I get a lot of comments at work like, “your lunch is so healthy,” “your snacks are so healthy,” “you always eat so healthy,” “do you count carbs or calories?”* “what do I need to eat to lose weight?” “when is your next run?” “what do I need to do to start running?”**
I think that people think I am some sort of… health freak? They see me walking around with an apple, or eating my homemade granola bar, or getting fresh veggies out of the fridge for lunch, and think I am super focused on eating healthy ALL THE TIME.
Ha. Ha ha. I WISH! While it is my goal to get closer and closer to eating a healthy, fresh diet most of the time, I am totally not there yet.
I have two secrets to share:
- I want to run the Chase Corporate Challenge 3.5 miler in 28 minutes.
- I’ve gained 4 pounds in the last 4 weeks.
The second secret pretty much cancels out the first one.*** Because, I can feel the small amount of extra weight and it is slowing me down a bit during my runs. I can feel it shaking in my butt.
AND, it’s NO BIG DEAL! I was stressed out, I was eating emotionally, blah blah blah, what did I expect to happen? Mathematically, I knew my calories in was higher than my calories out, even when running 20+ miles a week. I just chose to ignore it for awhile. Because I am human, and I cannot eat perfectly all the time, no matter how hard I try. And I don’t even WANT to eat perfectly all the time. How boring would that be?
Anyway, it makes me laugh at work when I get SO MANY comments on what I am eating and how healthy it is, because I do not “eat healthy” all of the time and I don’t think of the food I eat during the day as “healthy,” I think of it as the food I want to eat – fruit, veggies, whole wheat crackers, granola bars, cereal, veggie dogs, etc.
The good thing is, when people keep saying that to me, it encourages me. It keeps me going. It reminds me that I do need to be making conscious, healthy choices most of the time. And not just “for show” (which it’s not), but because I want to.
So even though the comments do get annoying from time to time (I mean, come on, can I just prepare my lunch in peace?!), I am going to channel it into good – encouragement.
And I am going to quit all of that mindless gosh darn**** snacking.
*Give me a freakin’ break. I am NOT afraid of carbs.
**My punctuation kind of went to crap in this paragraph.
***So I think I will try to finish in under 30 minutes.
****This is me not swearing.
Hi Kim, thanks for the honest comment you left me yesterday. It’s a really tough thing to go through and I hope you too can find some support and help. Your post was interesting to me because I get comments all the time at work, too. It drives me insane. I hate that people are looking at what I eat, etc. I tend to eat at my desk every day just to avoid people and their comments…that is SO unlike me. I’m so social and outgoing…but when it comes to food…I like to hide.
Hang in there and let me know if I can support you in any way.
Often when I am actually eating healthy, the incessant comments from other people really take a toll on my nerves. It’s odd because half of them are compliments and yet still, I get irritated. People need to stay out of mah food business!
The bottom line is that you are doing it for yourself. you set your goals and challenges and embrased taht there will be ups and there will be downs. That is a critical step after all, we are human.
I get comments from people at work like I am some sort of freak but I don’t let it bother me. I actually find it validating that I am doing what I should and it keeps me in check. Whenever I want to stray, I think of what comments they would say if I was eating donuts and other stuff people bring into the office.
I looked into running the Corporate Challenge, but my company is not participating in it. I am confident that you will meet your time for this 3.5 miler. Good luck and have fun!
I don’t eat so healthy, so I don’t get the comments… 🙂 Hopefully those four pounds will go away quickly as the snacking stops. Good luck!
You will hit your goal Thursday, I’m sure of it! By the way I found out where our tent is…remind me to tell you when I see you this week!
I have so much I could comment on…from gaining pounds (obviously) to people’s comments to protein vs. carbs…I’ll try to keep it brief. 🙂
No one comments on my food at work, which is funny! I am self-conscious because I think that people notice I am eating all day, but no one really seems to care. The only thing I HAVE noticed is that when there are sweets around, someone will usually say “I figure Diane won’t eat those.” Which is kind of thoughtful, actually!
