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For many alcoholics, it's not possible to have "just one beer". If it's there, it's a constant, overwhelming temptation that is at best a distraction from your work and at worst the cause for a relapse. In addition to trying to avoid the distraction of the beer in the fridge, you need to be around people who _are_ enjoying a beer or two responsibly, which makes it even harder. Fortunately, I'm not an alcoholic. I quite enjoy a beer or two with colleagues now and then, and that's the end of it. But I'll bet at least some of those same colleagues were going through a silent torture keeping it under control. But I'm pretty sure I'm a compulsive eater. If there's a box of donuts I'll have one, for sure, like everyone else. Then a couple hours later, after having thought about donuts for the last two hours - (and hating myself for having eaten the donut), I'll have another. If there's free chips I'm sure to grab a pack when I walk by. A failure of willpower? Sure. A sign that I'm a lesser person, maybe lazy (funny since I would cycle 12 miles to work while they all drove...), and definitely gluttonous? You'd think that based on how some people treat you. I lost 100 pounds by keeping absolutely, positively, nothing in my home that I could eat without cooking - this was an effective deterrent to impulse eating since cooking was a sufficient pain in the ass (these days I actually enjoy cooking! But I also weigh under 200 lbs now so I guess it's ok. Workplaces with free food can destroy that for people who struggle with eating. An aside - anyone who's gone from very obese to merely overweight or normal will tell you it's shocking just how differently people treat you. Not just potential romantic partners - _everyone_. Anyway, I guess I'm saying that free food in the workplace, for me, is a psychological nightmare. Though if the free food is apples and carrot sticks, that's fine. I'll eat them if I'm hungry, and only then. |