddi2roll Posts: 356 Member
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    I have an idea. Since you love to bake and are running out of places to take those baked goods why not take them to a homeless shelter or some other charitable venue that would benefit. Might even have a tax deduction there..LOL.
  • Puddykat1026
    Puddykat1026 Posts: 164 Member
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    I love to bake as well. I started decorating cakes about a year ago & I bake & design cakes for all of my family events (birthdays, baby showers, bridal showers, holidays, etc). I also love to try out new recipes. I always want just a little bit. What has helped me is when I try out a recipe, I make it, snap a pic, & then divide it up by portion size & send some with hubby to work, take some to work, go visit a friend or family member, and I keep 1 for myself. I used to have a HUGE sweet tooth. Now, I can have a slice/piece and be okay. For me, it's more of a challenge: can I make something that pretty? Can I make it taste good? Will everyone like it? It's a great way to get my baking & decorating skills and if I choose to open my own place, I'm getting all the experience I can. So I get to do what I love without the guilt. I like to think of it as spreading the joy :happy: I spread all the love & joy I put into my baking and hopefully other people see that and feel the love & joy too!

    SO... in response to the question: I think if baking is what you love to do, you should take the job. If you start to see that you're eating more than you're baking, you can always quit the job. You'll never know unless you try!
  • HannahBanna12
    HannahBanna12 Posts: 1
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    I work in a bookstore at a cafe and it doesn't help me a lot, haha. I really watch what I eat there, if I do. When I first started, I ate, like, a cookie a day. Now I almost never eat the sweets at the cafe. Even if you start off rocky, I think you'll learn how to restrain yourself.
  • lissypriss
    lissypriss Posts: 157 Member
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    I'm a cake decorator, and I have my own tiny bakery. I don't like cake/frosting, so it's really not an issue...I DO, however, love cookies! Lol! I keep only healthy foods at my bakery, so I'm not tempted. I'm usually too busy to eat a lot while at work, though, and have to choke down a protein bar between cakes. Your job doesn't have to be a deal breaker when it comes to weight loss, you have to make disciplined decisions and go with it. I have faith in you! :)
  • Bsnell10
    Bsnell10 Posts: 40
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    I worked in a bakery and also went to college for culinary arts.. I love to bake also anytime anyplace.. Working in a bakery has it's great things and bad..after a few weeks you don't smell sweets at all and it took me almost 5 years to be able to smell them again (i worked in the bakery everyday for 5 years) But i still ate the sweets...the hours are hard if you have a family with young kids don't do it!! Most places start baking at midnight for the next day...I would suggest a hotel...I work in one that is trying to open baked goods in to there program...so i get the best of both worlds i get to cook and bake and have pretty regular hours (stay at home mom i work nights and part time) and i don't have to have anything i bake sitting around in my kitchen!!!
  • busyblkgirl
    busyblkgirl Posts: 264 Member
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    I grew up in a family of professional bakers, I guess because it's all i've ever known, it just didn't affect me. I'd get sick of looking at cakes, pastries, etc. To this day, I don't really care to eat sweets.
  • MaximalLife
    MaximalLife Posts: 2,447 Member
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    I worked doing some collections for Memmi's Bakery in Hershey, PA

    And believe it or not, you get tired of those foods.
    Since that time, I have totally given up most breads, sweets and candies.

    Just don't want them anymore.
  • CapsFan17
    CapsFan17 Posts: 198
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    I say go for it! If you can find a job and make a living doing something that you enjoy so much, the rest will work it self out. Just keep little reminders of your fitness goals around to help keep you on track. If working in a bakery is what you realy want, go for it! :wink:
  • lrussell0402
    lrussell0402 Posts: 6 Member
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    I worked at a Kroger bakery and then as a Baker for Panera Bread....I did pretty good from refraining from eating any of it...helps that I am diabetic and know that I can't have the stuff anyway (or shouldn't have) :tongue:
  • ahealthy4u
    ahealthy4u Posts: 442 Member
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    It's all about what you can handle. If you want to eat bakery more than you want to be ripped.. then it's probably a bad choice.

    If you think you can stay on track, then take the job

    I can control myself Sometimes but I love sugary sweets don't know if I could do it.
  • Yooperm35
    Yooperm35 Posts: 787 Member
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    I work as a manager at an Italian restaurant. I can honestly say that I have only eaten a handful of times at work in the 23 years that I've worked there. We do have to test food here and there - but a few sample tests are not going to hurt you. Being around the food so much, I just have no desire to eat it. We also carry a wide variety of cheesecakes, which I have never had, or even desired to have, although I do love cheesecake. It's different when you work around it, at least it is for me.

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