Living the Lifestyle (LTL) - Tuesday, June 13th

RedSassyPants

Everyone says it, but just how do you do it? How do you take the guidelines of the WW program and turn them into a lifestyle you can live every day...from now on? That is what we are here to explore. Each weekday, a new topic is offered up for discussion. Newbie? Join in! Veteran? Join in! Your thoughts may be just what someone else needs to hear.

Monday -- whathapnd (Emmie)
Tuesday -- RedSassyPants
Wednesday -- minimyzeme (Kim)
Thursday -- Wild Card Day--open to anyone who grabs it!
Friday -- Tripaway

Today's topic: Handling people's advice even when you know they are wrong.

I am sure I am not alone in the amount of advice I receive. From eating to working out.
As much as I appreciate people trying to help me, the truth is sometimes I know the "facts" they are giving are not even close to being accurate.

How do YOU handle it?

RedSassyPants

SO SORRY this is so late. I got extra swamped with work today

Working in a gym I get advice on EVERYTHING you can imagine,
Without asking for it
My standard response is to say thank you and that I will look into it
However, people in this industry are very very PUSHY
I actually started using my trainer as an excuse
as in "He has me on a very strict program. I can't adjust right now"

DavidKuhnsSr

Depends on who it is. When coming, unrequested, from some total stranger I tend to ask them to leave me alone - sometimes rudely. On the other hand, if the advice is from my wife, I say "Thanks a lot, sweetie. I never thought of that."

Jimb376mfp

I don't receive advice but hear a lot about how others re going to lose weight. My close friends all know I am on WW, go to aqua aerobics, swim laps and have a Fitbit to track my steps. Nothing exotic, no fast huge drops in pounds, just the slow steady drip drip drip that now add up to -166#.

I don't say much when friends say:
I'm going to eat salads.
I'm not going to eat after 7:00 PM.
I lost twelve pounds in two weeks.

Thank God they are not giving me advice.

Flintwinch

I don't take kindly to unsolicited advice. What I say, if in a good mood, is "You may be right".
If in a bad mood, I mutter oaths under my breath, and find a way to exit the conversation without putting my foot in my mouth.

linmueller

It depends. Like Jim, it's more hearing their drastic plans for weight loss. And it's usually one specific couple. She does fast and super strict diet and works out more when she eats too much. Her weight fluctuates by 20#s or so. Her husband is dragged along by her enforced eating plans (except when he grabs fast food at work) and also thinks the gym is the answer. His weight fluctuates by 150#s or more. I have no problem keeping my mouth shut with her. It's working for her. But I feel bad for him because he's a feast or famine guy. I know (ok, I really think) he could benefit from a diet plan like WW that cuts food back slowly and teaches lifestyle changes. I don't roll my eyes or tell him his latest gimic won't work, but I do occasionally talk a bit about what's working for me.

I do have one young friend that always tells me about the latest fad I should try. To her I point out that they haven't really worked in the past for me (or her), so I'll stick with WW but thanks. She always says WW didn't work for her ... BAER!

podkey

I don't always handle it well but am not bombarded wth advice so much. Lots of eat this not that, only do jumping jacks on alternate wednesdays. I handle it gently in WWmeetings.

Al_Howard

I sometimes snap "tat's bad science", but usually mutter "that's interesting", or "I hope that works for you."

Rachel0778

It depends on how much I like the person.

My go to is, "I haven't seen any peer reviewed studies on that before, can you share a few with me". Oddly enough, the pseudo-science pushers haven't taken me up on my offer

If they are just sharing what stupid fad diet they are on without pushing it on me, I usually just say "best of luck". It's their body, their choice.

goldenfrisbee

This never happens to me

gadgetgirlIL

It rarely happens to me. And when it has, my response most likely has deterred the person from making similar comments to me in the future. Poor DH was the recipient of such a response when he tried to helpfully suggest that I'd be less affected by the heat if I lost some weight (I was around 300 pounds at the time). Of course, DH is just as receptive to unsolicited advice as I am (sarcasm intended) so I bite my tongue a lot when he complains about not losing weight.

MurpleCat

I don't get much of this any more. At my highest, though, I did get comments even from total strangers in the grocery store "Do you really need that X?"

My most polite response was simply, "Why do you ask?"
Also used:
"Yes. Yes, I do."
"I can't imagine why its any of your business."
and "Thanks for the public shaming. Do you feel better about your own pathetic little life now?"

Out_of_Bubblegum

Haven't had much outside of some of the weirdos on the message boards here... My most recent was an expert that was sure that the only proper way to eat back exercise calories was to eat 150 calories immediately after a workout but only if it was hard enough not to be able to carry on a conversation...

My reply: If that works for you, great.. I'll stick with using my HRM and tracking my calories, losing 1-2 lb a week easily.

And I think that's close to my Goto. I don't much care what other people are doing or saying about WL... I know that what I'm doing is working for me, and if it stops working, I know a lot of successful people to ask for real world advice.

Al_Howard

If you get to read last week's Time Magazine's article on weight loss, the takeaway, at least for ME, is it is whatever works for YOU. And, I'll add, over time, not short term.

minimyzeme

I don't run into this much either, but I'm with those that don't give it much mind. I do accept and acknowledge that what works for me may not work for someone else so the reverse is certainly true too.