Tempting Baked Goods at Work

Off Topic
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This shit pissed me off to no avail. My office was right across from the break room, and usually what ended up happening is somebody’s wife baked a bunch of shit, didn’t want to eat it because she thought she was fat, so it ended up right across from my office.

First of all, if somebody wants to be nice and bake treats, fine. I still don’t like it but whatever. If you don’t want it because you don’t want to be fat, don’t bring it and set it in front of me because I don’t want to be fat either. WTF.

I was programming a lot, meaning there were down times and up times, and there is no more crushing sensation than to trapped in an office having to code a big piece of software for 8 hours straight, when you are in a down mode and struggling to stay productive. Whatever was in there at those times, was nearly irrestible, more for the diversion from whatever hell I was experiencing trying to push myself through a rougher day.

Eventually, I started to gain weight, so in payback, when somebody brought in treats, I’d eat them all. I remember it was 8am and somebody had a fresh batch of cookies in there. I considered it a second breakfast and they were gone in about 15 minutes.

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[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]
This. Never underestimate the value of public humiliation.

Call Terry Tate, Office Linebacker. This would be right up his alley.

43

Debra,

I agree that it is a tough call. first, I agree completely that we need some discipline and accountability for our own actions. Being weak is just that. Just because I pass on unhealthy offerings doesn’t mean that it isn’t tempting or that it doesn’t make me feel isolated from the others at times. Also, I try to understand that what might be hard for me could be almost impossible for someone else, and vice versa. Passing completely or limiting myself to a reasonable portion in front of someone who is struggling with restraint isn’t helpful and doesn’t seem very nice. Personally, I try to discourage contributing to unhealthy choices as much as I can but in the end, I can’t dictate what choices they make.

44

If you can’t say no to a cookie sitting on a desk with no one around how the hell are you going to ever stick to a diet for more than 3 hours at a time?

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[quote]ladieslove wrote:

All I have to do is grab a hold of my hip fat and I can show some restraint. [/quote]
LOL. I’ve actually found this works as well…

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[quote]HolyMacaroni wrote:

[quote]debraD wrote:

So what’s the consensus?[/quote]

change u’re avatar back to something that has more tits n ass plz[/quote]

This.

And tell fatty to keep his/her hands off the fucking cookies and cake unless he/she wants to remain a fatty. Life’s tough, get a helmet.

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You mad bro?

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[quote]Physicality wrote:

[quote]xilinx wrote:

[quote]Physicality wrote:
If someone at the office is, out of the kindness of their hearts, offering free food to co-workers just because then yeah they don’t need to put your feelings into consideration simply because you’re trying to avoid those foods.

That being said my roommate is the type of person who lives to cook for other people and that is how she shows her love. Her favorite thing to make is, of course, my favorite food (white chocolate cookies) and when she makes them it is very, very hard to not eat them; especially when I’m hungry, which is pretty much always, so I can sympathize with the people who’d rather not have them.

Things that also don’t help: My roommate plus our mutual friends constantly tell me that I am too skinny and ALWAYS try to guilt me into eating food. I’m pretty chunky when compared to the lovely ladies on here, I don’t know if they genuinely think I’m too skinny or want to make themselves feel better. I hear this is pretty common 'round the office workplace too.[/quote]

Hope I’m not out of line by telling you, that by the time they try emotional blackmail to get you to eat food that damages your goal, which they know, it is not a “way to show love”. I’d confront her, and simply ask if she’s trying to sabotage you, maybe she is not aware of it?[/quote]

I don’t think she is doing it on purpose (at least I hope not!), I think it’s just that’s what she’s always done. Is it someone’s birthday? Make them cookies. Is it a holiday? It’s cookie-baking time. Am I having a rough month? She’s gonna make me some cookies. It’s just what she does.

It’s when I turn them down or turn down any other offers of food that she, or our other friends, gets offended, rolls her eyes at me and says I need to relax a little; then I feel like shit. I still don’t eat them, but it makes turning them down harder.

I mention this because I know from other forums that people have had similar issues in the workplace or at home when they turn down offerings of food. I think it is the way a lot of people show they care, and get offended when you turn them down.[/quote]

Sorry to break it too you but this sounds like a case of diet sabotage with your friends Physicality.
I’ll let the Beastie Boys take it from here.

oh and hi welcome to T-Nation, I’m new too.

49

If they don’t have the mental fortitude to not take treats in the office, they likely don’t have it at home either, and likely wouldn’t be successful. I guess the ease of access makes them more likely to cheat, but I’m in the “suck it up and just don’t eat it” group.

I do like the idea of the healthy people bringing in healthy alternatives.

50

I think it should be taken away completely from the workplace. At my old job, there was always leftover coke around, and I couldnt resist with just one snort. God forbid if someone left an 8 ball around. accountability is one thing, but i cant be held responsible for those delicious goodies entering my bloodstream.

