The Office Food Police

My coworkers think I'm very weird, food-wise. I eat oatmeal at work every day and they just think it's an odd choice for work...I guess they consider it kind of an "at home" breakfast or something. I also rarely snack at work because we aren't allowed to eat in the lab.

I often sit in the hospital hallway and read over the 'lunch hour', and I'm sure other workers thought it odd. One day there was a 'Code Blue' two flights up in one of the clinics and I because of where I was reading I was able to respond in TWO minutes with a successful outcome! No one ever questioned my 'odd' behavior again. :-)

ehh...dont work.
But I don get the "word" from people when I eat. It difficult feeling ashamed to look at hostess cakes. I never eat those things when people are around.

When I am working full time my eating habits suffer- severely.

-J. Kaiser

I have to admit, I'm very fortunate. Eating at your desk for a short period of time is discourage. They want to see the employees leave the cubicals and socialize at lunch.

I've had a few people comment on the amount of veggies and fruits I eat but nothing mean. Most respect what others eat. The people who get teased about eating are the ones going to McD's when so many other heatly options are available.

Well, nobody says anything to me cause I'm the boss, hehe. The people who work here often bring snacks to eat at their desks - sandwiches, yogurt, fruit, chips, whatever, so I think I encourage a kind of "eat freely" office. Curiously enough, we have a cookie jar and a candy dish and nobody who works here will touch either, ever. We also have an espresso machine, instant coffee, and a variety of teas, and I'm the only one who touches any of those. The workers either drink water, or they bring soda/ice tea from the store or from home. Now, any time a client comes in, they go straight to the candy dish and cookie jar and dig in.

I'd never hire someone who looks like they are "extremely disciplined" in their eating, and thus have bones protuding. I'd think that person would be low energy. And if given a choice between 2 equal candidates, one slightly out of shape and one who looks super buff, I have to say I'd go with the slightly out of shape one. My reasoning for that is that if I needed someone to stay late in an emergency, the super buff candidate would probably refuse so as not to miss a workout.

Jan:

But isn't the super buff guy a superior hire because he'll do a better job when he's in the office?

I think the ultimate reason people eat junk foods at desks is because the office hours are too long and more people are working two jobs...Bad thing, because two jobs = a double whammy on your health.

perhaps we should be gatherers-hunters after all.

I try to bring healthy food to work. I don't care what people think - as long as I'm doing my job.

I work in the PICU at a Childrens Hospital and there is always un-healthy food around. cakes,cookies, chips, dips etc.... and to top it all off... I work night shift and the cafeteria opens at 1:00 am for 2 hours and all they serve is chicken fingers and fries with the occasional leftover "cream of dayshift leftovers" SOUP....There are prepared salads but they are not appetizing nor fresh looking. It has been a challange trying to eat healthy.

My job is great for weight loss cause I can't eat at my desk and don't get a break! 8 hours without eating, it really helps!

Fitness Wannabe - I said 2 equal candidates, so no, I have no reason to believe he/she would do a better job while in the office. The work is not health/nutrition/exercise related, so if anything, he/she would do a worst job cause it is not in an area he/she is passionate about. I'd believe that much like a new parent is distracted by the demanding baby schedule, that Mr/Ms Fitness would be distracted by his/her quest for physical perfection. At least with the new parent, it would pass after a while.

I think work can be a positive influence on eating for a couple of reasons. First of all, I plan my snacks and meals that I have to eat at work and don't take anything else to eat, therefore I only eat what I plan to eat. At home its a lot easier to graze and eat more than planned. Secondly, many of my coworkers share my weight loss and healthy eating goals, so we support each other in making healthy choices. Like any situation, you can make the best out of it, or use it as an excuse! (By the way, I work in a hospital where the food choices in the cafeteria on the whole are pretty atrocious-I have not bought my lunch since I started working here!)

I worked a professional job for three years where, once a year, we would sit down with our immediate supervisor and set goals for the year. Well, in our office, one of our highest achievers also weighed in at 300 lbs, minimum (he probably weighed more, I have no idea). The thing is, the fat didn't slow him down. He was always there (we worked with kids) at all events, the first to arrive, the last to leave. All of the people we worked with, both professional and volunteer, loved him. His numbers and goals were always off the charts.

Well, one year, his supervisor made weight-loss one of his yearly goals. He was to reach 150 lbs or lose his job. (no, he didn't take it to court, although he would have had an open-shut case) He lost the weight. Worked hard, ate nothing but carrots and lettuce and whatever. And got MEAN. Absolutely "I-hate-everybody-stay-away-from-me" MEAN. His numbers dropped. He missed almost every other goal that year. He looked great, but nobody wanted to be around him.

The following year, his supervisor moved on to a different state (same company), and he gained all the weight back, and along with it, his sunny personality.

Now, I'm not saying he should be 300+ lbs, but I AM saying that your eating habits should have NOTHING to do with your job. Unless your eating habits are interfering with the workplace (like if you eat nothing but garlic sandwiches and the smell is knocking people over), your company should have no say in it whatsoever, except to make rules like, "food allowed in lunchroom". That type of rule I have no problem with.

I think I'd be really offended if I was discriminated against on the basis of physical fitness. I already think that I am judged differently than my coworkers because I have no kids. My boss EXPECTS them to call in sick/absent at least once every 2 weeks for some kid related thing. Even though my fitness habit is my passion, I don't let it get in the way of work. I think that's how most people feel. Work is work; what you do in your free time is your business and ONLY your business.

Spectra, my assistant is pretty fit - clearly someone who works out for a couple hours a day. I'd only discriminate if the person looked like they were ready to compete for Ms. or Mr. Universe, cause I know how many hours of training and how much eating it takes to try to grow that much muscle. Looking like you work out after/before work - perfectly fine. Looking like most of your waking time is spent eating, planning your food, taking supplements, and working out - best left for a career in a health/nutrition/sports related field.