There is always something to eat at work, cakes, donuts, cookies, bagels and today was no exception. We had red velvet cake for a birthday, I passed on it (yay me). Now I have not spread the word about my weight loss journey but everyone knows because I have been skipping all the junk food and everyone has been really supportive, they don't try and talk me into anything.
So, I am sitting at my desk and my boss-my new boss-comes up to me with these giant chocolate chocolate chip cookies and says "I know you are on a diet, but you have to have one of these they are fantastic, you can have one it won't hurt you". I took one, broke off a fourth and ate it in front of her and yes it was really good, this made her happy. After she left I threw the rest away.
Either what you did, or said something like "I just finished lunch but I'll save it for this afternoon" or "I'll save it for my dessert tonight!" and then thrown it away...with a new boss I probably wouldn't have challenged it or said I wasn't going to eat it.
If my habits lately are any indication I woulda stuffed it in my face eep!
This is going to sound horrible but my boyfriend has juvenile diabetes and so he has a ready made excuse when he wants to turn down food! No one is going to pressure a diabetic to eat anything sugary.
I should be able to say "I'd love to, but I'm allergic to pastries "
Last edited by hotnewspirits; 02-24-2009 at 08:38 PM.
I think I would have said something to the effect of "Thank you so much, they look great, but really, I can't." Or, in answer to it won't hurt you -- in a laughing way I might have said, "Oh, but trust me, it will. Really, I can't have any, but it looks delicious." But of course, this is all easy for me to say, especially since I work from home and never have these office pressures or interpersonal interactions!
You did well; you were caught off guard, you only ate a bit, and you tossed the rest! The thing to be careful of, though, is your new boss developing a habit of forcing food on you; you may find yourself in the awkward position of having to draw the line at some point and asking her to stop. To me, better sooner than later!
Well- I'm not sure what I would have done. What I would do with most people that are food pushers is this. I would tell them that I do not want any. If they insist, I would take it and drop it in the trash. IMO anyone that does that to you is being disrespectful of you. It is presumptuous of another person to assume that they know what will or will not "hurt" you.
With a new boss, I don't know. I would probably tell them first that I am only going to throw it away so they would probably rather give it to someone else.
I had chocolate chip cookies waved under my face at church the other day but I declined immediately "No. Thank you." The person looked surprised that I declined but didn't push so she's still ok. Honestly, I have tasted store bought cookies since starting South Beach and I think they taste pretty horrible now, even if they came from a store's bakery so they aren't nearly as tempting (for me) as everyone seems to think.
Great job on throwing the rest in the trash! If it actually WAS good, I probably would have eaten the whole thing. --- That's why there are no homemade cookies allowed in my house!
Personally, I wouldn't eat carbs like that for--well, you'd probably have to hand me a hundred dollar bill at the same time, and then I'd think about it. Otherwise, no. I would have just said, that is so sweet, thank you, but I can't. YAY for you for only eating 1/4th of it though! My problem is, I can't control myself around carbs so if I had accepted it, I would have shoveled it all in then gone to the break room and eaten the rest of the red velvet cake and whatever else was around...you are far stronger than I...I guess the one good thing is, I know my limitations, so no cookies for me, ever...
I could have probably cracked under pressure and done the same thing. I did actually early in my journey. My boss (as well lol) is always eatting all sorts of junk food and offering it to me. About 15lb into my weight loss he was like these cookies are so good you have to have one and gave me one. I cracked and had a tiny bite of it. Then when he went in the other room I threw the rest of it away.
Just stay strong and dont let that be the breaker point. Somthing alot of us do or have done is look at it like well I already blew my diet so I can just eat everything and anything I want. Its not like that. You've already lost 13lb so obviously you can do it. Just stay on track, tomorrows a new day.
Yes you may have eatten a bite of it, but it still shows a bit of willpower that you didnt eat the whole thing and threw most of it away.
I think you handled it really well, too. You didn't take on much in extra calories/fat, but you also didn't alienate the new boss. I think what the new boss did was lame and sort of passive-aggressive even, but she's the boss, and some amount of "keeping the peace" is probably a worthwhile thing in an office. I also think that, since you went along with it this first time, she won't have a leg to stand on the next time you decline a treat... it's not like you NEVER accept anything, right?
She has actually brought in other stuff that I have turned down, I think the main reason I took the cookie was she was offering it to me personally. jajabee I think you're right, this will make it easier to say no next time.
I have surprised myself with being able to turn down the junk.....I love junk which is why I am where Im at now. It seems to be getting easier to not eat all the snacks and sweets (at least for now), hopefully I can continue. This site has really helped a great deal, reading all the posts from people going thru the same thing is a motivation tool for me.
I think you handled it excellently - I think people see food as a bonding experience, and traditionally it is really important for that. For me, that's a really hard part of eating well, because food really can make you feel good and people wanting to share that with you is a pretty personal thing (which could be why some people are offended when you refuse). But because there are so many "feel good" foods that are high in calories, low in nutrition, and "trigger" foods, and these are often the foods people share (when was the last time someone brought veggies into the office?), it's hard to avoid!
My roommates do much the same as your boss - there's late night ice cream, cookies, fondue, wine and cheese. Not all at once, but I get offered something fairly often! It gives us a chance to sit and catch up, which is hard when there's 5 of us. I do much the same as you did: accept but just eat less. I get the best of both worlds - the social bonding of food, without overeating! It sounds like you did, too
Another "What would you have done" thread
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Honestly, I have tasted store bought cookies since starting South Beach and I think they taste pretty horrible now, even if they came from a store's bakery so they aren't nearly as tempting (for me) as everyone seems to think.