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1379×2383 644 KB

The best thing I did to kick smokes was to avoid being around people who smoked until I was able to work the habit out of my system. I can be around people smoking butts now without a problem, but removing myself from the temptation was a necessary step in getting to this point.

Some people have the same attitude and compulsions about food.

If enough people in the office are actively working to shake those bad habits, keeping those sorts of foods out in the open in such close proximity is in poor taste (herp derp). I can’t imagine it being terribly difficult to find a way to keep them around while still respecting the difficulty some people are having with regards to altering what may very well be lifelong habits. I can list several idea off the top of my head but this post is reaching tl;dr status as is.

The cake ban is ridonk, though… but then I can’t stand many of my coworkers and cherish any opportunity to not take part in their little activities.

Here’s a fit girl (something we’d all have no problem eating, eh?) to make up for the long post.

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Deb - Timely post. Here’s an article from today’s WSJ - The Battle of the Office Candy Jar. Some interesting statistics about what happens when you put a candy jar within reach.

I liked the suggestion of putting up a jar of sugar-free gum or candy as an alternative.

53

OP I can understand how that is challenging. Although I disagree with it being unfair, I definetly know how it can be hard (going through same). I think it does provide a good challenge to say “Im not going to fuck this up”. Hard becomes easy.

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And something that no one else mentioned, it can also depend on if you’re a moderation type or those go big or go home type.

Some people can take it in moderation and can just back off after a couple of bites. But, if you’re like me and cannot resist that temptation after the first sniff, then stay away completely.

Thank goodness for “cheat meals/days” man, I go H.A.M on food every saturday. lol But that’s just me. Give me one slice of pie and I’ll stab you for the whole thing.

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[quote]blackhand wrote:

[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]
This. Never underestimate the value of public humiliation.

Call Terry Tate, Office Linebacker. This would be right up his alley.[/quote]

Never gets old…

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[quote]JPCleary wrote:

[quote]blackhand wrote:

[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]
This. Never underestimate the value of public humiliation.

Call Terry Tate, Office Linebacker. This would be right up his alley.[/quote]

Never gets old…[/quote]

Why had I never seen that? JP, that was hilarious! “The office environment is violent…” Soo funny, and intimidating, but mostly really funny.

58

When my colleagues start eating muffins, I just shake up 2 scoops of my whey and drink. My cravings go away pretty quickly after ive downed my shake.
tweet tweet

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[quote]Fuzzyapple wrote:
You mad bro?[/quote]

Maybe a little.

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[quote]polo77j wrote:
For those on the self-restraint side of the fence, let’s look at it step by step in Debs office:

I’m assuming Deb doesn’t work in some sort of day-care rugrats running around all crazy like. I’m assuming she works in an office with reasonable adults who lead reasonable adult lives. I’m also assuming these reasonable adults have reasonable adult responsibilities that they’ve accumulated through their own choice processes, one way or the other. And in that process of choice there must’ve been a fork where they chose to go the route to where they now stand struggling with making a simple fucking decision of whether or not to eat the goddamn cookie.

Now, you and I have made choices where we would look at the fucking cookie and evaluate whehter that 150 cal cookie fits into our goal structure. But not these fucking snivveling bags of personal failure. No, they struggle with a simple choice of whether or not to eat a fucking cookie. Honestly, if this choice is one of the hardest choices they have to make then why the FUCK do banks loan these fucking people money for purchases?

Seriously, these people are stuggling with a decision my 6 year old niece makes on a daily basis with nary a thought about it. Does she want the cookie or no. And she makes the right choice every fucking time. There’s no struggle.

I know I know, my niece isn’t an adult and will probably feel no consequence to eating a cookie. Shit, she’ll probably eat thousands of cookies between now and when she gets to be a neurotic 30 something standing in an office under the judging eyes of her co-workers struggling with the self awareness of a choice that could reverberate throughout the entire solar system!! DO I EAT THE FUCKING COOKIE OR DON’T I?

With such decisions that have generations of life hanging in the balance how does one sleep at night? I’m actually surprised these people don’t have trouble deciding when it’s appropriate to inhale and/or exhale. I’m surprised Deb’s office isn’t littered with unconscious bodies of people who couldn’t decided when it’s prudent to breathe.

It’s amazing that people have made it as far as we have with all these weighty decisions like when it’s ok to eat cookies and did I breathe too much yesterday and if i did, do I cut down on my breathing today? And I’m not apologizing for the rant. I’m bored in between classes. I’m about to go to my Inter. Macro class and just aced my Financial Acct. exam so I’m all fired up on caffeine and cocaine. Anarchy, I don’t know what it is but I like it.[/quote]

This brought a tear to my eye, been missing Polo’s occasional rant.