How to avoid sweets at work?

jnhu72 · February 2012

There are always a bunch of brownies, cookies, donuts, etc. at my work and I can never avoid them. They are in are break room on the counter and table and we have a bowl of candy in our reception area. I always have good intentions of not eating them but once I have a stressful morning I end up eating a bunch of sweets. How do you guys avoid the temptation?

xSophia19 · February 2012

If i was in this situation I would get someone to hide them. As daft as it sounds, i would talk to someone and explain that your trying to lose weight or whatever, and ask them if they can all be eaten? Or they can take them home to their kids or something.. Or if you cant do that, i would pick a day where you can have a treat, and have one of each, or just one or 2 of those.

I know its hard resisting! But trust me, its all worth it! Good luck x

xraychick77 · February 2012

will power

inge88 · February 2012

I absolutely know how you feel. We have candy and all sorts of biscuits, cookies, donuts etc.
It helped me to tell the receptionist that I was not going to have any candies that day/week. The candies are at her desk, so she would see it if I would grap some. So knowing I had to break my 'promise' kept me away from them. And if I really craved one I would come up to her and say: ahhh I want some candies... she would say: NO, you have been strong all day, don't do it.

Maybe find someone in the office that is trying to stay away from the unhealthy stuff too and hold each other accountable. If you make a promise to each other to only have 1 or 2 in the week, you are more likely to stick to it because otherwise you have to tell the other person you had too many.

Other than that I bring lots of healthier snacks with me to work.

Good luck!

akd001 · February 2012

plan to eat some of them but drink plenty of water and fit them into your daily calorie allowance.

curvygirl512 · February 2012

I have the same problem. I've asked my secretary not to have candy on her desk, and the reason why (lower weight = lower cholesterol). The bin (yep, it's that big) is back in 1-2 days. And there's no way I cannot see it in plain view when I pass her desk. I'd love to hear other's suggestions, because I really struggle with this.

PBmaria · February 2012

Here's how I look at stuff like that: Let's say there's a glazed donut, which is about 230 calories, meaning it would mean running 2.5 miles (about 21 minutes for me) to burn it off. Considering it has no nutritional value, I'd skip it. However, if you think it's worth it and are willing to do the work, then go for it

lewandt · February 2012

We have the exact same thing in my office! I plan my day before hand and eat every two hours or so. I can avoid them because i simply grab my apple or whatever else i have brought.

Sometimes though it is tough and i will have half of something if it is not too bad and just add it in to my calories for the day.

Funny thing is, seems like everyone in my office is trying to lose weight yet they bring in this stuff!

curiositycat · February 2012

Although it's not a perfect fix, chewing gum can sometimes help. Strong breath mints, too, might dampen the craving for the sweets.

BarbWhite09 · February 2012

Eek, I hate that type of temptation. I have the same problem at my job. People will bring in sweets all the time...Or like Friday we had a pizza party, the Friday before that a cake & icecream party...I just try to remove myself from the situation

ahinski · February 2012

I avoid eating sweets at work by avoiding them every where else. A lot of people on diets keep artificially sweetened snacks at home (think "Skinny Cow"), which often satisfy cravings without going over your caloric limit...but unfortunately they also cause cravings later on. For me, the more I eat those foods, the more I want them.

I no longer keep foods sweetened with refined sugar or artificial sweeteners in the house. I'm not saying I never eat sugar, but it's really only reserved for special occasions. The first three weeks of this lifestyle change were VERY difficult (which is why people always say not to cut out certain foods completely... because most people don't make it through those first three weeks and then go nuts on a binge), but after that I now have no problem passing on brownies or cake at work or elsewhere. In fact, someone from work recently decided to be very nice and bring me a chocolate chip cookie from the break room and put it on my desk. I didn't think twice about throwing it out (I acted appreciative and said I'd save it for later). Did I want it? Hell yes! But it was easy to turn down because I'm so accustomed to doing it, and I know that sooner or later there will be some special occasion where I can enjoy a treat like that and not feel guilty about it... but a random Tuesday is not such an occasion.

My suggestion: try to go three weeks (it takes 21 days to create a habit) without refined or artificially sweetened foods. You can do ANYTHING for three weeks. Give it a shot... the worst that will happen will be you are right back where you started.

Of course if you have low blood sugar or some other insulin-related medical condition, this advice is not for you!

ahinski · February 2012

I have the same problem. I've asked my secretary not to have candy on her desk, and the reason why (lower weight = lower cholesterol). The bin (yep, it's that big) is back in 1-2 days. And there's no way I cannot see it in plain view when I pass her desk. I'd love to hear other's suggestions, because I really struggle with this.

Unfortunately, we can't expect other people to change just because we have. I have control over what I put in my mouth (of course sometimes it just feels like I don't!), but I don't have control over what someone else decides to make available to me and others around me. I do have the choice to politely say no thank you (and discreetly pat myself on the back!!)

JenniferInNY · February 2012

Chew sugarless gum? Sip green tea? Brush your teeth? Those things help me avoid mindless eating. Or bring your own ultra-low calorie sugar-free candy to suck on instead. Or change your route to avoid going by the sweets.

I find I have to avoid baked goods entirely (even low-cal ones) to avoid craving them. It's all-or-nothing for me.

But I don't think you can ask the person to not bring sweets, because it's really their personal choice.

Inebriated · February 2012

will power

WickedGarden · February 2012

I used to work with a lady that made baked goods every other day. She would push it on other people. I tried to tell her I didn't eat sweets and she'd say, "c'mon, just a taste!" ugh.

Recently, I just decided I wanted to be healthier and lose weight. So I set a goal for myself, and have a 'goal reward' set up. When I reach my goal, I get to treat myself to it. So I started cutting back on soda, cut back on seconds during meals, took smaller portions of food, cut back on sweets (never really was a huge fan of sweets anyway). Started 'eating clean', organic as much as possible.

Now if I want a sweet treat, I only treat myself to high quality treats. Example would be chocolate. I stopped eating 'cheap chocolate' (which is essentially chocolate flavored sugar-like Palmer's, Hershey's, M&M's etc) and eat only high quality chocolate...read the ingredients, if the first ingredient of chocolate is sugar, then it's cheap chocolate. High quality chocolate will list cocoa, or cocoa butter as the first ingredient.I also discovered a cupcake place in my area that uses only locally grown or local organic ingredients. I treat myself to one cupcake a month (they do a special monthly cupcake). Now. I cannot even stand eating/smelling a store bought cupcake. After eating clean, you WILL notice a difference in taste. It's so much more easier to resist sweets now.

Start small, don't go all gung-ho at once, that makes it really hard. It's a lifestyle change, so it takes time, just like learning how to drive, ride a bicycle, learn a new language.

Good luck, this is the journey of a lifetime!

How to avoid sweets at work?

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