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A space to talk openly about weight loss journeys and challenges. Mumsnet hasn't checked the qualifications of anyone posting here. You may wish to speak to a medical professional before starting any diet.

Original poster

Dealing with being cold and hunry

56 replies

Gwenhwyfar · 11/11/2018 10:55

My diet will be going OK and then I'll feel cold and/or hungry and go for the stodge at the work canteen. I always tell myself it'll be fine as I'll have something light for dinner, but this doesn't work obviously.
How can I resist this kind of food when I'm cold?
I can't control the temperature in the office and I'm already wearing as many layers as I can get away with.

OP posts:
JoyceTempleSavage · 11/11/2018 20:40

Eat some stodge and leave the rest

Can you get more veggies with it

Sneak a fanheater under your desk

Ontopofthesunset · 11/11/2018 20:41

Could you choose the stodge and just eat half of it? Or is that too difficult when you're hungry? I think I'd go for what I wanted and then divide the portion in half, eating really slowly and checking how full I was after each mouthful.

LaurieFairyCake · 11/11/2018 20:42

I also like tea but cuppa soups definitely made me eat and crave less stodge

Fan heater under desk is a fab idea!

Original poster
Gwenhwyfar · 11/11/2018 20:44

Joyce - you have to pay separately for the veggies. Last week I said enough at one point, but the woman insisted on serving me more as she was finishing that particular dish.

Ontop - yes, I think leaving some would be difficult, but is maybe an option. Feels wasteful, but there we go.
I might try asking for a small portion to begin with.

OP posts:
RedDeadRoach · 11/11/2018 23:06

Take a blanket and a hot water bottle?

You need to decide what you want more, to eat a huge pile of stodge to "warm you up or to lose weight. The warming you up thing sounds like an excuse.

brighton19 · 11/11/2018 23:31

I was also going to suggest hot water bottle or similar for the cold. As far as weight loss / food choices go, It's going to sound harsh but all the stuff about being cold sounds like excuse making to me. You know that eating huge portions of lasagne etc is not going to assist with weight loss! You must surely acknowledge that any hot meal (soup etc) is going to have the same impact on your temperature. It seems that you need to break the association between enduring a hardship (being cold / at work) and deserving a 'treat' / making yourself 'feel better'. That is an unhealthy way to look at food choices. Maybe if you recognise this dynamic you'll be better able to change it.

GemmeFatale · 12/11/2018 00:46

I think I’d build the stodge into my plan for the day if I could. So it’s not failing to chose it because you have a lovely light supper planned. Does that work at all?

SilverDoe · 12/11/2018 00:54

I’ve seen people say similar on the weight loss Reddit.

The key is to avoid getting cold in the first place. You say you wear clothes but you need to up your warmth game. Be too hot if anything. Blanket, layers, big cardigan, walking around the office every half hour or so. You need to eliminate this as an issue or you won’t lose weight. Also, no need to be rude toward helpful suggestions - the poster mentioning snacks is probably trying to suggest general ways to avoid craving a big stodgy meal at lunch time - one of which is to have healthy snacks available.

halfwitpicker · 12/11/2018 01:05

New job?

MeVoila · 12/11/2018 07:24

Second the oil filled radiator under the desk. Much prefer them to fan heaters which are noisy, expensive to run and dry my eyes out.

Original poster
Gwenhwyfar · 12/11/2018 08:07

" So it’s not failing to chose it because you have a lovely light supper planned. Does that work at all?"

No. It's still too many calories over all. By eating like that I can maintain but not lose. I've learnt that to lose weight the way I want to (leaving the weekends for eating more or less what I want) every meal during the week has to be low calorie.

OP posts:
Original poster
Gwenhwyfar · 12/11/2018 08:10

"Also, no need to be rude toward helpful suggestions"

I wasn't rude about helpful suggestions. I did reject an unhelpful one, which was eating high calorie snacks. I really don't see those graze things as positive things at all.

I can't up my warmth game. I'm already wearing as many layers as I can get away with. A blanket would just fall off my legs and heaters aren't allowed, though I will consider them for December/Jan when it gets even colder.

I had thought of a hot water bottle, but I think that will just give me a sweaty back or something. It's an option if things get worse.

OP posts:
Original poster
Gwenhwyfar · 12/11/2018 08:11

"It seems that you need to break the association between enduring a hardship (being cold / at work) and deserving a 'treat' / making yourself 'feel better'. That is an unhealthy way to look at food choices. Maybe if you recognise this dynamic you'll be better able to change it."

