How I realised I was “treating” myself too much at work

Welcome back! I have recently chatted about my weight loss in 2019, how I focused on itin December and the joys of fitting back into clothes I had bought 9 months previous in January, but something else happened in January and it really is quite annoying to admit. I realised just how accustomed I was to getting treats from shops on the way in and from work.

Walking with someone else has its perks

Remember when I spoke about how there would be fun perks to walking into work with Victoria now that she has a job in my work? Yeah, well one of those perks not listed was only realised in the second week of January when I realised just how often I was popping to the shop to get something for work or going to the shops after work to get extras for dinner and then picking up a little treat for us both.

When I walked in on my own I wasn’t as savvy with my meal prep and I would end up getting something in a shop and although I would get fruit etc., it seemed I was also getting pastries and the odd fizzy drink and I was really just lying to myself about it. This would then go on at lunch too! I would pop out and get something else and then when I would be on my way home, I might sneak something or go to the local Asda near our house and buy some ingredients for that night’s dinner and oh, a wee choc bar or something would enter the basket.

I was almost doing it unconsciously and it is quite shocking now when I think of it of not what I was doing, but how much it was most likely costing me every single day! I probably spent a small fortune doing this for the past 18 months. Shocking.

Thank goodness that Victoria got that job

I had started to notice it a little in the first week that I wasn’t needing to go to the shops as much and it was a pleasant thing. We were just chatting going into work and then sit in my office and have our lunch and then away home where our meal prepped dinner made on Sunday was waiting for us. I was loving it and really enjoying it, but I noticed something, my little pangs for something sugary were not nearly as strong as they used to be. I was having fruit and veg to pick at as well as my water (some concentrate juice too) and it was grand.

Victoria commented one day when I said we should go to Tesco to get some fruit that we really shouldn’t have to go to the shop until at most near the end of the week to get some fresh fruit and veg as we should have it all in the house and then it really clicked. I had wanted to go in because I had missed going I was really surprised with myself about it. It had become such a habit that I didn’t even notice.

She joked that I must have been going in a hell of a lot and I laughed it off, but in my mind, it was going a mile a minute. What on Earth had I been doing? When I was at my best I had my meal and fruit and veg and that was me for work. I went in a direction that meant I didn’t come in contact really with shops. Whereas my walk to my previous job and this one was rife with poor decision options that I inevitably fell for.

Other than today and rare Friday we have brought our lunches in like a good girl and boy and ate what we bought on a Sunday. No fuss, though I probably was being a little too generous with the portions, so that needed fixed. Meal prepping really was working and I realised weight was coming off in small bits (as I had wanted) so this has given me a great base to start off on in February, get a solid meal prep organised each week, have my veg (carrots etc.) cut up and in boxes and that is me sorted.

Will I still have treats?

Of course, I will allow for the odd treat, but they will be limited to once every two weeks for a treat lunch. We are saving at the minute so it probably means we will not go out for dinners quite so much, but I see no reason to drastically cut that, we just have to eat a little healthier when we are out for dinners. No need for a massive pile of chips or pizzas every time… Sadly!

An issue I have is that I have a million tonnes of treats from Christmas that I have not even started on yet and as they were chocolate or had gelatine I could not eat them because of Veganuary. I will talk more about Veganuary next week as I wanted to break down the entire month in one post, so look out for that one!

A colleague of mine stated that for her weight loss that with all the abundance of treats that she has put them all into little bags that she says are enough, but not too much. So separating and rationing out the treats has worked for her and I think I will do the same with what I have, so then if I am fancying a couple of chocolates I know I won’t go over the top with them. Which is handy! I have an aim of still seeing these Christmas treats deep into March and rationing them out seems the wisest option.

That is all for today, thanks for following along with my progress, I am so happy with it these past three months. Being able to know what issues I had is probably the biggest breakthrough and accepting that it was an issue as well is such a positive. Limiting myself on my treats was a great thing and I felt fresh and lively instead of weighed down by the treats. I hope that I can keep it going at a healthy rate and that I just keep being consistent. Expect progress updates throughout the year. Until next time.