Food in the office

[Randomworkmoan]

Anyone else work in a place where people seem to constantly talk about or bring in food?

It was always a foodie office, cakes for birthdays (no issue at all), bags of creggs sausage rolls or pastries weekly, bags of chocolate bars to share but manageable and everyone loves the odd treat but we had someone new transfer from another department in December and honestly it's just become too much. Constantly bringing in baked goods, dinners for the office, chocolate, asking if I want pizza for lunch, Chinese for lunch, McDonald's for lunch, it's relentless.

I will admit I struggle with my weight anyway and while I absolutely have no issue with the odd treat, it now feels like it's being shoved in my face and it's beyond annoying.

Anyone else have this and how did you handle it? Aibu? I just want to come to work, feed myself and not get fed by a pushy colleague when I am already struggling to get my weight down. Ffs can people not just feed themselves, why feed the fucking office?

Monday I was chatting to the tea lady about her weekend and she said she baked a cake for nieces birthday, in conversation I said oh I do like a red velvet cake and Tuesday morning colleague arrives in with a red velvet cake just for me and another cake for the office. Wednesday I got an Easter Egg, Thursday I was off and they were off Friday but Mondayno doubt it will be something else or another request for take away for lunch!

They are very nice but it's starting to effect how I feel about them, they are irritating me so much. I know one or two others don't like it either but I haven't discussed it with anyone bar those I am close to, though I get mixed vibes from the others, some seem to look a bit wtf at the ott offerings but then others seem happy.

Aibu? Should I suck it up? If not please tell me how to stop this, I have said jokingly to please stop feeding me, I have called them a feeder. I left the cake in the tea room and didn't eat it, what else can I do?

It’s another stress of office life. Some ppl are constantly snacking which is fine but it doesn’t work for everyone - I have quite enough teeth problems and fillings and avoid eating other than the set lunch half hour, no sugar in tea/coffee and no fizzy drinks. I’d be quite uneasy if someone brought in cake or food especially for me and as suggested would leave it out for everyone to eat. And I’m not the only one who would especially avoid anything home baked. I have taken cream cake home to dispose of which is awkward but sometimes bins might not be emptied overnight!

Are people in the office also gaining weight? . I used to be the same with chocolate and treats, but that’s no longer the case.
Lately there is a lot of interest in ultra processed foods and how the combinations of chemicals are addictive. People are becoming overweight and it has nothing to do with willpower . So look at labels. Palm oil in its natural state is bright red - to make it fit for food, it is bleached and deodorised amongst other processing to make a cheaper alternative to butter in cakes, biscuits etc. Guar gum is a slime produced by bacteria to allow them to stick to surfaces - it’s put in food to emulsify cheap ingredients and give a good ’mouth feel’. Aspartame sweetners in zero calorie drinks are beginning to be connected with an increased risk of cancer. Presently there’s a Panorama episode on i-player that sent me running for the hills. I’d recommend that you read the book ‘Ultra Processed People Why Do We Eat Stuff That Isn’t Food, And Why Can’t We Stop’ by Chris Van Tulleken. If you can visualise the cr*p put in to these treats, try only to eat if you’re hungry and stop when you feel you’re no longer enjoying what’s in your mouth, you can probably pull back from your weight gain. What your colleagues eat is up to them.