My Job is Ruining my weightloss...

Yes, you can. I've gotten in trouble at work for taking too many bathroom breaks. It is agents codes of ethics and business guidelines outlined by the government and other agencies. SO, for the sake of lessening inter office tension I slowed down *slightly* on the water drinking but go to the bathroom when I need to. Beyond that, they can shove it.

to the OP, I wouldn't let them treat you that way. It is unethical for them to do that, not to mention against regulations. And tap water is just fine for you, I assure you! the Municipal water systems have to go through stringent water testing and the bottled waters have totally different (and not any better) water purification guidelines.

From OSHA Website:

"Medical studies show the importance of regular urination, with women generally needing to void more frequently than men. Adverse health effects that may result from voluntary urinary retention include increased frequency of urinary tract infections (UTIs), which can lead to more serious infections and, in rare situations, renal damage"


Entire page here. My quote came from the section highlighted in yellow.
http://americanrestroom.org/gov/ohsa/index.htm

Take it from someone who has regular kidney stones (2 in October followed by surgery, 1 just last week), you need to know your rights and drink your water. I told my boss flat out, I use the bathroom frequently due to my health and it's not going to change. Let me know how to work around it if you need to.

As for your tap water situation at home, check into a Brita filter. This is the one we have:


It helps a ton with our tap water and the filters aren't terribly expensive.

where do i get one of these I have never seen one like that, just the jugs that are a pain in the butt.

I filter my water at home and keep it in the fridge. I drink a gallon a day and would be BROKE if I tried to buy bottles. Wait I am broke anyways. lol

And try to make the most out of your bathroom breaks. Go right before you clock in for the day and after lunch and maybe you will only need 2 to make the day go by? If you are peeing more than that you can probably slow down the drinking at work, but don;t cut it off. And get a big ol glass at the end of your workday too.

As for the lunches start requesting salads with dressing on the side. Tell them you just LOVE salads right now. People are usually happier too cater to tastebuds than to "diets. " Silly, but that is what my life experiences have shown.

I worked in a call center and there was something called "adherence" to your schedule. Thus, too many restroom breaks would make your percentage lower and cause your performance quality grade to be lower-making it look like you're not performing.

A couple thing I did to help with that:

1. positioning to the bathroom. Are you close to one, far away? Is there anyway you can arrange to switch places with someone to be closer?

2. hand washing. Washing your hands adds another minute or two to your trip. Let's be honest here...if you're JUST peeing, you're not touching anything too crazy. I would sanitize my hands as soon as I got back to my desk with Germ X.

3. shorter 'scheduled' breaks. Coming back 5 minutes early from lunch every day gave me "banked" time off the phone to use for quicky restroom breaks.

While it's important for you to go to the bathroom, I understand the company perspective portion of it. They'll probably be more lenient with you if you explain why you're doing it and offer up ways that you're helping to make it work as well. Plus, with time your body will adjust to the water intake and eventually you won't have to go as much anyway. Good luck

I had a kidney stone ten years ago and got yelled at by a teacher for using the bathroom too often. Sometimes people don't understand health concerns (especially if those health concerns are preventative, like eating healthy foods and drinking a lot of water). It can be really difficult to have good boundaries, but you will most likely need to be firm about your needs in order to succeed at this. I come from a big family and there is always a birthday party, wedding, baptism, or some other event. There's always cake and other fatty, sugary foods. I bring my own snacks and avoid the foods I don't want (or work out before if I want to have some cake). It's hard to say no, but it's my responsibility to take care of myself.

Good luck!

Sounds like you are ready to give up. People all over the world make their diet work no matter what the circumstance. If you want to, you will figure it out. As far as what you CHOOSE to eat for lunch, well, the same goes for that. Keep on... don't give up yet.

I agree with this. I spent years blaming my weight gain on my circumstances (grad school, low budget, etc. etc.) and it got me nowhere. There's always going to be something or someone that can ruin your efforts, but you need to make the choice to overcome this. It's ultimately up to you whether you succeed or not.

Make the choice to do this thing!! You can do it!

Wed 03/07/12 01:40 PM
Your job is not ruining your weightloss...only you are responsible for that. You would be better served to take responsibility for your choices than to blame them on others. You can still drink water at work, but maybe drink less there and buy a filter for your tap at home. You can say no to people and let them have hurt feelings...only you know what your limits are and if you've eaten all you should for the day, and only you can say no thank you.

I agree with all of this. If you want it, you'll find a way to do it. If you don't, you'll make excuses. All of this sounds like a bunch of excuses and finger pointing. No one is shoving food down your throat. No one is telling you at home that you can't have a water filter or use the bathroom. Your work is not ruining your weight loss - you are.

Too many bathroom breaks? Talk to your HR. Don't know how many are we talking about here: 2 breaks in a 4 hours or 4 breaks in 1hour?
Friends and co-works always buying free lunch? Tell them to get you healthy lunchs, like Subway sandwiches that you be able to count the calories or salads with dressing on the side.

As for your tap water situation at home, check into a Brita filter. This is the one we have:


It helps a ton with our tap water and the filters aren't terribly expensive.

I have this exact one at home, and its great. One con... it takes a lil bit for it to filter the water,and that can be time consuming with the amount of water you want to drink a day, you'll constantly be refilly it.. Brita makes a filter that you actually place on your faucet head and it filters straight from there... I think it's a lil more money, but saves time and there's stopping to refil and wait on the water to filter.