Everyday Systems

Anyone else notice that the whole office is eating around the clock, hitting up the snack machine, the candy jars, the baked goodies in the kitchenette, and the constant food talk?

YES !!

and it makes me crazy
especially if i am having a bad day, and the food is really talking to me

i wish that is was taboo to snack here-- i have read that in France

that snacking frowned on

I definately agree. I don't have any idea how the other people at my work are so thin! They eat/drink all the time. My co-workers don't ask me to go with them on coffee breaks/vending machine trips any more but I still feel like I'm missing out. It's kinda a bummer. The last group event I went to at least 6 people asked me why I wasn't eating and saying "I'm not hungry" just lead to them telling me everything that was at the meeting to eat. In my head I was screaming "It's 4 o'clock in the afternoon people, can't you wait until dinner?!?"

ShannahR, my co-workers that snack all day are not thin, actually far from it. And occasionally I get offered a cookie or candy and I just got used to saying no.

donnao wrote: i have read that in France

that snacking frowned on

I've read that about France and other countries as well. I've also read that 3 meals daily aren't the norm in many of those places. They don't snack, but they have more than 3 meals. The French are also known for eating breakfast and lunch about the same times we do, but 7:00 PM is early for dinner. Many restaurants don't open for dinner until 8:00 PM and to eat later is not unusual. So, sometime in the mid-afternoon they have something to hold them over until dinner. It might be some nuts and dried fruit or it might be a pastry. I've also read that the same is true in Italy and throughout much of the Mediterranean.

Olivia,
I think it would be easier if my co-workers were heavy. Then it would be a visual reminder for me when they offer me a snack or sweet what happens when you eat all day. When the person offering me a mid-afternoon snack is thin all I can think is how unfair it is that she can eat like that and stay a size 2 and I couldn't even get a size 2 around my ankle!