"Why didn't you eat any _____? Are you on a diet??"

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nebulasprout
nebulasprout Posts: 15 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
Does anyone else get really annoyed and/or self-conscious when people ask if they're on a diet? I live in South Korea, and asking about dieting isn't really considered rude here, but I feel like any time I decline a snack in the office or take a smaller portion of rice during lunch, I get people interrogating me about my eating habits. I know it's not coming from a bad place, but it really stresses me out!

Honestly, I hate any attention being paid to how much I eat- be it a comment on how little, how much, or really anything. Does anyone else have this same problem? How do you deal with it?
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Replies

  • concordancia
    concordancia Posts: 5,320 Member
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    I usually try to tell people that I have had all I want.
  • SusanKKO
    SusanKKO Posts: 45 Member
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    I can relate. I don't like comments and especially when people talk about being "good" or being "bad." Drives me nuts!
  • augustremulous
    augustremulous Posts: 378 Member
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    I agree. It definitely gets worse when I'm traveling overseas because all of a sudden my eating habits aren't representing just me - they're representing AMERICAN eating habits. And everything I do leads to a comment or discussion about how Americans eat. No surprise - our eating habits have a bad reputation!



  • Lounmoun
    Lounmoun Posts: 8,426 Member
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    Not really. I eat mostly at home.
    Why don't you just say you just don't want it today or don't want any more of that food and change the subject?
  • jdhcm2006
    jdhcm2006 Posts: 2,254 Member
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    Just tell people you get full easily. That way you can avoid the "diet talk."
  • singingflutelady
    singingflutelady Posts: 8,736 Member
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    People look at me like I am crazy because of my many food restrictions (for Crohn's). Imagine the comments when you only eat white carbs, white meat, very few veggies and fruit, fish and "junk food"
  • redd_87
    redd_87 Posts: 53 Member
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    I do. I'm pretty much at goal/ very close, but I will always count and log my calories because it gives me that feeling of control over food that I need. There's quite a few people (family is the worst) that always make comments that I shouldn't be on a diet, shouldn't be counting calories, I need to eat a cheeseburger, etc. This is a lifestyle for me, and no matter how many times I tell people I'm not on a diet, it doesn't stick. It bothers me, but I don't make a big deal out of it though.
  • jemhh
    jemhh Posts: 14,261 Member
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    Never really get comments like that. You shouldn't feel obligated to explain though. Let your no be your no.
  • nebulasprout
    nebulasprout Posts: 15 Member
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    augustremulous wrote: »
    I agree. It definitely gets worse when I'm traveling overseas because all of a sudden my eating habits aren't representing just me - they're representing AMERICAN eating habits. And everything I do leads to a comment or discussion about how Americans eat. No surprise - our eating habits have a bad reputation!



    YES this! The other day there was salad with honey mustard dressing, and as I've never been a fan of mustard, I didn't take any. Cue two of my Korean coworkers asking "Oh, Americans don't eat mustard??"

    Amazing.
  • RoseTheWarrior
    RoseTheWarrior Posts: 2,035 Member
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    I eat in my office, alone. That way I don't have to talk to anyone! Ha!! :smiley:
  • Asher_Ethan
    Asher_Ethan Posts: 2,430 Member
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    I was at the Pinewood Derby for my son in boy scouts and I didn't feel like eating the sandwiches they were serving because they were dripping in mayonnaise and I hate mayonnaise. So I got a plate full of vegtables and all the other moms started talking about me like I wasn't there and how, "she's so skinny she doesn't need to diet at the Pinewood Derby," and "you should really eat something sustainable, you won't gain weight from one little sandwich".

    I hate those women with a passion.
  • WinoGelato
    WinoGelato Posts: 13,454 Member
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    I tell them that the food in question gives me explosive diarrhea. That usually shuts them up.
  • PaulaWallaDingDong
    PaulaWallaDingDong Posts: 4,641 Member
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    There's a lady who comes by my work to bribe us for bananas with goodies. I'm good with the grape HiChew candies she used to bring. I can deal with that. Lately, though, she's been coming around with Häagen-Dazs ice cream bars, and I have to fight her off with a stick every time.
  • nebulasprout
    nebulasprout Posts: 15 Member
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    Note to self: find out how to say "explosive diarrhea" in Korean. :tongue:
  • lkpducky
    lkpducky Posts: 16,990 Member
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    nebulasprout wrote: »
    Note to self: find out how to say "explosive diarrhea" in Korean. :tongue:
    I just caught myself trying to find the Like button.
  • lkpducky
    lkpducky Posts: 16,990 Member
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    SusanKKO wrote: »
    I can relate. I don't like comments and especially when people talk about being "good" or being "bad." Drives me nuts!

    There was an elderly friend "Esther" who called me to have dinner with her every week. She would always say "You're being good!" whenever I ordered something healthy or didn't order an alcoholic drink or dessert. One time a friend eating with us turned down the dessert that was included in her dinner special. Without missing a beat, "Esther" turned to me and said "Do you want it?" Me: "Why didn't you insist that she eat it? You do with me" Esther: "She doesn't need it."
  • elphie754
    elphie754 Posts: 7,574 Member
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    I usually say- no, I just didn't want any. If they continue to badger-what part of I didn't want any wasn't clear? If they continue, repeat the second part, this time with an expletive.
  • ericaconti
    ericaconti Posts: 72 Member
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    My mother is the worse. Whenever I eat a meal with her, at home or out, she feels the need to very loudly talk about how I'm on a "diet". Her comments include: you better be careful, you're on a diet; that's not diet food; you're gonna gain your weight back if you stop eating your diet food; better enjoy this real food because tomorrow you'll be back on your diet food.

    It doesn't matter how many times I explain to her that I'm not on a "diet," but instead my diet consists of eating healthy foods and making better food choices, she just doesn't get it.

    Yesterday was a bad day. I went out to lunch with my mother and my sister. I ordered a sandwich that I normally wouldn't order. My mother starts screaming her diet comments. (I've lost half my body weight. I am currently maintaining at 135lbs.) The people at the next table over start talking to each other about how they can't believe on I'm a diet and how skinny I am. To avoid continuing to listening to that convo, I got up to use the restroom and our waitress approached me to tell me how good I look and that I shouldn't be dieting; men don't like skin and bones.

    People seriously need to mind their own business.
  • SonyaCele
    SonyaCele Posts: 2,841 Member
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    regardless of what the food is, i tell people it has too much gluten in it and i've reached my gluten limit for the day. That gets them to walk away puzzled.
  • Mystical64
    Mystical64 Posts: 108 Member
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    All the time! My boss constantly asks me if I can eat this or that. And I have recently started use this response, Why yes I can eat that, however, I choose not too. And if he asks why not, I tell him my lifestyle no longer allows me to put said food into my body. And (knock on wood) he has stopped so far.

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