Avoiding the M&Ms
Published on Jan 23rd, 2008 in Cravings with
A large basket of candy sits on a table right next to my boss’s door. This attractive looking basket (Longaberger, no doubt) is joined by a glass candy dish filled with shiny, colored plain M&Ms.
The M&Ms taunt me.
Every time I walk past my boss’s office (which I have to in order to get to the end of the hallway), I can hear the M&Ms, “Oh, look at us! We’re so pretty and chocolaty! Don’t you want to eat some?” I don’t like to be taunted, so I take a dark chocolate Hershey’s Kiss from the basket instead. Take that M&Ms! (But maybe that was their plan the entire time.)
Temptation at work is ever present, at least where junk food is concerned. Usually someone brings in doughnuts, bagels, or homemade cookies. And don’t forget the sheet cakes with 2-inch thick frosting to celebrate the monthly birthdays!
It’s hard. Sometimes I can withstand the temptation, and other days I give in. I wish I didn’t have an affinity for chocolate and other sweets, as my boss doesn’t seem to. (Either that or she has super human powers enabling her to withstand a mound of chocolate sitting constantly within view and reach!)
But the reality is I will probably always have to deal with temptation for sweets more often than not. The trick is learning healthy ways to deal with the temptation rather than thinking, “Ah, forget it!” and then overdoing it on the chocolate.
One way I find I can minimize temptation is by avoiding certain habits, such as keeping the hands out of the candy basket and feet from walking into the cake laden staff break room. I know there are other things I can do.
Over the next week or so I plan on taking a closer look at what I can do when temptation and cravings strike. I know I can improve a lot in this area! In the meantime, I refuse to let bright, little candies bully me around! 
I just wanted to tell you I’m really enjoying your site. I have a weakness for anything chocolate, so I know where you’re coming from. Fortunately as a stay at home mom, I have a little more control in that I can avoid bringing M&Ms into the house.
And I also wanted to let you know that one of your earlier posts really motivated me. I actually got up at 4:30 this morning to workout. It was brutal, but I feel better than I normally do this time of morning. Now to make it a habit….
Oh gosh! I know exactly what you mean! There’s always some kind of candy or junk food on our staff coffee table, and I always end up munching on something sugary and really bad for me! I know I would lose weight faster if I stayed away from the junk, but I usually give in to the temptation! UGH!!!!!
Lynnae, Thank you so much! I really appreciate your kind words; that means a lot to me!
Yes, the hardest part is making exercise a habit, but once it becomes one, it’s a whole lot easier to do.
Good for you for getting up early and exercising! I was right there with you, exercising at about 4:45.
Erin, I hear ya! Fending off the pull to eat the junk food at work can be quite a challenge, and a frustrating one at that! I’m going to focus on how I can improve in this area in the following days/weeks.
ANY kind of chocolate taunts me!!!
That’s a big hazard of working from home a lot. On the other hand, what we’ve got is what I’ve bought. So that’s a plus…if we run out of chocolate I have to buy more.
And the audiology clinic isn’t too bad about food. But libraries are terrible. Someone keeps making red velvet cake.
My worst food job was at a property management company. Apparently vendors liked to woo us, so we’d always be getting free food, tastings, all that. Plus we had a well-stocked food pantry. My boss gained 15 pounds in her first year there.
Is it me, or does the medical field seem heavy laden with snacks?!
When I worked on the labor and delivery ward, we would be bombarded with goodies! Coworkers would bring in homemade cookies to sample, patients would give us boxes of chocolates as a thank you, the doctors would bring in bagels from Panera on some mornings, and on and on!!! Very nice, but not good for the waistline! 