I work for a large company.  We have 2500+ employees at this location.  We
have locations world wide but the data center is located here.  The
employees often use the restaurant area for small meetings instead of
booking one of the meeting rooms.  We also have an outdoor patio area where
we hold meetings in nice weather.  I work in a very high-stress environment
so rules are a little relaxed.

I think the same applied here in the past but that seems to have changed in
the last few years since people have become more health conscious.

It's just a personal thing.  We really have a nice restaurant here.  They
have a guest chef from restaurants in the area about once a month who will
prepare one of their specialties.

My department normally goes out to a restaurant for birthdays rather than
bring in a cake.

Most large company events are alcohol free.  We often have "off site
meetings" where alcohol is served.  An "off site meeting" means the
department has taken the afternoon off and headed to the nearest bar :)  We
only have these two or three times a year.

The second job I had when I lived in Paris, we only got 30 minutes for
lunch.  There was a canteen, which did delicious meals, followed by tea
or coffee in another room, and we seemed to manage.  It was called
"journée continue" and was coming into fashion then.

How many times did I eat a "pain au chocolat" running up from the metro
to where I worked!  (There was a very nice bakery en route).  At my old
job in London, we started at 6.30 am so I always brought my breakfast
in, but that is unusual here.

I'm a member of that group, too.  I've been doing this since the mid 80's -
wonder when it will fail me?

Beverly

I don't have a definitive answer, but some signs of real hunger are
food obsessions. Like when people have intrusive thoughts about food
that take up much of the day. I read about them in books on
concentration camp prisoners and siege of Leningrad and other sources.

Licking the plate with your portion -- that you measured -- clean
would be another sign.

You can eat 6 times per day and still be hungry, also. It all depends
on what and how much you eat.

I have some minimal experience with this, as I did experience hunger
on my portion controlled diet. I lost weight 11 months ago and entered
maintenance. But I thought about food too much. My wife remarked on
this, which upset me, but I realized that she was right. I could
handle that much hunger, because I did not regain, but decided to look
for some better alternatives. We'll see how this search ends up.

In theory, I was at a very normal plump weight (BMIof 24), eating at
maintenance level, and still experienced hunger. Go figure.

I dug up two very interesting references to which I can relate myself,
to a small extent.

http://www.findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0GDQ/is_3_25/ai_58669772

``TABLE 1

Eating Behaviors of Victims of Semistarvation and Starvation-Research
Volunteers Long After Food Was Plentifully Available

Behavior/source

Voracious appetites followed by large and rapid food
intake[9,11,16-18,21,44]
Lack of control and distress over amounts eaten[11,17,20,21]
Complaints of hunger despite huge meals[17,21]
Belief that eating triggers hunger[17]
Cravings and preference (carbohydrates, tats,
sweets)[5,18-20,45]
Obsession with food[10,11,14,15,17,19,45,46]
Secrecy and defensiveness over food[9,10,17,18]
New preoccupation with body shape and weight[17,47]
Impulsivity (shopping for nonfood items, self-harm,
anger, violence)[18,20,21]
Scavenging or eating from garbage containers[11,18,20]
Stealing, hiding, hoarding food[10,20,21]
Manipulating others for food[9]
Making bizarre mixtures of food[18]
Eating unpalatable and inappropriate food (raw meat,
scraps)[20,21]
Thickening foods (with flour, oatmeal)[8]
Excessive flavoring (eg, with tea, coffee, lemon crystals)[8]
Excessive heating of food[24]
Excessive spicing of food[24]
Poor table manners (eg, licking knives and bottle lids,
collecting crumbs, gnawing at bones)[24]
"Souping" food and "filling up" with liquids[18,20]
Preferring to eat in isolation[17,18]
Self-induced and overeating-induced vomiting[8,19,20]
Dreading having to choose foods to eat[17]
Self-deprecation and negative affect from eating habits[17,20]
Taking drastic measures to resist binges[20]
Recidivist binge eating despite interference with quality
of life[8,9,18,45,47]
''

another good one, which I am quoting partially, but which makes a
fascinating read.

http://river-centre.org/StarvSympt.html

``As starvation progressed, the number of men who toyed with their
food increased. They made what under normal conditions would be weird
and distasteful concoctions, (p. 832). . . Those who ate in the common
dining room smuggled out bits of food and consumed them on their bunks
in a long-drawn-out ritual, (p. 833). . . Toward the end of starvation
some of the men would dawdle for almost two hours after a meal which
previously they would have consumed in a matter of minutes,
(p. 833). . . Cookbooks, menus, and information bulletins on food
production became intensely interesting to many of the men who
previously h ad little or no interest in dietetics or agriculture,
(p. 833). [The volunteers] often reported that they got a vivid
vicarious pleasure from watching other persons eat or from just
smelling food. (p. 834)

