One of the things that has been a bit of a challenge working in a Thai office for my first time, is to get used to the sheer volume of snack foods that are around. Yes, I know that all offices have their share of snack foods, but it seems to reach new extremes here in Thailand.
Conference tables are for snacks, not people.
Each business unit, department, or cluster of desks has a stash of snack foods, not including the fresh fruit and perishable snack items bought daily by my colleagues. And what makes it even worse is that most of these people are skinny to the point of looking malnourished.
After the first few weeks, I started to buck the trend and avoid the snacks. My trick is to eat a bit extra at lunch so that the munchies don’t come calling in the middle of the afternoon. But then my colleagues look at my lunch tray with two dishes on it and express dismay that I’m eating so much food!
christao408 
That is when I REALLY started putting on the weight, when I went to work at the pharmacy!!! We didn’t have snacks we had MEALS!!!! And always, always sweets!!! Christmas was the WORST ( Or best depending upon your outlook!!) we had customers bringing in ENORMOUS trays of home baked cookies, fudge, and one particularly “evil” customer always sent us a gigantic 3 lb box of the most delicious toffee candy you can possible imagine!! The last year I was there I refused to even TASTE any of the goodies, or I would have been devouring more than my share!!!!
Yes, we really need to develop a culture of no snacking – or, at least, healthful snacking – between meals.
Maybe you need to fatten up your colleagues. Try bringing in a roast pig or something…
I should consider that…
Office snacks are dangerous. I started putting on weight through them.
Thankfully, the stress seems to be leading to weight loss… Ha ha… kind of.
My office snack is fruit or yogurt only. No other stuff! 🙂
Wow! Sign me up for that healthy office!
II was excited to go to work when i had my twelvepack of diet cherry cola there 😀 all tasty and chilled bubbly refreshing.
If they know what fuel you need and can have it for you, it is a great motivator!
We also have an office snack culture here. The old company that I used to work at was near a big market, so there were so many snack vendors nearby. Around 2 or 3pm, we’ll get some snacks to eat from the market; usually noodles or fruits, or pickled tea salad (I eat that with rice). At the new office, I’m just starting out so haven’t started stashing snacks yet. Just munching on crackers with coffee ^_^
I’ve only tried pickled tea salad twice but I quite like it.
I believe you should eat what you feel like and not worry about the calories. Just burn all those up later- gym, yoga, swim or whatever. The problem with me is that I keep eating but I never burn them. 😛
Well, I’m trying hard to keep up my exercise regimen but with 10-12 hour days, it is difficult. Better to watch what I eat, too…
Six small meals is best. Perhaps you can just make your lunch smaller and bring a healthy afternoon snack with you instead of eating the unhealthy ones. I keep a stash of fruit and granola bars at work so I’m not tempted to eat the cookies!!
Question, though: are granola bars really that healthy? I suspect that many of them have a lot of sugar and are very caloric.
You have to get the right type and read the labels. The ones I eat use honey and most of the sugar comes from dried fruit. As a snack I’m not gonna worry about 150 calories cause my breakfast and lunch are quite light.
lol. yeah, we asians love our snacks. no matter that i have expressed my dislike for people eating at their desk, i still see many of my female staff keep snacks on their desk. from time to time, i see them quickly try to put the snack away and to stop eating as soon as they see me coming their way. i’m sure the eating resume as soon as i’m out of sight. i’ve learned to close one eye on the matter and pretend i don’t see anything. as for me, i rarely snack. but i do eat a small portion of meal every 4 hours. ok, so maybe i snack from time to time. but at least i do it in the office kitchen 🙂
Ha ha… at least you are following your own rules.
i try not to snack as well, unless it’s fruit or something on the healthier side…but it can be rude in chinese offices to refuse something that someone specially brought to the office to share…
Exactly. Same thing here in Thailand.
Chris you can always stay at my side in the office, we have NO snacks at al!! ^___^
Really!? You have all that extra office space but no snacks?
Snacks have come a long way since my days as an office worker. Coffee was the only beverage. There might have been a snack machine down the hall.