Eating Addiction - New Job = JUNK FOOD Nightmare!

g

Hi Everyone - its been a long time since I've been here... and a lot has happened.  Lots of good stuff - I finished my master's degree in counseling, passed my national exam, and was offered a job at my internship.  This is the career I've wanted, and will retire to.  And, some not so good things... I lost one of my closest friends of 30 years (and had to handle all of the arrangements... including the decision to remove him from life support), my dad passed away rather unexpectedly, and became estranged from my sister (over my dad's estate, of course.)

So... about my new job - I love it... except that they eat here ALL of the time, and it is always heavy carbs and sugar stuff... there is candy in EVERY office (I am talking about bowls of CHOCOLATES.. the good stuff!)  Sugar and carbs are my triggers; especially sugar.  I thought that I had dealt with, and resolved, this issue.  Now I find that I am grabbing stuff when I enter their offices.  And, yes, I have to go into their offices for charts, consults, paperwork, etc.  I am grabbing a piece of this and a bite of that, and when I am in the office on my evening shift, I sometimes don't stop at just a bite.  I know the food is there, and I am so obsessed with it being in our office, that I can hardly focus on what I am doing.  I've tried locking the other offices, but I know where the pass key is, so that isn't helping.  It has been 3 years since my RNY.  I have been at this company 10 months, and have gained 15 pounds.  I thought that I had dealt with these issues, but what I realize, is that I have just been avoiding them.  In my previous job, we agreed that we wouldn't bring junk into the office, and we didn't.  I am scared, upset, and shrinking back into the self-loathing that I have been free of for years.  I would like to hear from those of you with genuine food addictions... please share with mw some things that you do to help you.

Thanks so much

Hi I have been in this situation. I work for a client that is known ALL over the world. The company that is KING of beverages and snacks. We had a team of like 50 people to working on this project. The client was onsite. so if it wasn't made by this company it was not allowed in the room where the team was working. I was only in the room about 2 months and gained 10 pounds. This was before my RNY so control was even harder for me. I decided to ask if they could bring in healthier snacks. so they did. They brought in granola bars and a few other healthy options. Thank goodness I was moved off that team. just shortly after that I don't know that I could handle it.

Now I am still working for the same client but they are not onsite and still like you said people have snacks and candies at their desk just a few feet away from where I sit. I have not yet returned to work. I am in my 5th week and am afraid to eat ANYTHING with sugar in it. I am having a hard time drinking water and eating... I don't crave it at all. But when the time comes I know at some point I will be tempted and those craving may come back strong. I have already put myself in a mindset that I will make sure to make a valiant effort to make better choices when grabbing a snack. and think about why I am grabbing it? Is it simply because I'm bored and its habit??? I have binged so much in my past simply because of boredom too. But as I was saying... Its all in out choices and thinking before grabbing... I also think eating at your desk while working is not good either. I did this before and now I am going to make sure I at least take 30 minutes away from my desk to sit down and enjoy my meal. When you are working and eating your not paying attention to your eating. Your mind is focused on your work. We need to learn to hear our body when we are eating and for some like me I really need to pay attention to my body. AND yes this is ALL so much easier said than done... The struggle with food is very real and many people deal with it every day or don't and end up gaining weight. I don't want to be the latter so I will try to stay focused on me and my needs (when I return to work). We have to be aware of what we are doing it when we do it. Like grabbing a candy... If you grab a candy and take it back to your desk and before you eat it realize WHY did I grab this? You don't have to eat it! Throw it away! Its baby steps and staying focused will be hard at first but you have to retrain your choice making skills.

I hope this helps you. I know it helped me typing it all out. Make you see your food addiction is more clear when you put in black and white.

Best wishes to you :)

I do not eat at work, I bring no money, I make sure I have nothing with me so that I can get food.  My company has a breakfast day once a week, I allow myself some fruit, typically a banana.  You just have to be hard on yourself and say no.  I don't eat in front of my co-workers, they all think I am amazing for my self control, but what they don't know is how quickly I can spiral out of control if I allow myself.  It is ******g hard.  I know it.  I want to eat candy and things my co-workers bring in, but I can't/won't/don't.  I eat the meals I have complete control over so I know what I am eating.  Believe me candy and chocolate is my passion and I watch one of my co-workers eat chocolate kisses all day long, but I refuse to ruin all this hard work I have been maintaining for nine years so I don't allow myself even one. 

Good Luck!

I am sorry what you have gone through with your friends and family. It is very hard to lose loved ones who we truly care about. I think maybe it might be a good time to talk to the people you work with and tell them what you are going through.

We have to change but we do need support. You have gained 15 pounds and you see that you have which is a good thing it could be 50 pounds.It might be a good time to go to a support group.

I know I have a food addiction.I will abuse myself with it.I have my own business with my husband and I buy him dark chocolate and he eats three hershey kisses everyday he is only a 160 pounds. I had my hands on the bag yesterday and I had to talk myself out of taking one. I tried to figure out the carbs and calories for one kiss. I then went out of his office. I know if I start it will be never ending.

Don't start self loathing you know that is one of the worst things you can do.Maybe you can look at the good that you do so you don't focus on all of the negative.

Best of luck to you.

20 calories, 3 Carbs, 2 Sugar, 1 Fat

Can you stop at one?

No - I can't stop at one... it's an addiction... just like being an alcoholic... except, I have to manage my addiction... I can't just abstain from eating... That is why I am looking for input from those who understand addiction...

Nope that is why I left his office.I didn't touch one.I just know it isn't worth it.

If I eat candy, chips, cookies, etc, I record them in My Fitness Pal.  They get counted as part of my daily totals and I know what I ate, when and why.  I also add a note to remind me of how I felt when I was eating it.  It was mindless eating that got me fat enough to need weight loss surgery.  I never want to go back to eating and not being aware of or responsible for what I ate, how many calories it had  and how I felt when I was eating it.

It did help me for a while to cut up a Quest bar and keep bite sized pieces with me for when I was tempted to snack.

Just for what its worth, most people have about a 20 pound regain between years 2 and 3.

I thought it was end of malabsorption and still think that was a lot of it for me, but I see the same thing happening with the VSG people and they never had malabsorption to start with.  My surgeon says it is because the body is smart enough to realize that it had been starved and figures out how to gain weight again.  He also says it has to do with people just getting so bored with their eating plan and eating like they did before.

Some people say that they started eating the wrong things or never really stuck to their plan and it just caught up with them by year three.  Just saying that the weight gain might have happened, new job or not.

I work hard to control it and have two things that help me.  I weigh myself every morning.  I stay aware of everything that goes into my mouth.

Doctor said 10% bounce was normal... which is what happened to me... I gained about 8 pounds (I lost 88) from my lowest at around the beginning of my second year.  I might even be able to buy the bounce thing if I didn't know that I was doing things (snacking, bites and nibbles) of things I haven't eaten in 3 years...