There is a bit of a controversy at my work. Some people like to bring in all sorts of goodies and put them out in the tables between our cubicles and some of us are delighted to eat them (in moderation)
However, there are others who want to lose weight and don’t think the stuff should be there. One side says, suck it up fatty and learn some self-control and the other side says come on, don’t make it harder than it already is.
I’m on the fence myself but I witnessed today a bit of the struggle one guy was having with the cookies right there completely canceling his workout. So he took the cookies to another department and tried to get someone to take them. Another co-worker took exception and said, hey, those aren’t yours to give away.
We have a lot of birthday celebrations too and the rule is we have a cake. No one has to have a piece and there isn’t a lot of pressure for anyone to have a piece. The people who want to lose weight want to have the birthday cake replaced with fruit and healthy crap or skip peoples birthday’s altogether Not their own, other peoples)
To that I say suck it up, don’t have cake if you’re on a diet. But I think the constant supply of goodies might be a bit unfair.
I don’t work in an office though so I don’t really have to deal with this. The daily treats would be a bitch to have around especially if they are free and you were trying to diet. The birthday cakes are for a special occasion so they would be okay.
[quote]Charlie Horse wrote:
I don’t work in an office though so I don’t really have to deal with this. The daily treats would be a bitch to have around especially if they are free and you were trying to diet. The birthday cakes are for a special occasion so they would be okay.[/quote]
Yeah I’m kind of torn. On the one hand I think if you’re going to kick your eating problem you have to learn some discipline and take responsibility for what you eat. On the other hand it is hard and maybe we should make it harder. But some people really love the treats and are fit, healthy and have no reason for not having them.
For some of us it’s easy to just say get some self control. For some people it’s not that easy. If it is constantly that I can see that being a problem.
Have someone stand next to the snacks, and address everyone who approaches as “Fatty”, while asking if they’re sure they should have another slice of cake, and randomly blurting out “MMMmmmmooooo” whenever someone takes a bite.
[quote]Broncoandy wrote:
Have someone stand next to the snacks, and address everyone who approaches as “Fatty”, while asking if they’re sure they should have another slice of cake, and randomly blurting out “MMMmmmmooooo” whenever someone takes a bite.[/quote]
Banning treats just because you’re in a diet is selfish.
Realize that not everyone has the same goals of having kick ass bodies and do not care for exercising and dieting. If they wanna have treats, let them be. It’s not like they’re forcing the people on diet to EAT them.
Doing so (banning treats), just comes across as being stuck up and selfish. Again, not everyone is on board with eating healthy. For the co-workers that are whining about it, say suck it up. No one said it would be easy.
I’m with B.L.U.Ninja on this. Yeah it can be hard to resist food that’s just sitting there…but oh well. It’s unfair to control other people bringing that shit to work if they want to. Nobody is pressuring you to eat it…and even if they were, too bad.
Those trying to lose weight can bake low calorie (and whatever other qualifiers fit their diet - low carb, high fiber, whatever) stuff and bring it over for everyone including themselves to enjoy. That way they don’t have to skip treats every time.
Earlier this year I decided to make some almond flour muffins and brought them to the office. Everyone loved them.
Parties are a slightly different thing. It all comes down to timing and availability. If you’re being very strict with your diet at the time, then you’ll just have to suck it up. If not, then a piece of cake will not make any difference. If there are other options available, go for them. There are usually some peanuts lying around at parties and since I rarely eat peanuts I saw them as a treat.
There was this one time when there was an office party on the same day as I was IF’ing (I would have switched the days, but I didn’t know about it until it started, due to all the emails being sent to everyone’s university email which sucks and which I ignore). Just had to suck it up.
I guess it would be easier with multiple people watching their diets at the same time. Other than the obvious aspect of support, they can make sure they provide alternatives at parties and as regular treats.
On the other hand I did have ice cream every single week when leaning out last year, so what the hell do I know.
I’ve taken the gluten-free decision 2 months ago… life is SO much easier now, its like a switch in the head that inoculates my sweet tooth against cakes etc. But its passover season, and peanut/coconut cookies are everywhere… tough!
I don’t think a random ‘surrender’ is a problem… the 90% rule works. I’d just be careful not to make it a habit, or at least calculate it into the daily food chart.
I’m on the side of “learn some self-restraint”, though of course I don’t have much of a sweet tooth or addictive personality.
Wouldn’t it be possible to meet somewhere in between. Some folk bring in fruit and some bring in cake? The ones with little self control can turn to the fruit while the indulgers can do what they like. Couple that with the low-cal baked options suggested above and I don’t see why you would have to go to the extremes of banning certain food types altogether.
I work in a cubicle… in a rarely visited corner… if I leave my corner, I find tubs of candy all over the place, cake in the kitchen and the most amazing poutine in the chip truck outside.
But I figure, if you’re dieting and someone else isn’t, you can’t make them eat fruit. They can bring in what they want and you can control yourself.
All I have to do is grab a hold of my hip fat and I can show some restraint.
I like the idea of the people who are trying to be healthy bringing along healthy things. That way they can swap recipes etc if they discover new stuff they like and basically have a supportive atmosphere towards their goals.
Trouble is that many dieters don’t have the best ideas about healthy food or eating habits (which is why the binge on crap - restriction cycle, I guess). Might be hard to get them to take responsibility for providing healthy alternatives especially if they are aiming to restrict rather than replace.
Can’t there be healthy cakes, too?
Or maybe their fear is true… Healthy food tastes like crap compared to cake.
Personal accountability. I don’t care if the person is swimming in a pool of melted tootsie rolls, they need to learn some damn self restraint, especially for long term diet success.
That being said, the dieters should form their own “group” and bring in healthy snacks that will keep each other in line so no one falls off the wagon.
Suck it up fatty! It’s not everyone else’s fault you’re a pig who lacks self control (this is a general statement - not directed at anyone in particular).
But yea - if I’m dieting it’s my issue - it’s not fair to expect everyone else to accomodate me - It’s up to me to remain disciplined.
Haha, seriously? I just got done dieting for 12 weeks, and if I had a dime for every time someone offered me crap food (and then provoked me with it after saying no), I’d be a rich man. Obviously if they don’t have the will power to say no, then they don’t really want to lose the weight.
Oh, and this sounds like an episode of The Office lol
