Pizza in the conference room...argh!

I let myself go this weekend. I didn't do anything drastic, but there was butter, and calories were not counted.

This morning I made myself breakfast and lunch to bring to work. I weighed out everything so that I can recover from my weekend and start what's left of the week on the right foot.

I forgot that at noon the whole department was having a "get to know you" lunch with our newest member. This involved bringing in about seven large pizzas and a huge tray of Caesar salad (for 16 people). I didn't eat any of the brought-in lunch, although I sat with everyone and chit-chatted for an hour.

Immediately after the group broke up, I went for a 40 minute walk outside.

As expected, when I returned I found a ton of pizza left over...all just sitting in boxes in the conference room. Every time I walk by (to fill my water glass), I see the nearly whole pizzas beckoning to me. But I'm keeping it together, only an hour or two left before I head out, and I still have some low-cal snacks to fall back on if I'm suddenly overwhelmed.

My biggest concern at this point is what's going to happen as I leave. I tend to be one of the last people here, and I usually take it upon myself to tidy up after this sort of thing. Add to that the idea of so much wasted food, and I start to worry that I'm going to break down and either just shove a room-temperature slice in my face, or grab a couple of slices to take home.

Just got to keep it together for a couple more hours...

You've already made it this far, there's not turning back. 

You have no idea how close it was. 

I was really glad that one of my co-workers dealt with all the pizza and got it out of the conference room. But on the way out the door I stopped in the kitchen area to throw some things away, and there on the table were two boxes full of pizza. 

I literally was reaching for a slice and almost had my hand on it, when I realized that breaking down and eating the pizza meant my will power was non-existent. 

Then, as I walked away, I reminded myself that I've had so much pizza in my life, it's not like I don't know exactly how it tastes, and more importantly, it's not like pizza is that hard to come by.

You know, it's a real shame that workplaces in North America equate high-fat, low-nutrition food with a good time.  I find that most of the people at my workplace over the age of 30 are overweight or just plain fat. There is a lean minority - maybe 6 or 7 employees -- who are devoted marathoners, otherwise, we are mainly fat foodies.

I think it was WIRED magazine that recently (within the past few years) published a mapping diagram which showed that if you hang around with overweight/fat people, you are more likely yourself to become fat, because the social stigma associated with it decreases.  I get that - it's the same with smoking - in Europe, it's more acceptable, so more people do it. 

We work long hours at screens and then, we "reward" ourselves with tasty hot food ordered in from restaurants.  It feels a bit lonely and ... well... sometimes, a bit self-righteous to resist the temptation to join in eat the crap that smells great, tastes yummy.

So you are a hero if you can resist and live to fight another day.  One thing that helps me is that I try (hard) to not look at the food (the aromas are another matter).  I try instead to focus on connecting with the people, chatting and visiting and introducing myself.  It's an effort, I have to say.  If it's a business meeting or a training session, I try to focus on the content and forget the food.  Another strategy is to eat something right before - even if it is only a banana.  Bananas are very good for helping a person feel full and raising blood sugar and potassium. 

Finally, I try to think about treats that I enjoy more that I'm "saving" up to eat later - for instance, a nice glass of red wine with dinner - or a celebration planned with friends on the weekend.  I tell myself that resisting now earns me the right to enjoy that feast fully - including butter and bagette - if I wish it so!

Good luck with your efforts.  I know that reading your post will stay with me and help me resist, just knowing another CC member deals with this issue too.

Best of luck!

Fiddlehead50

I worked at a place that seemingly always had donuts around all of the time.  Then they would make you attend mandatory work function/parties 1-2 times a month, where it was all bar food and beer. 

There is a certain pressure I feel, to not come across as being too "elite" if you will, like sometimes you have to grab that occassional beer, slice of pizza, just to fit in.  I hated it.  It was one of many factors in leaving that place. 

The older I get, the more people seem resigned to just give up; especially once they're married. 

Respect the body you've been given. 

I love that...respect the body! 

Workplace temptations are hard.  Bravo to you original poster on being able to keep it together.  Where I work they bring in fresh hot muffins every thursday....it is a struggle to resist.  I have come to the conclusion that someone else needs to keep them in their office, not me.  It helps not having to smell them!

Think how good you will feel and how proud you will be with yourself when you don't eat the pizza. I hate all the bad food that comes into the work place and am finding over the years it is getting easier and easier to resist. I know you will make the right choice and feel great because of it.