And I just wanted to speak up briefly on protein vs. carbs because I feel like I harp on protein a lot (NOT that I feel you are directing this to me, not at all! I just want to share what I’ve learned)… Of course, carbs are not inherently evil. They are equally necessary to our diet as protein is. Both function in different ways…carbs are a quick digest and protein is a slow one–so actually protein keeps you fuller longer. Carbs fuel the brain, protein fuels the muscles. When I started eating healthier, I realized I was stuffing myself with processed carbs all day long and wasn’t filling up. Plus, there are a lot of things that are considered carbs that we don’t think of as such…like potatoes, squash, and even fruit. The difference of course is that those contain FIBER, just like whole grain bread or pasta, and that also helps fill you up…along with helping to keep your blood sugar from spiking.
As with everything, it’s about a healthy balance! I tend to naturally err on the side of deficient in protein, so I try to compensate for that by really watching my protein intake. The advice I’ve been given is palm sized serving of carbs at every meal, fist sized serving of protein.
Can I just say how much is love your honesty in your posts? This is why I like reading your blog.
I think what you eat at work sounds DELICIOUS. People in offices sometimes get used to frozen, microwave lunches or carryout, and people like us who actually pack a lunch are sometimes a minority. I say, kudos to you!!
when i was doing weight watchers (seriously) everyone at work would make comments if i ate something other than a smart ones or lean cuisine… i was like, back off!!! it really frustrated me!!! i’m super sensitive about food!!! (yes, i have a problem with food, i really like it way too much!!) that is good that the comments are helping you though!!!! like you said, we can’t eat good all the time!! and i have faith in you, i know you will make your time on your run!!! you rock!!!!
=^..^=
I love how people look to those who eat healthy as though they have some big secret. That what they are doing to be healthier must include some magical short cut. Um NOPE. You eat healthy the majority of the time AND you run your little butt off! That is your magical cure for weight loss….excercise and eat healthy.
I think youll reach your goal for your run….we all know you can do it!
I feel like when people over-comment on what I am eating they are just projecting their own issues onto me. Like I am eating healthy or I say no to the donut, they start to think I SHOULD NOT EAT THE DONUT. And really? I don’t give a crap if they eat the donut so why don’t they leave me alone?
Even though I secretly DO want to eat the donut. Heh. I’m off sugar again so no donuts for me!
I remember how annoying those comments can be! People who don’t eat fruits/veggies/etc don’t understand why those who do would crave an orange. Keep on doing what you’re doing and try to ignore the co-workers as much as possible. But at least their nosiness has an upside – it is motivating you to keep it up!
i’ve been trying to eat healthier lunches because i’m not loving the spare tire i’m developing, but i’m REALLY BAD at eating healthy stuff i don’t like, so i’ve been doing cukes / tomatoes / cottage cheese / turkey bacon / celery dipped in salsa / etc. the thing is, as soon as people see veggies + cottage cheese they’re all “OOOOOH, so you’re on a DIIIEEEEET, huh??”
whereas really, i love cottage cheese so much that i can’t keep it in the house on a regular basis, because i’ll eat an entire tub in one sitting.
I much prefer to not have people comment on what I’m eating, healthy or not…It irritates me to no end when people notice what I’m doing (because I would much rather be invisible, but that’s a whole other post…)
When people make snarky comments like that, it’s usually because they’re channeling something from deep within. There’s something about them that says, if I can’t control my diet enough to eat healthy, then I’m going to bitch and moan when others wave healthy in front of my face. Eff em. You’re doing great. And if we never had a setback or two, we’d never appreciate the strides we make. So, don’t let those 4 pounds get you down. You’ll shed them this summer in no time!
I hate when people say carbs are bad! It makes me angry. Or when they say that things like bananas are bad for you…what?? It’s a fruit!! I had to hold my tongue sometimes when I was serving because people said all kinds of things.
Also, I think I’m with you on the weight gain. Not running 40-50 miles/week coupled with emotional eating/eating on the road…time to get back on the horse! (Not literally…I think horses are terrifying. So time to get back on the road! Much better.)
Ugh, I hate when people comment on what I eat or how much I eat or how often I eat. Don’t they have anything better to do?
Wait, they do – commenting on my hair, my makeup, my clothes, my skin, my attendance at yoga class . . .
Maybe I should feel flattered that I’m so freaken interesting that people watch my every move.
At a previous job a coworker saw me walking to break carrying a baggie of baby carrots. “Oooh, you’re already so skinny,” she said. “Like you need to eat carrots.”
Um, WHAT?
I’ll let you attempt to parse that. Years later it still makes my brain hurt.
