On lunch at work

Posted on February 1, 2012 by Viv

I work for a fairly small company in a very small town. Choices for lunch are limited. There is a grocery store about 5 minutes walking distance from the office, a pizza place we can order pizza from, and once a week, there is a truck selling doner and rotisserie chicken. I am sure you can see the common thread: none are healthy choices. The grocery store is the healthiest but when you do not want to cook your lunch, your choice is narrowed down to sandwiches, microwave dinners, and salad.

At a company meeting a couple of months ago, the CEO of my company brought up an idea. The wife of our janitor is a cook, and she offered to cook for us for lunch. Like a very small cafeteria, there would be two meals to choose from every day against a fee to cover her costs. The CEO also suggested that the company would cover part of the cost. It sounded like a great idea … for most people.
For me, giving someone else control over my meals is not an option. When you know what a difference a tablespoon of butter or olive oil make, you want to know exactly what is in the meal you are having every day for lunch.

And while this woman may be a professional cook, she is also an older woman from small town Bavaria. If you know traditional Bavarian food, you know that it wouldn’t be your first choice when trying to lose weight. I have my doubts that her meals would really be that healthy. I do think that for some of my co-workers (especially the guys) who live on a pizza, doner, and chicken diet, it would be a huge improvement. But for someone like me who is already very aware of what they are eating, it wouldn’t be that much of a beneit. I’d rather keep control over what I eat, knowing the exact ingredients and nutritional value of my meals.

Even though in the past few weeks, I have been slacking off a little with cooking lunch meals for work, and have bought microwave dinners at the grocery store a little too frequently, I still make good choices, always aware of the nutrition facts and choosing the healthier microwave dinner over another.

During the company meeting, I felt a little odd. I felt like the CEO was talking about me. Despite how open I am about my weight loss, when someone asks me about it, I noticed that it is still a sensitive topic for me. When someone talks about poor nutrition or unhealthy food, I feel like they are talking about me. It makes no sense because for the past six months, my diet has probably been better than that of most of my co-workers but in the end, I am the one who is overweight. My co-workers may eat crap all day, but they are skinny. I know that often people mistake skinny for healthy.

This company meeting happened in November, and I think my attitude has changed a litte since then. I realized that it is far more likely that the CEO was not referring to me when he mentioned unhealthy eating habits. But I sometimes worry that people cannot see past my appearance or will always remember me for how I ate during my first six months working there. Because, let’s face it, my diet was not good at all for a while.

Another thought I had with regard to this idea is to wonder if it is within the CEO’s right to suggest that a lot of his employees have a poor diet and that we eat more healthily. Of course he has an interest in our health, and many of us would benefit from this, but at the same time it is each person’s private business what they put into their mouth. Do you think he was overstepping boundaries?

How do you handle lunches at work? Do you have a cafeteria you eat at or do you bring your own lunch to work?

Recognizing a pattern

Posted on January 31, 2012 by Viv

A couple of months ago, I had a sort of eureka moment. I had bought a lot of candy and unhealthy snacks which seemed a good idea at the moment that I bought them. I didn’t understand why I had bought them in the first place, what made me think it was a good idea.

I realized that this had happened before. I also realized that the other time this had happened, I was out grocery shopping with the same friend as this time. I do think that part of it was that we went to a store I usually do not shop at as it is not possible to get to with a car, a much larger store with a much bigger selection of candy & co. Another reason was that I spent a lot more time browsing the shelves, usually I will not spend that much time on grocery shopping as I often get it done during my lunch break or right after work.

But I also think that there was something else to it. My friend bought a lot of snack type food for herself and her family, and I think part of me thought that if it’s okay for her to buy this type of food, it it okay for me do to the same. Like her buying chips, candy, etc. gave me permission to buy candy as well.

It’s much easier to say no when you are by yourself or everyone around you is also saying no. It’s so much harder to say no to the candy isle, when the person you are shopping with is saying “yes, yes, yes!”

I also think that in some weird, twisted way, I bought the snacks to show her that I was still allowing myself to eat everything, that I was eating normally and not depriving myself. Proof that I was still having “fun,” that I was no different from her or others. I think that I don’t like standing out as the one eating or buying “diet food” in the company of others.
I know this friend since May, so she has been one of the people who has noticed (and commented on) my weight loss the most. She recently made an off-handed comment that she’d prefer to lose weight slowly but in a sustainable way. As if that is not what I am doing.

For me, recognizing this pattern was huge. I think that it’s essential to recognize the reasons for a habit if you want to change it. And the fact that I made this realization shows me that I am making progress.

Why low fat is no longer working for me

Posted on November 25, 2011 by Viv

One of the things I learned from my nutritionist is that low-fat is not always the best choice.

I used to buy non-fat milk, yogurt, salad dressing. Fat in dairy products or oil just seemed a waste of calories to me. Did you know that a tablespoon of olive oil has 119 calories? Why would I waste 119 calories on a measly tablespoon of oil. Why would I eat a yogurt that has twice the calories of a nonfat yogurt? That is how I used to think.

Until my nutritionist told me to stop consuming non-fat dairy products and to make sure I get at least one tablespoon of healthy fats, such as olive oil per day. I already knew that fat is important for the body, even when you are trying to lose weight. But I reckoned, I did not need it from dairy or other food that non-fat alternatives exist for.

I learned that the 1.5% – 3.5% yogurt has important amino acids that nonfat yogurt doesn’t. For me, incorporating plain yogurt into my diet actually started a change in my mindset.

I decided that I would pay less attention to always eating the product that is lowest in fat. I decided that taste mattered as well. I found out that not all 3.5% yogurts taste the same, and that I like the one from one grocery store best, even though it has more calories than the yogurt from another. I decided that those 20 calories were worth it, because the yogurt tastes so much better, so much creamier.

But it didn’t stop at yogurt. I decided that I’d rather eat less diet products, more ‘normal’ products, and instead cut down on the amount I have. Quality over quantity. It doesn’t always mean the product is healthier or less processed, though I am also working on eating less processed food, usually buying plain yogurt instead of the flavored kind. I am striving for normal eating habits, and getting away from diet products is part of that. Turns out I still do fine with my calories. Actually using olive oil in my salad or eating a 3.5% fat yogurt does not mean I will be starving at the end of the day.

It may be psychological, but I also feel happier knowing I am not eating low-fat products as much anymore. The food usually tastes better, and I just feel happier and more relaxed eating normal products. I still check the nutrition facts at the grocery store, I still make smart choices, but I limit myself less in my food choices. I feel more mentally healthy and free for it, and I think this is really good progress on the journey to healthy, normal eating habits.