Dealing with temptation at work page

[HERC0]

Hi all!

I'm trying to stick to Primal as much as I can, but I'm really struggling at work. Nearly every single day there are things like muffins, brownies, cake and chocolate brought in and as I am an auditor working out at clients all the time, they are literally at arms reach all the time as we will be designated a small room to work in throughout the duration of the audit.

I have always been really bad at having to eat food when it's there, like at home if I know there's a 'treat' in the cupboard I have to go and eat it, I can't leave it for later, or tomorrow... Which is why I just don't buy junk! But unfortunately I can't stop other people at work bringing it in in bulk and having it sitting staring at me all week.

It's not like I don't know it's bad for me, or that if I eat too much of it I'll feel crappy and bloated, but I just can't say no!

Any help and advice would be greatly appreciated.

Thank you!

[RichMahogany]

Stop going to work. It's not primal at all.

[notlupus]

Keep an emergency backup in your bag. Maybe some Larabars or something that'll be just enough sweet without all the problems of the doughnut.

[whitebear]

Stop going to work. It's not primal at all.

This is how I feel but just can't seem to convince my wife.

[heatseeker]

This sounds really mean, but when I worked in an office and was tempted by baked goods all the time, what worked for me was just looking at my coworkers who did eat the treats every day. I don't judge them for giving in and eating the sweets--working in an office is mind-numbing--but I didn't want to look like them, and it was a powerful motivator to stay away from the bad stuff.

[sbhikes]

Tell yourself you'll go get some muffins or cookies after you read a couple more posts on MDA or reddit. Repeat.

[itchy166]

If you ever need a reminder of what NOT to eat, a quick look around the office is all you need. Tons of examples

[namelesswonder]

Being well-prepared is what stops me. I make sure to eat a good breakfast, and for a while, I would keep some snacks at my desk. Sometimes that meant I overate almonds or whatever it was, but it got my through the irresistible cravings period. Now I can walk past with no issue.

[serenity]

I have this problem at work too. Even the vending machine used to bother me, not to mention all the free crap people leave in the kitchen. What has really helped me is that I've created two strict rules for myself. (1) Absolutely no wheat, and (2) no high-fructose corn syrup. That takes care of most of the crap that people bring to work. I stick to (1) more strictly than I stick to (2). I try to stick to rule (1) 100% of the time and try to stick to rule (2) 95% of the time. (I also have an absolutely no GMO corn rule, but that's getting too complicated.) I tell myself that if I can't even stick to one rule (no wheat), then I should probably just jump out a window. This has worked very well for me because I find that most of the crap in the world is made of wheat. I also used to have a lot of trouble not eating bread when I eat out (especially if it's really good bread), but I no longer have that problem. Okay...so I still want to eat the bread, but I just tell myself that I need to be able to stick to the one rule, and I'm able to ignore the bread and just eat some butter with my knife.

So if you make "no wheat" your one rule, it may help you ignore the treats at work. Recently, someone at work brought like five boxes of Girl Scout cookies and left them in the kitchen. I LOVE Girl Scout cookies, especially those caramel delights and thin mints, but, guess what, I didn't have any. Not a single one.

I also keep a bar of dark chocolate at work for the times when I'm struck with an irresistable urge to consume something sweet. One square of dark chocolate usually takes care of the craving.

[magicmerl]

Being well-prepared is what stops me. I make sure to eat a good breakfast, and for a while, I would keep some snacks at my desk. Sometimes that meant I overate almonds or whatever it was, but it got my through the irresistible cravings period. Now I can walk past with no issue.

Everything in this for me too.

One extra thing you can do is bring some chewing gum, and have a piece of that instead of food if you feel peckish.