Still questing for the perfect CR lunch at work (P rarely has food in the house so the obvious solution is not, in this case, a solution). This time I decided to buy a big plastic box and the essential salad ingredients - spinach, mushrooms, watercress, cherry toms - and put the two together in the office kitchen.
No fewer than five people commented in less than the same amount of minutes on the amount of food that was going into the box, and in tones of horror, as though I were mainlining lard or drowning kittens rather than mixing 200g spinach, some veggies and some marinated tofu with some fresh lemon juice.
YES it's a big salad and YES it's going to take me all afternoon to eat so let me get on with it, people!
Oooh I hate having to justify my food.
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5 comments:
I know the feeling.... you try to have a balanced - low cal and healthy lunch and people gawk and you feel like saying...
BUT YOU"RE EATING MCDONALDS! Why am I the one who's strange here?
I'm so lazy I just grab two vegi burgers and put it into my bag. 200cal. Loads of protein. At least you're eating spinach :)
I know! I just put the whole lot into CoM and it comes out at under 300 cals with 70% of my vits and minerals! And there everyone else is with their 500 cal pack of sandwiches, crisps and token piece of fruit. GRRRR.
I'd be worried about being hungry on just two veggie burgers! At least that's not a worry I have with 200g spinach and 250g mushrooms. Ooooh FULL. :-)
No need to justify anything.. you know you are doing the absolute right thing..next time just smile at everyone and make them try to guess why. I bet you'll see more boxes popping up!
D
One of the advantages of working from home - no nosy co-workers! The only one who ever comments on my food is my 3-year-old:"Mommy, why do you eat a big salad every day?" No judgment, just genuine curiosity.
Back when I worked in a lab, everyone was always intensely interested in the eating habits of everyone else. It's so strange. As I recall, people were always commenting: "Ooh, that looks good!" or "Wow, that's a lot of food!" or "Is that all you're going to eat for lunch?!" or (to my boss who loved mixing up all her leftovers from the week into one big bowl of slop) "What the hell is *that*?!"
I wouldn't take it too personally. I think people always look to see what others are eating and if it's at all out of the ordinary (and sadly, a big, healthy salad is extremely unusual for most folks in this day and age) they're bound to comment. You could tell them, "Hey, this provides more than 70% of my nutrition for the day at less than 300 calories - try topping that with your crappy lunch!" It might cause some irritation but it would be worth it just for the looks on their faces when you said it.
-R
I worked in a industry this summer that required my going out to lunch quite often, with people frequently ordering three courses. I started ordering a green salad to start and then a salad with meat as an entree, and people would always make cracks. Not eating the bread and not ordering any dessert except tea seemed to be fuel on the fire! I would get comments like 'if anyone needs a plate of fries, it's you,' etc. (I'm 5'3" and 102) Peer pressure can be intense, no matter how old you get.
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