In addition to cookbooks and collecting recipes, some of the men even
began collecting coffeepots, hot plates, and other kitchen
utensils. According to the original report, hoarding even extended to
non-food-related items such as "old books, unnecessary second-hand
clothes, knick knacks, and other 'junk.? Often after making such
purchases, which could be afforded only with sacrifice, the men would
be puzzled as to why they had bought such more or less useless
articles" (p. 837). One man even began rummaging through garbage
cans. This general tendency to hoard has been observed in starved
anorexic patients (Crisp, Hsu, & Harding, 1980) and even in rats
deprived of food (Fantino & Cabanac, 1980). Despite little interest in
culinary matters prior to the experiment, almost 40% of the men
mentioned cooking as part of their postexperiment plans. For some, the
fascination was so great that they actually changed occupations after
the experiment; three became chefs, and one went into agriculture!

The Minnesota subjects were often caught between conflicting desires
to gulp their food down ravenously and consume it slowly so that the
taste and odor of each morsel would be fully appreciated. Toward the
end of starvation some of the men would dawdle for almost two hours
over a meal which previously they would have consumed in a matter of
minutes. . .they did much planning as to how they would handle their
day's allotment of food. (p. 833) The men demanded that their food be
served hot, and they made unusual concoctions by mixing foods
together, as noted above. There was also a marked increase in the use
of salt and spices. The consumption of coffee and tea increased so
dramatically that the men had to be limited to 9 cups per day;
similarly, gum chewing became excessive and had to be limited after it
was discovered that one man was chewing as many as 40 packages of gum
a day and "developed a sore mouth from such continuous exercise"
(p. 835).

During the 12-week refeeding phase of the experiment, most of the
abnormal attitudes and behaviors in regard to food persisted. A small
number of men found that their difficulties in this area were quite
severe during the first 6 weeks of refeeding:

Binge Eating

During the restrictive dieting phase of the experiment, all of the
volunteers reported increased hunger. Some appeared able to tolerate
the experience fairly well, but for others it created intense concern
and led to a complete breakdown in control. Several men were unable to
adhere to their diets and reported episodes of binge eating followed
by self-reproach. During the eighth week of starvation, one volunteer
flagrantly broke the dietary rules, eating several sundaes and malted
milks; he even stole some penny candies. He promptly confessed the
whole episode, [and] became self-deprecatory" (p. 884). While working
in a grocery store, another man

suffered a complete loss of will power and ate several cookies, a sack
of popcorn, and two overripe bananas before he could "regain control"
of himself. He immediately suffered a severe emotional upset, with
nausea, and upon returning to the laboratory he vomited. . .He was
self-deprecatory, expressing disgust and self-criticism. (p. 887)''

i

I cook separately for my husband and have for years since we have different
likes and dislikes.  I don't feel it's taken that much time off of my life
since I was in the kitchen cooking anyway.  Then again, my meals are rather
small, mostly a single serving of protein (meat or tofu), a vegetable or
two, and a salad.  We even have 2 different salads since I like more
vegetables and different lettuce in mine than he does.

Jenn

I find it very easy to combine my WOE with my family's
preferred WOE. I prepare one meal, along with a big
salad of romaine and other assorted goodies. I have a
heaping helping of salad, and have a portion of
whatever meat--whether it be chicken, steak, or
pork--cut up on top. Very yummy and filling.

Or, for instance, last night it was pasta night. For
myself I steamed summer squash and broccoli and poured
a cup of tomato/meat sauce over top. Simple,
satisfying, not much work, and I am partaking in our
family tradition of dinner together every night.

Amy
168/115

Couldn't you just eat less of the food you prepare for your husband?
It's not the type of food that differs in the 5-6 meals a day
approach, it's the quantity.  Or -- radical thought -- let him get his
own dinner?  (I mean, I don't care if you eat 3 times a day or 6, but
this doesn't seem like a good reason to me.)

Chris
262/141/ (145-150)

Well, that's what I've done for about the past 20 years, for various
reasons and by my own choice.  I'm so used to it now, I don't even
think about it any more.

I tend to eat like this, too.  I just can't quite work out how to eat
at different times to people around me as no one I know eats several
small meals a day.

janice