Yes, maybe this is it.

OP posts:
Original poster
Gwenhwyfar · 12/11/2018 08:35

halfwit - new job could backfire. I used to work somewhere even colder than where I am now!
I'd be restricted to small organisations as well and small offices with no aircon or 'ventilation'.

OP posts:
TheWiseWomansFear · 12/11/2018 09:06

Hot soup is probs best - you can track the calories and it warms you up. M&S do nice ones

TheWiseWomansFear · 12/11/2018 09:10

You don't sound like you want to fix the problem though... every solution has been hit with a no.

We can't say 'Have the stodgy food and then drink this magic potion that makes it 0 calories.'

You either make food to take in or buy a healthier option. Those are the choices

Babyg1995 · 12/11/2018 09:45

Just eat the stodge because you have had loads of fantastic advice but have rejected nearly all of them I don't think your hearts in it if it was you would be able to resist.

adaisy1394 · 12/11/2018 10:12

I think you need to accept you wont change if you don't make changes OP, there isn't a solution if you have excuses not to try any of them. There isn't a solution that involves eating stodge and losing weight.

I bring pre made soup to work, I use my lunch break to get out for a 30 min power walk then eat the soup at my desk in a mug to warm me up, nice brisk walk and nice cosy soup. Best lunchtime possible really, work colleagues often tag along too.

EssentialHummus · 12/11/2018 10:29

I've posted before OP, but fwiw in you're shoes I'd - get another layer of thermals on if you're still chilly (Lidl have them coming up in a sale, otherwise Uniqlo do great ones)

  • Find some way of not having stodge at lunch: have a giant pile of veg or hot soup.
  • Have a treat of low cal hot chocolate, and then herbal teas etc.

I get it - I had six months of misery on secondment in a cold basement office during winter, where the only high point of my day was the hour's lunch. But something has to give if you want to lose weight. I currently do 5:2/intermittent fasting and find it easier, because I only have to exercise that much restraint on two days a week, rather than every day.

brighton19 · 12/11/2018 10:38

It's so hard op, I can sympathise. I have been pg or bf since early 2016 now and unsurprisingly I have some weight to lose. I know that giving up / significantly cutting down sugar / stodge is what I need to do. For me it's not the cold office but the two babies under 2, sleepless nights etc etc that leave me feeling I 'deserve' something. What I want for myself is to not want the sugary / processed / carb heavy / stodgy whatever. I don't want to feel like I'm living in a constant state of denying myself 'treats'. I think I'm halfway there. There are some things which others would probably view as a treat which genuinely don't feel like a treat to me. You couldn't pay me to eat a McDonald's or a KFC for instance. It's about retraining your brain in terms of what it views as a treat. Unfortunately in our culture food, and generally the unhealthy kind, seems to be the strongest link to 'treats'. Thinking about all this has left me questioning where my attitudes came from and trying my best to break the pattern for my dd. I hope I can give her the gift of not associating sugar and stodge with reward. It's not at all easy.

Original poster
Gwenhwyfar · 12/11/2018 20:06

Thanks to those who are sympathetic!
It wasn't cold in the office today so I was able to choose a lighter lunch and enjoy it.
I think it also helped that I'm only slightly tired, whereas I had quite a lot of accumulated tiredness last week. I'm going to try to make this coming week a better one.

OP posts:
SilverDoe · 12/11/2018 21:18

What I want for myself is to not want the sugary / processed / carb heavy / stodgy whatever. I don't want to feel like I'm living in a constant state of denying myself 'treats'.

Absolutely this. The only thing that has shifted my weight is actively not being bothered any longer about those kinds of foods. And unfortunately for me at least, the only way I’ve had success with that is to cut out sugar and refined carbs completely - you will be surprised though at how quickly your taste buds change and if you go back to that highly sweetened and refined food you may find it really didn’t taste as good as you thought it did!

aintnothinbutagstring · 13/11/2018 11:34

I hear ya, I've lost a stone, still another to go and am bloody freezing all the time. At work I wear a thermal vest, t-shirt, fleece and gilet! Can only second the suggestion of hot drinks/soups. Nothing wrong with having a hot lunch but maybe ask for a smaller portion. If you could eat maybe eggs for breakfast, I find they keep me going for ages.

thefirstmrsdewinter · 13/11/2018 12:19

Op how's your thyroid? When I was diagnosed with an underactive thyroid I had raging carb cravings and felt cold, tired and depressed.