Work time junk food.

Last year I got a different job, I now work in an office and the availability of sweets is crazy.

When I worked in retail I worked in a sweet shop. When I went to weightwatchers classes and heard the girls talk about how difficult it was working in an office in regards to sweets, I admit, I rolled my eyes. "Try working in a sweet shop" I would say to them, where I was surrounded by sweets every day, constant, present temptation.

Now I know it was hard, I did have problems with it until I realised that it was easier to just not bring money with me to work, enough for lunch and transport, but not for sweets, unless they were Saturday treats.

I am finding it just as hard working in an office, I have tried putting a plan in place, I try to bring in enough to keep me satisfied all day in work, but I do keep some treats in my drawer, in the back where they are out of sight so if I do feel the desire for something I have control knowing the exact pointing instead of having a guess at what is in. And when I do take a treat, I do try to point it with a google search or when I get home, searching on my tracker.
There seems to always be something, birthdays, Friday treats, end of month treats or clients being nice and sending them in.

I like how the new design of the weightwatchers site has tips for what you do with your day (shopping, workplace, home, eating out, travelling and occasions) although to be honest as I'm only back on plan a few weeks I haven't properly explored the site beyond work yet.

Sometimes in the office people bring in their own baked goods. After tasting one item of cake not long after I started I made a promise to myself not to try again, and, bar one occasion, I haven't. This was a really, really easy decision to make because I heard someone voice concerns over kitchen cleanliness. Really, really easy decision to make.

When a colleague brings in something store bought it's obviously easier to point too, I don't check out the label in the building but use etools to have a search for it or something similar.

I've been working in the office for 12 months now and it's taken me until now to really have a plan set in place for work time junk food. So I've decided to share with you.

1. If you must munch something, make it something you like, don't give the extra points for something that is just okay.
2. Track it there and then, if you can't, then give a rough guess. I always think worst case scenario and go for the most points it could possibly be.
3. Keep low point treats you like in an easy place to get. 
4. Sit away from the cake table, I'm lucky now in that my seat recently s one of the furthest from the naughty table.
5. Rethink the reasoning behind the sweets, 
• someone brings in a cake because they don't want to have it in the house, why should I eat it if you don't want it?
• we've worked hard this week, we deserve it. I heard once you shouldn't reward yourself with food, you are a person, you are not a dog. That sticks with me a lot when people try to say you deserve it.
6. There is always someone who tries to sabotage, perhaps not intentionally, but there always is. No matter what job I have been in I have one and I find there's different ways to handle each.
•  explain you're cutting down and explain that when you want to use extra points, what you want them for, for example going out for dinner, having a drink later, baking at home.
• take it for later, if it's a bar of chocolate or biscuit it's easy kept until you go home or for another day when you do have the points free. Or give it away to a family member?

For the most part, that's what I do. I wasn't pointing when I took these pictures and I don't have many pictures because the ladies I work with wouldn't get their heads around why I do it haha.

Tesco cupcake, was okay. Not the greatest.

I've found the most frustrating part of junk food in the office is the questions that come when you say no thank you. Offence comes from all sides when you don't want to offend anyone, you just don't want the bun. Just be firm. You are no walk-over.

I buy these scones from the canteen, the macaroon is made by me.

I buy these scones from the canteen, but I know they're not actually baked on site, they are brought in frozen and then popped in the oven for a few minutes. Because they are mass produced and brand name I can find them on etools and point them. Woo.
The macaroon in the picture is one of mine so I know two of them are 1propoint. Yum yum.

Easter treats

My favourite type of office treat is the wrapped ones, I adore twirls and because they are brand names I can point them and eat happily with no guilt. Wins all around!

tiny, tiny little cookies, extremely moreish and impossible to point.

If I do buckle, and I have, not only at work this last few weeks I am not beating myself up the way I used to. I am forgiving myself and moving on. And it's working, because I roughly point what I eat and keep working at it and so far so good, the weight is coming off again.