I would of been annoyed too! I remember when I was on ww's and I would have my special food to be on plan and my bf would eat his junk plus my healthy food :/ I was not a happy camper at all lol!

If your kids or whoever are gobbling up stuff you spent time prepping, it's be pretty cheap (and easier than trying to convince your brother that it's not helpful for him to eat three of your meals at once! I can sympathize with this) to buy a dorm-size fridge and keep it in your closet! Do whatever you have to do : )

OP, I know a ton of effort goes in to meticulously planning your meals so they come out "on plan". I would have been very bothered by this, too. It doesn't matter that they were kids or adults, I would have been bothered just the same, because someone did something that hurt me and I had to figure a way around it.

Being bothered or upset doesn't translate to actions automatically. For people saying "they are just kids", that does not make the original poster's day any easier to deal with once the meal plan has been thrown off.

Yes, there are lots of actions she can take to prevent it in the future, but I think she really wanted to vent. She is perfectly justified in being upset. It's not like she's browbeating the children... she's just here, expressing her feelings. I don't see an "out of proportion" response to the situation at all.


Stolen food strikes a nerve with me. I have had lunches stolen at work, on days where I did not have a long enough lunch break to go out and buy a replacement, even if it were unhealthy... I just had to go without. As infuriating as it is when a kid does it, when it's a "supposed" adult coworker... I was angry beyond belief!!

I don't put my food in a community fridge anymore. I use a ton of ice-packs and an insulated, soft-side bag to keep it cool on my desk until lunchtime. Since it sounds like food theft and eating of off-limits foods is not uncommon in that household, you may consider this. Bring extra ice-packs to freeze in your friend's freezer overnight, then change out the ice-packs in your bag before you go. No risk of them eating those blue-goo Icepacks, I hope... :D

Telorida I do the same thing. I refuse to use the community fridges at any job I've had. a small cooler with ice-packs ensures that my food is always with me and I don't have to worry about someone taking it. While I thought about investing in a small fridge for my classroom, I opted to buy a larger cooler on clearance for the time being.

I may be a little paranoid, but when I was more naive and trusting I had money stolen out of my bag in the work break room. After that I locked my bag up in my car.

While it is annoying.. i'd say pick your battles.. or a lock for your lunch bag :-)

I honestly don't think it's that big a transgression, though I can empathize with the OP's momentary annoyance. If my own kids had taken a guest's granola bar I would have done nothing more than give them a casual reprimand accompanied by explanation.

F.

LOL. I also have to admit that it's made me laugh how a venting thread has brought out such a controversy of different opinions. It's amazing what strikes people's interest so that they'll respond so strongly. Good job on that one. :)

Here's my two cents. Having written many venting posts on this site I could see this for what it was. I spend so much time meticulously managing my meal plan and ever little detail about what I eat over the course of a week. I'm also not good with change. So if I had someone swipe something out of my planned lunch I would be more irritated than someone else who just threw their lunch together. This is hard work. And we're working hard not to deviate from our plans. But when an outside party throws it off (no matter how small) it can ruin your day. I'm totally with you there. Vent away. That's what this site is for. Hopefully it helped you get out some of your frustration so that you could move on with your day. :)