New job - already fed up with unhealthy ‘working lunches‘

[AliceSeal]

I’ve been in my new job since February and in the main really enjoy it. However, we have monthly ‘planning meetings’ which so far are always scheduled to run through lunch (usually 11-3) and the bosses arrange for a lunch to be provided. Last month, it was a job lot of Greggs ‘beige’ - sausage rolls etc, and today it was stacks of dominoes which everyone could pile in to.

I haven’t said anything so far as I don’t want to appear ungrateful, and the majority of my colleagues seemed ecstatic with these choices, but as someone who is quite big on health and fitness, this is really irritating. We get a 5-10
minute break from this at most which isn’t enough time for me to do much more than go to the loo (big office with microwave facilities downstairs and always a queue over lunch).

Would you ask to get a longer break so I can have my own lunch? I’m just conscious this will delay the meeting for everyone else so very wary of asking.

A thermos is your friend here then.

I have porridge with hot water every day for lunch and make it before work in a decent thermos.

it’s still steaming hot at lunch. The reason I take soup, pasta, porridge in a thermos is exactly because of queuing for microwaves.

But if you don’t get paid for lunch and don’t want the alternative or being provided food for giving up that time you can always ask for time to go and heat it or heat it at 10.45 before the meeting and put it in a thermos then if it won’t stay hot from home.

Your hardly supporting the woman in your work calling them porkers.

Right now she’s gone, can anyone help with my dilemma? My 12 figure salary job have taken away the crayons and now I don’t know how to write my name at the bottom of very important corporate letters. Anyone been in this situation before?

P.S no replies from anyone who’s ever gone above their birth weight.

Porkers!!! 😂

blimey, i hope they're not paying you for your problem-solving abilities!

I haven’t heard that term since I was 12!!!!

MN tried to censor me, but I stand with you, OP! These are trying times for you non-porky, superior beings (who somehow can’t just get their lunch like a functioning adult lol).

It is only “dictating” if you demand that a meal is provided that fits with your specific needs because you refuse to eat the food that your colleagues are happy to eat.

It isn’t “dictating” if you put forward a suggestion that the communal meals include a healthier option that everyone who wants to can eat, or that people’s dietary needs due to religious, moral or health issues are considered.

🙂happy to help, management relationships can be hard to negotiate if you are unsure of your role and/or your ability to fulfil it.

we LOVE successful women.

We don't like nasty bitchy whingers tho

This a million times

It's not about disliking successful women 🙄

It's about you being rude about your colleague's sizes whilst trying to justify your eating disorder.

You don't like cold lunches.

I'm sorry, but that's a 'you' problem.

You are being ridiculous. I'm sure you could survive a cold lunch just once a month.

Exactly this, treat yourself to a food flask!

hot meal ✅
macros met ✅
no queue at microwave ✅
no cold lunch ✅
no unhealthy lunch ✅

🤷‍♀️

I used to put hugs and kisses XOXOXOXO they all knew it was me!

@AliceSeal - I’m not sure what the big deal really is. You eat healthy and rather use your cheat meal at the weekend - that I get I am the same as you. But if this is once a month situation you can get a wrap there are some good options with only 60 calories per wrap that I have used before (top of my head I want to say M&S but not sure) pop some avocado chicken, egg , sweetcorn (as an example) if you meal prep at the weekend and keep it in the fridge just warm it up before 11 so it’s not cold cold when it comes to lunch time. You can also make a salad for example with chickpeas, beans, sweetcorn some feta, or some salmon for example. Again warm up before lunch. It’s not everyday and you can stick to your plan which seems important to you.

I’d raise it with the organiser. It’s respectful to serve good healthy food. Crap food will leave everyone on a carb crash in the afternoon and feeling shit.

Seriously. A sausage roll once a month.

All you people answering still as if the OP was genuine. I'm sure you're coming from a thoughtful place but could you at least read the MNHQ post. It's up there. In blue. You can't really miss it if you try very hard.

You’re right, you’re too new to ask them to change what they order (if they all enjoy it) and it wouldn’t be appropriate to eat into the meeting time to sort your own.
when no one knows you such a rigid diet could come across as weird.

So either take something that works with the time you have and suck up once a month cold lunch or eat what everyone else has and accept once a month unhealthy lunch, or skip lunch. I’d probably skip lunch and take healthy snacks to stave off hunger.

<bangs head>

😂

Alice is still managing to post, must be so slim she is squeezing in under the MNHQ front door! Any more of the sausage rolls left, I seem to be trapped in a macro deficit day.

Thanks MNHQ for the added humour too.

Are you always quite rigid/controlling around food? It's not going to undo your entire eating to eat one slice of pizza once a month?

And you might prefer not to have cold lunch but maybe once a month you just will have to? We don't always get one we want, you can't really be so rigid about this when there are plenty of options that will solve the issue. If eating your lunch cold one day per month is such a big issue do you perhaps have deeper issues around food?

I did miss it actually. But thanks for pointing that out.