Don't Feed The Office Workers

I went to lunch with a colleague today at this little Italian place down the street from our office. I fully intended to order the soup and salad. They have the best Italian Chop salad and their soup is purely vegetarian. My colleague mentioned a fatal word while examining the menu, pizza. Oh no! Pizza is one of my favorite foods. Immediately my taste buds started swirling with anticipating, my mouth started to water and my stomach growled for a big lunch. Quickly dismissing my sensible choice of soup and salad, I proclaimed that I would split a pizza. I still ordered a half salad and nibbled on the bread (this place has the most amazing Rosemary focaccia). Finally the waiter brought the decadent dish. I quickly downed a couple of slices. Yum! I ate a third and was content.

I prayed for the waiter to remove the remaining pizza. I have absolutely no portion control. If the food is in front of me I’ll eat it. My prayers went unanswered (probably because this place has great food and horrible service). I debated back and forth in my head about eating another slice. I tried to assess my hunger level (clearly I have no hunger levels…either starving or stuffed) while staying focused on the conversation. I couldn’t take it anymore, so I caved and gave it. I went for another piece.

We paid the bill, walked back to the office and then it hit me like a ton of bricks. Food coma. I was stuffed, no more like Thanksgiving Day overstuffed. I was so full all I wanted to do was put on a pair of sweatpants and lay on the couch. I learned a valuable lesson today…avoid big lunches. There is a reason I don’t usually eat big lunches. I think restaurants should be banned from serving big lunches and employers should fully support the ban. A food coma does not induce productivity; in fact it induces sleepy, blah feelings of uncomfortableness. There were times in the afternoon when I considered crawling into a ball under my desk for a little nap. Due to the fact that I like my job and want to remain employed I refrained from napping. Plus, no career woman ever got to the top of the ladder by taking naps at work. (Maybe I should move to Europe where nap time is a normal part of the day.) Next time, I am sticking with soup and salad.