And your Chase goal is commendable. I know I can race 3.1 in under 28 minutes (I’ve done it once) but those extra .4 miles are kind of freaking me out. As is the size of the crowd. Maybe I’ll say my goal is anything under 31 minutes.
Denise – I am the same way. I use the excuse of being “too busy” to eat lunch with others, but really, I want to eat in peace so people won’t judge me or comment on my lunch. I have been doing this for a long time and it makes me feel anti-social, even though I am not. I think I would like to talk to a therapist about all of this! Because even though I am improving OVERALL, some behaviors keep coming back.
Hilly – It makes me crazy how people think food is something that you can comment on. I want people to stay out of my food business as well. Why do they care what I eat? I don’t care what they eat!
Christina – I love how you put that. That I am “embracing” the ups and downs. I am. I learn from them! It just seems like sometimes I have to learn the same lesson over and over 😉
Tony – I am that way too. Because people think I am so “healthy” I am much less likely to eat the crap that people bring in. It’s tempting food, but I always feel better when I don’t eat it anyway. Too bad you are not doing the challenge! It’s probably too close to your half anyway 😉 Thanks for the good wishes!
Beth – Hee hee. I think they will come off easily, once I get back on track! If I wasn’t runing so much, it would probably be more like 10 pounds!
diane – Yay! I am excited to see if your tent is close to ours. I found out ours is not one of the rented ones, so it might not be. I agree that it is thoughtful for people to know you don’t want to eat sweets and to not be pushy! I hate it when people try to get me to eat sugary sweets. Why are people so pushy about that?! I think the whole “carbs are bad” thing must have started because people were eating all the bad processed carbs. And I bet a lot of people do eat too many carbs, and not reailze that they are in more than bread. A lot of people get too much protein too though! I just wrote today that I have to rebalance my diet to make sure I get enough protein when I go vegan. It won’t be hard, but I have to be conscious of it! 😉
Amy – Thank you 🙂 Most of my coworkers do that – the frozen lunch or takeout. Are those frozen lunches good? I just wonder becuase so many people are eating them! I would worry that there was too much sodium and the portions seem to small and not filling. But I could be wrong. I do feel sad when I don’t see anyone eating fresh food all day long. Maybe they do at home?
CourtneyInControl – It’s like once people find out you are trying to lose weight or eat healthy, they have this image of how they think you should act, and they get upset when you do not act that way. ANNOYING!!!
Scale Warfare – Ha ha! That makes me laugh too. THERE’S NO SECRET! Yep, it is eat less, move more. I know some people don’t believe that, but I sure do. Thanks for your encouragement!
sizzle – It’s definitely THEIR issues, but it always make me feel so defensive! Yay! Being off sugar makes you feel so good!
Jamie – I loved it when I got to the point that I craved fruit instead of sweets. Oh, oranges. How I love thee. I could eat 3 in a row.
Alice – Ha ha! Isn’t it funny when you start to love the food and everyone thinks you’re weird?! Healthy food IS good! 🙂
suze – I hate it when I feel like I have special attention for something that is not special. Like my diet. Why would you rather be invisible though? You’re awesome! People can’t help but notice that!
SoMi’s Nilsa – Are you getting similar comments on JC? You’re absolutely right – it’s something from within THEM. I just wonder, why does it keep happening, over and over and over…? 😛 Thanks for your encouragement! I truly try to learn from my setbacks. Sometimes I forget the lesson and have to relearn it though.
Susan – I think it’s so funny when any one food gets pinpointed and discriminated against like that! Moderation people. Moderation. HA HA! I love your horse comment. It’s weird how we have to change our diets along with our training. I want to keep eating a lot! 😛
Stacey – I like your take on it – we just must be really freaking interesting! 😉 I hate it when coworkers suggest how I should dress or wear my hair. WTF?!
Erin – Wow. So, since you are “skinny” you can’t eat carrots? Like you would only eat carrots to lose weight? DUH people! I am freaked out about the crowd too. And now, the heat. I had a crappy 3-miler yesterday.
A four-pound weight gain is not a big deal especially spread out over four weeks. You’ll bounce back down in no time. You’ve done so well so far I don’t see how you wouldn’t.
kapgar – Thanks for your encouragement! For now, I’ve decided to ditch the scale and just focus on fitness and eating well! I think I will get back on it after the marathon in October.