Food Confessional
 

I'm stuck here at work because of the snowy weather and because I work at a residential treatment facility they serve 3 meals a day and have vending machines.

As far as "bad" :devil: carbs I have had:
Baked potato
Dinner Roll
A smore
A package of chocolate Zingers from the vending machine
and am currently eating a mixture of Cheez Its and pretzels.

My solution is to go back to SB the minute I get home and simply add 2 days to Phase 1. Any thoughts?

Wow...definitely some "bad" carbs there. I think when we start SBD we all find ourselves in a situation where we get "stuck" without OP foods, and for you, it seems, with no avenue to get something healthy.

I'm going to leave the suggestions regarding P1 to the more seasoned beachers. Now that you've found yourself in this position, I would suggest that you put an emergency kit together to have with you at work. In my mind, you would want to have something you could stash in your desk and only use if and when this situation comes up again.

Of course, food selection would broaden once you are on P2, but lots of things would be better than what you got stuck with. I also figure that in your situation, anything perishable would not be an option.

Items I might choose; a can of soup (finding the best SB friendly), V-8, canned green beans or other vegetable, can of tuna, nuts...perhaps an individually packaged protein drink. I'm sure others will have suggestions.

Canned tuna doesn't sound super appetizing, but I figure I could eat anything for one night to stay OP. I think one of the most important parts of any "diet" is planning, and I'm sure you know that by now.

Jump back OP and start planning for the next time.

Best wishes!

On plan snacks that do not have to be refrigerated can be nuts. Personally, although I do eat 15 almonds a day, I find nuts frustrating because I always want more and if more were available, I would eat them. I have to literally count out the 15 nuts to take with me to work and leave the rest home.

Do you have access to a fridge at work? Or, is it possible to buy one of those tiny fridges that can go on a desk? If you can refrigerate, bring things you like to eat - for me it would be hard boiled eggs, whipped cottage cheese with eggplant caponata and hot sauce, roll ups with half sour pickles, non fat plain greek yogurt or tzaziki. I find if I eat something heavy with protein (i.e. any of the above) the craving for carbs/sweets go away. What I would not recommend is having a glass of milk on its own with nothing else. For me anyway, that is a trigger.

You can do it!:hug:

I suggest getting an insulated lunch bag with an ice pack to take your food to work with you. That way you can pack raw veggies with either hummus or ranch dressing for dipping, string cheese, SF FF yogurt that you could flavor yourself, lowfat luncheon meat cubes, or hard boiled eggs. Do you have a microwave readily available to use? You could take vegetable or bean soup along with you to help curb those munchies, too.

To keep things cold without a fridge or cooler, freeze water or a V8. Works fine and you can drink it later.

I love the suggestions about packing an emergency stash and bringing your lunch to and from work, etc. I do those things and it's helped tremendously. You're in an unusual situation right now though and even with my stash I'm not sure I could stay totally Phase 1 if I had to be away from home for more than 1 or 2 meals.

However, if they serve 3 meals a day where you work I'm thinking there were/are probably better choices available to you than S'mores, Zingers, Cheez Its and pretzels.... I think you just fell into the trap I've been struggling with for years. "Life is lousy right now so I'll make myself feel better by eating junk food."

If I were in your situation I'd probably just consider this a 'practice run' and start a clean phase 1 when I finally got to go home.

I hope your weather clears up soon!

I so understand that "Life is lousy right now so I'll make myself feel better by eating...." that is so how I used to live my life.

I think adding a few days to Phase 1 is a great idea...I'm no expert but I tried to start right after Christmas and we had one more family gathering and I caved when my mother in law brought out the Ritz pie, pecan pie, etc...But I just decided that I wasn't quitting because of one bad day and I'm staying on Phase 1 a little longer b/c of that.

Yeah, I think there are a lot of us in that club.

Nicole, why wait until you get home? That only gives us the "excuse" we need to eat more off plan foods.

If they serve 3 meals a day, can you ask for just a protein and double helping of veggies? Don't even get the bread or dessert (unless it's SF Jello).

IMHO - if I am so prone to binge on the bad foods, it means I am not mentally ready to change my lifestyle. I've struggled with this all my life. I used to binge eat in SECRET even.

Get back on the horse now. Throw it all out and definitely pack an emergency kit or two. Like Ruth said, when I worked where there was no fridge, I froze a bottle of water, tied it up in a separate grocery bag and then double bagged my snacks on top of the water so that I could keep it on the floor at my desk. Works like a charm!

:hug:

I agree with other about the 3 meals a day food. Eat that rather than the vending machine crap. Surely baked potatoes and dinner rolls are better than Zingers & Cheez-Its. I too would ask the kitchen for extra servings of veggies. I work in a hospital and have been stuck for days. We always have skim milk, veggies, cheese, protein foods, etc.