Have you tried NOT telling everyone you're on a diet?

Hendrix7

But then you can't make threads complaining about the postman trying to sabotage you or your dog judging your food choices or someone in your office eating a cake on the other side of the room while staring at you and how mean everyone is.

glovepuppet

But then you can't make threads complaining about the postman trying to sabotage you or your dog judging your food choices or someone in your office eating a cake on the other side of the room while staring at you and how mean everyone is.

great. now i feel mean for laughing.

damn you!

Delicate

Told noone, they look at my food choices and wonder why i dont eat the sweet buns etc in the kitchen (im prediabetic and am more of a savoury person anyway)

they ask, am i on a diet, i say 'no, its the way i want and like to eat, it just happens to be relatively healthy'

Lunnunis

Definitely the way I went this time. It takes the pressure off. I told a couple of people in confidence when I'd lost the first 8lbs. When I'd lost 21lbs one or two other people started to notice.

Urrgh, it was easier when they didn't know. There's a big box of chocs in the next office and I have been teased about how I won't eat one because I'm 'on a diet', not that I've ever said I was 'on a diet' it's just that I've got thinner so I must be 'on a diet'. Of course I am going to have a couple of the chocs and fit them into my day but it's slightly annoying . 'Go on, it'll boost your metabolism. You'll have burned it off by the end of the day.' Yeah, OK, whatever. You are a little larger than I am now. Could it be you have an agenda?

Having said that I was basking in their admiration yesterday as they told me how different I looked, they could hardly recognise me (really, was I THAT bad before?) and feeling like a bit of a star. So I suppose I'll have to live with a bit of joshing

ndj1979

i am not on a diet...this is a way of life for me ....so I don't tell anyone anything...

Rena42

The only people that I've told are close family members and my best friend (who I've been trying to convince to join MFP with me). These are people I know what we to succeed. I don't want to tell anyone else because I don't want to make a big deal about it. I have a fear that one of my "friends" will root for me to fail. (She's very competitive and wants to be the thin one of our group.)

The truth is that I don't feel I need to - I get a ton of support from people on MFP. You guys are so incredibly supportive and I can talk about my successes and failures with you without feeling judged. Why would I want to open up myself from criticism others?

If people ask, I have no problem telling them. It's not a huge secret. I'm still waiting for someone to comment that they see a change. Hopefully, that will come soon.

RobinvdM

I have a hard time telling people Im not on a diet, does that count? People ask about my weight and I respond with "Im losing weight" and they ask what diet Im doing and I say "Im not, Im just watching calories more and doing a lot more activities than I had been." (Diet has such a temporary and ineffective connotation to it, Im in the middle of a lifestyle change.) They never believe I am not on a diet. There are folks who still try to undermine my efforts to lose weight, my children and my mother top the list. I am lucky that I have a remarkable support system otherwise (due in no small part to my MFP buddies.)

If folks want to share they are trying to lose weight they shouldn't feel "justifiably targetted" by folks who can't respect their efforts of self improvement. Even if it is their 15th time trying. Thats like saying the girl wearing the skirt was just asking for it.

coopers11

I haven't really told anyone and am just eating more vegetables and less shop bought food. A cookies here and there won't hurt as long as you're good 90% of the time.

Now my clothes are too big that's ball the encouragement I need!

lauren3101

I have made the mistake of telling near enough everyone (although I don't use the word 'diet'), but it was pretty hard to avoid when my weight loss started to get noticeable.

I do sometimes wish I hadn't mentioned it. People do seem to love trying to sabotage you, I regularly have people try and make me get a dessert on a meal out. 'Go on, don't be so boring!' 'Go on, everyone else is!' 'Go on, what's one meal going to do?'

Or my favourite is that it seems utterly implausible that I actually may genuinely PREFER salmon and jacket potato to a burger and chips, so if I order something healthy for dinner, people actually get the hump!

hellokathy

In my case I used to not tell people and that was part of why I failed. That whole "No one knows I'm trying so no one cares if I fail" thinking isn't good for my progress. I know I'm doing this for myself and no one else and I'm not putting that much weight on what people say but ultimately, I want this new, healthier lifestyle to be a part of me and it just feels wrong not to let people know. I'm not making it a big announcement but I'm not hiding the fact from people either.

beachlover317

don't ask...don't tell.

mojohowitz

I never mentioned my exercise plan or my plans to start eating better because I had seen other people do it and heard alot of giggling and snickering about that person when they were absent. I've seen many family members make grand announcements about their intentions but never act on it. As a result, they "lose face" and suffer chiding and harsher indignities because of it.

Many people relish the cheap thrill of watching people fail and make idiots of themselves. Including my own family. =( My self-esteem at the time would not have bared that treatment very well. So, I just did it quietly without fanfare and without telling anyone but the good people of MFP. I suspect extroverts would do just the opposite.

It was only after I lost 50 pounds that people took notice and began to compliment. It was then that everyone decided they wanted to cheer me on. Which was and is still fine.

tedrickp

I told most of my "inner circle". It is very obvious now, so it's not like it was a secret. I also told them because we are booze hounds, and I needed an excuse on why I was cutting down.

I've only had positive experiences from telling people. In fact I think I have stayed relatively consistent because of support from friends. Of course there is built in accountability too - which is something that motivates me.

The only annoying thing is some people get offended when they say "Oh we should walk together" and I am like :indifferent: :indifferent:

I already have a walking partner...my ipod.

amy1612

Not so much an, 'on a diet' comment so much as 'the way I eat' comment....but once my supervisor realised I was gluten free she started bringing gluten free snacks along to our group meetings (silver linings and all that)

BeachGingerOnTheRocks

When I first started having real success, I made the mistake of telling people what I was doing and talking about it way too much. It turns out that me talking about it made other people uncomfortable, and I wish I hadn't talked about it so much. I got the "you're already skinny enough" (mom) and the "if you think you need to lose weight, what must you thing I need to do?" (sister) comments from my family. Friends teased me about my arms becoming "toothpicks" etc., etc.

Fast forward a couple of years and me not talking about what I am doing to anyone, and the same person who told me I was skinny enough recently told me that I'm looking really fit and asked me what she should be doing (mom). The other person who is more overweight and got upset about me talking about it constantly has been silently losing and is looking better each time I see her (sister). And the friend who told me I had toothpick arms recently told me I needed to put a pirate temporary tattoo on my "gun" when we went out because she liked how they're looking. These are all comments from people pretty close to me -- family and the wife of a life-long friend.

When you don't talk about it, and people see it, the way you're treated by the exact same people is completely different.

alisonlynn1976

I've only told a few people. I want everyone else to notice without my saying anything.

berriboobear

I don't really tell people, my immediate family knows as well as a couple of my close friends. But it's definitely not something I will openly talk about, especially not wanting to draw attention to myself. For me it's quite a personal thing and I'm okay with the support I get from the few who do know

Pearsquared

I only told my parents outright that I was trying. Everyone else found out when they noticed the weight loss.

Ninkyou

I outed myself on Facebook at the start of my diet on Monday. I'm not going to post pictures of myself though. The next time I'll be seeing family/friends en masse will be September. I'm hoping to see them and have a nice weightloss impact