Cakes and Treats at Work

[WhatTheFlipToDo]

I have worked at my current work place for about a year. I have been consistently a size 12 in clothes for two decades yet I have put on over a stone in that time and size 14 clothes are getting tight. The only variable between this job and my last one is a permanently well stocked table of ‘treats’. So, biscuits, those little M&S tubs of cake bites, donuts, Rocky bars. You name it.

It is a job where you end up incredibly tired sometimes and I have little will power around chocolate at the best of times but when I'm tired it’s a million times worse. Essentially, I eat far more sweet things now due to this bloody table of junk food. Obviously, as I eat things I replace them but then I just eat them again. I don’t know what to do. I’d like to ask the team to save treats for an actual occasional treat but, simultaneously, if I’m the only one who has no will power, is it fair to request they adapt their behaviour for me?

I feel the views in this article sum up my own well. https://amp.theguardian.com/society/2023/jan/17/people-should-not-take-cakes-in-to-the-office-suggests-food-watchdog-chief

Am I being unreasonable to want the team to cut back on the treats so I don’t get even fatter or is this my problem to manage? Genuinely contemplating leaving as I just will not be able to manage my weight without a change in workplace culture.

Is everyone else overweight?

I have a dd who struggles to maintain enough weight so I do get cross when people (eg her school) wanted to impose "healthy eating" she needs a higher density of calories for medical reasons

@WhatTheFlipToDo could you try to go cold turkey on the sugar addiction? If you did that during some annual leave then the cravings would pass. That’s what I’d do. You’d then in a more intuitive eating zone! Good luck

Yabu - and I say this as someone much fatter than you, this is a you problem!

Fruit is sugar and eaten in isolation still spikes blood glucose levels. Op should eat the fruit along with some protein like the cottage cheese suggested previously.

I worked in an office that was starting to go this way and I hated it. Tubs of sweets left out on desks and constant cakes for birthdays. No one wants to acknowledge that these are not ‘treats’ if they are there all the time. They are crap food that is being eaten every day and the social pressure to join in is great because otherwise everyone else has to acknowledge that they are eating crap and that they should stop too.
It’s not you that has a will power problem it’s them.
There was a fascinating series of programmes on Tv a few years ago. I think they were made by Michael Mosley. He set up scenarios where people would unintentionally overeat. For example there was one where he had muffins handed out to people as they were leaving the gym. Another showing the difference in the quantity of sweets eaten when they were left in arms reach on an office desk as opposed to some on the side which they had to get up and walk to. The eating was taking place before a conscious decision had been made. So it’s not just about will power.
What you do about this I’m not sure. I would start by having more general conversations with colleagues about ultra processed food and the potential harm it does. It’s been in the news a lot recently.

You need to set yourself some really rigid internal rules to deal with this sort of thing.

No sugar, or no snacks, or intermittent fasting, or just The Snack Table Is Poison.

Fuzzy "reasonable" "everything in moderation" weight loss strategies won't be able to cope with this sort of environment where there's always a different sort of treat and a different "special occasion".

If you want to be able to join in occasionally then you could do 5:2 with one of the 2 during the working week, or decide in advance that only Jane's homemade cakes/Crosstown doughnuts are worth the calories and everything else gets a pass.

But with any addiction, just because a minority have a problem, you’re still expecting the majority to cater for them. By your logic, we need to also ban alcohol from society then, because there are alcoholics amongst us.

As adults, we choose what we put into our body, and it does come down to self control and moderation. The same foods offered in the UK are offered throughout Europe and you don’t see the same obesity crisis there - because it’s about attitudes to food rather than the availability of food.

Any addict needs to take responsibility for their actions, rather than blaming it on easy access - and I say that even after someone close to me developed an addiction which nearly killed them.

It is lack of ownership and responsibility that is failing the UK, not the options on offer.

I have inattentive ADHD (hyperactive mind rather than hyperactive body) and will power problems so I get your pain. My suggestion is just ban yourself totally from the table and bring your own stuff in that you know will pep you up but won't cause a sugar spike and a crash. I have found humous satisfies my sweet craving but I don't get a crash from it. I read also mint tooth paste is good so maybe plan on brushing your teeth in the afternoon before you eat and see if that makes a difference to helping you avoid the table.

Exactly this!

We have treats at work (we need it) and I just make sure I eat healthy at home and for my meals, and limit how many treats I have at work.

You are choosing to overeat at work.
That’s your problem and no one else’s.

A good idea is to also go for a walk in your lunch break and eat your food elsewhere.

The exercise will help you lose the weight and stop you overeating, as well as get you away from the treats.

I suspect this would be a quick route to making yourself the least popular person at work.

Rather than banning altogether, allow yourself one day a week when you indulge.

Agreed.

