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My coworker is eating a lot of unhealthy stuff at his workdesk and I am on a diet due to overweight. How could I make my coworker stop eating when I see it so I can stick to my diet better?

Masked Man
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Vitalis Hommel
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    i mean, why not just get some discipline? it's not hard to do... just stick to your diet for a week. Boom, now you are disciplined. You cannot make excuses for failure, or think the actions of others impact your own. They don't - you're just overweight because of your habits, and now you need to change your habits. – bharal May 26 '18 at 16:57
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    What have you already tried? – Anne Daunted GoFundMonica May 26 '18 at 17:01
  • @bharal if it was so easy, I would do it. – Vitalis Hommel May 26 '18 at 17:10
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    @VitalisHommel sure, it seems hard now. But every minute you stay on the diet is a success. After a small amount of time, you will realise that you are winning, and after a week or two you've pretty much won. Don't forget to shake your arms and earnestly congratulate yourself at the end of every hour, and day, on your diet. Celebrating wins, however small, is important - it gives you something to look forward to for the next win! – bharal May 26 '18 at 17:31
  • Dieting while in the workplace is hard because the workplace is both social and stressful and we spend a lot of our waking hours there. –  May 26 '18 at 17:37
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    If someone came to me, and ask me to change what I ate at work, I would go to HR. What your asking is completely unreasonable. – Donald May 27 '18 at 19:44

5 Answers5

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Your goal is to reduce your weight, not to reduce your coworker's weight. Unless the coworker is also on a similar diet, there is no reason why he has to stop eating unhealthy food.

What your coworker eats is none of your business, and as I have said elsewhere, never let go of an opportunity to mind your own business. Stick to your own goal, and don't worry about the coworker's eating habits.

Masked Man
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  • He has to stop eating unhealthy food, so I am not seduced to eating it aswell. What my coworker eats is quite something of my business, because I hardly can mind my own business when he is eating so much, I need a little support. Swimming cannot be trained by being thrown into the sea. – Vitalis Hommel May 26 '18 at 17:13
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    Are you saying other people should change their eating habits because you cannot stick to your weight loss plans? Good luck with that. – Masked Man May 26 '18 at 17:18
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    What you are asking for is unrealistic. You do not get to dictate what someone else chooses to eat. If it's not your co-worker eating something unhealthy, it will be someone else. Learn discipline – pm1391 May 26 '18 at 17:19
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    I'm hoping it's just the language barrier, but the tone of your comments here is completely unacceptable in a workplace. You don't get to tell other people how to live their life. – Philip Kendall May 26 '18 at 17:58
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Unfortunately you are not going to be able to avoid temptation. If it is not your co-worker, it will be something else. This is an opportunity for you to train yourself to make hard choices.

There are two things I suggest. Make your goals and achievements as obvious as seeing him eating food. Print out your weight loss plan and put it somewhere at your desk where you see it every time you see him eat. Have achievable goals on it. Check them off with bright colors so you see how far you have come. Then when his actions are tempting you can see how much you have achieved and you can convince yourself to keep going.

The second thing is have simple nonfood rewards at your desk. When you achieve something, be it a work task or just avoiding eating something because he did, reward yourself. I listen to music at work and I have a few favorite songs I keep for special occasions. Perhaps your reward could be 10 min (only) reading a non-work related book or web-site. Train yourself to want things other than food as reward. Reward yourself when you are not tempted by him.

Masked Man
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You could always make a point of taking your own (healthy, diet-related) lunch break at the same time your co-worker takes his. And also make a point of not eating in the same place he does.

If he eats at his desk, which is next to yours, then you go eat in the lunchroom. Or at the park down the street. Or anywhere you can find that doesn't have other people eating unhealthy foods that will tempt you.

It's not your place to tell your co-worker what he can or cannot eat, but you can certainly choose not to sit there and watch him do it.

Steve-O
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I don't know why nobody suggested that yet: Just ask them nicely.

Tell them you need to lose weigh and you are trying but it's hard and it would help a lot if you weren't constantly tempted by their really great looking, tasty sweets. Ask them if they could do you a big favor and put them somewhere you cannot see or smell them. Be nice, make sure you communicate that it's you asking for a favor, not a demand. Be nice should they say no.

They are your coworkers, they should help you out. They would open the door for you if you were on crutches, why shouldn't they help you with this if you ask them?

Best case is they decide to live more healthy as well, worst case is you are back to where you started with this question. Sounds like there is nothing to lose.

nvoigt
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Like anything else if you want to do it you need to take ownership of both the problem and the resolution.

So your coworker eating unhealthy foods is a good thing, it will let you test your commitment to your diet and your mental strength. Most negatives in these situations are personal mental ones, a change in perception can be achieved by proactively making a mental shift.

Anything less is treading water and probably eventual failure.

Kilisi
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