Also, I think as humans I think many of us are compelled to take something when it is free.

I used to see chocolate eclair pastries reduced to 20p at the supermarket and eat the full pack, and spiral into an unhealthy eating binge.

I then realised that chocolate eclairs are £1.20 a pack, so I was effectively abandoning my healthy way of eating for a £1!

It sounds basic but it really flipped a switch for me and it made me realise I was worth more than a £1 saving!

I don't like the new Ribena so have switched to Vimto. Might be worth a try?

I was just going to post exactly this! Rarely a treat I can eat in the office other than the sad bourbon at the bottom of the barrel.
In fact OP could just announce she's gone vegan. She'd no doubt get at least one militant meat eater policing everything she consumed in the hope of an opportunity to call her a hypocritic, so she'd not dare eat at all.

Why don't you bring in boxes of strawberries or something and share those with everyone. Then when you want to snack you can grab a couple of those instead?
It would definitely be unreasonable to expect everyone else to change just because you can't resist. Sorry

Could I ask those who think this is just a matter of willpower whether they are actually faced with this situation themselves? How much food do their coworkers bring in? Is it left on display. If so do they eat some or none? How much sugary snacking do they do and do they manage to maintain a healthy weight?

YABU because you're expecting everyone else to change their behaviour because it's difficult for you to manage your food behaviours.

You're not forced to eat something just because it's there. Bring your own healthy snacks and then decide how many times a week you're happy to have sweet snacks from the table.

I work in an office of 2k people, there are regularly cakes, biscuits, those little supermarket buckets of mini chocolate rolls, flapjacks etc on display.

Often people will cut the cake in their own area and bring it into communal areas to offload share it with others.

Not always, but often, this kind of mindless desk eating and need to punctuate your day with treats is a sign of a bored workforce. I know a lot of jobs are dull and routine, but there can sometimes be ways to make your work day more interesting so you don't need to entertain yourself with food. Are you challenged and busy? Do you need to start thinking about a move to somewhere where you might be? Failing that, can you inject non food related punctuation into your day? A walk, a chat, some stretches in the toilets, meetings arranged at cake time?

Could I ask those who think this is just a matter of willpower whether they are actually faced with this situation themselves? How much food do their coworkers bring in? Is it left on display. If so do they eat some or none? How much sugary snacking do they do and do they manage to maintain a healthy weight?
In an old workplace we had a snack box and biscuits out in the break area. We also did bring and share lunches too around once a month.

I don't have treat mindset so there's no morality attached to eating a biscuit or cake. It also means there's no underlying thinking of "it's been a long morning so I deserve a biscuit... It's Jane's birthday so I'll treat myself to some cake. That meeting was rough so I'll just have a chocolate brownie bite as a little pick me up".

If I wanted to have a biscuit with my coffee, I'd have one and feel no guilt. Some weeks I'd have a snack every day, others not at all. I didn't give much thought to it.

I limit myself to one bite. Just tasting what everyone else is having satisfies the craving to not be the one missing out.

YANBU
I'm shocked at the number of people who think it's fine to have a table full of junk at a workplace. It's really not, and our national obesity rate shows this.

Someone mentioned gambling, which is a good comparison: I wouldn't approve of a slot machine in my office (even though I'm not a gambling addict), because I care for the welfare of my colleagues and know it could be a huge temptation for one of them.

Please don't think you're colleagues are as mean and selfish as some of the posters here. If you say that you are really struggling with the "treat table", it would be pretty heartless of them to say, "this is YOUR problem." I'm sure they would be happy to have their snacks at their desk instead. Also, it may well be that may others feel the same as you and are unhappy at the amount of weight they have put on.

I would ask around and see how your colleagues feel about removing it. If you told your manager you are thinking of leaving because of it, I'm sure they would also think seriously about removing it (rather than having to rehire/train another staff member).

I work in a big place and there always appears to be sugary treats available for someone's birthday or a cake sale. I don't have any of it but then again I slink back to my office with the coffee, I'm not that bothered.

My DH's office provides a permanent array of 'healthy' snacks so fruit, lentil crisps, healthy flavoured popcorn, flavoured water, protein bars. I believe on Friday there is beer or wine. He likes the snacks as he works long hours and needs to keep going until about 9 after being there since 9am. He said the worst thing is if they order in Chinese takeaway on the late work nights and he does think that is responding for his early 40s 1 stone weight gain. Also, they have bring your national cuisine and one woman from Poland always makes amazing cake but highly fattening!

Yes! I’ve worked in two different offices where there is always a chocolate tin on display, or those M&S boxes, or brownies / muffins supplied very regularly.

I just didn’t eat them everyday - would limit myself to one a week, every now and then two. If I ate them everyday, my weight would have ballooned but I managed to keep it consistent.