Friends can be a diet's worst nightmare

hzm0016

I feel like whenever I start trying to be healthy, my friends manage to pull me back into the world of peanut butter binge-fests and 2am pizza parties. It doesn't help that "this is what you're supposed to do in college" is a standardized excuse.

Prime example-- I started using my fitness pal 3 days ago. On day 2, I go over to a friends house and they make homemade blackberry cobbler with vanilla ice cream!!! It would take a person with nerves of steel and more self control God to resist that!!

I know some of you out there have friends /spouses / family that seem to wave delicious treats in front of your face like mine do to me. And I've heard the spiel about portion control before (everything in moderation), but how do you REALLY resist when you are always surrounded by d(evil)icious desserts and people who want you to enjoy with them.

No one wants to be that girl on a diet eating celery sticks while everyone else is eating cheesecake.

Advice, please!!

DeguelloTex

Don't resist. Just don't have a heaping bowl of cobbler and ice cream. That's how I really do it. Even with peach cobbler and homemade ice cream and gelato.

Iwishyouwell

If I don't want it I say some variation of "no". If I do, "yes". And that's it. I'm a grown up. What I put in my body isn't up for debate or discussion. I've sat at tables where a dozen or more people were eating and I, not hungry, just had water or a cup of tea.

Eat socially when you want to, don't when you don't. At some point you've got to learn that there will always be something acting in opposition, intently or ignorantly, to your goals. Friend's aren't your diet's worst nightmare. You are.

Coolhandkid

I usually do fine. I just always bring my own food. Not too many conflicts if you are letting everyone else eat the pizza, etc. I make wraps all the time, bring almonds, Quest Bars, etc.

I went to visit friends out of town for a 3 day weekend. THAT was tough. Hard to prep that way and I didn't do an adequate job. They were pretty supportive but a few times they were like "this is close enough" and I had a hard time saying "No, its really not. Not for what I am trying to do". Because they are quite fit and it would have seemed really weird to them. But the truth is, it wasn't.

paperpudding

I think the answer here is definitely portion control and moderation - eating BYO celery sticks whilst everyone else is eating pizza and cheesecake is never going to last.

I also think not drawing attention to yourself helps - if you don't make a big deal about "dieting" other people don't make a fuss about trying to get you to join in.
Discreetly eat a small piece of pizza, eat it slowly so no one notices you are still on first piece, same as cheesecake, drink diet soda or such so no one really sees the difference - that sort of thing.
I found people lost interest in what I was or wasn't eating when it didn't look that different to them.


Note - I am not saying you do draw attention to yourself, just making a general comment about new "dieters" in general.

charliecopley

If your friends are really not that supportive...time to find some new friends. I once gave up eating healthier twice because of these kinds of "friends", always trying to get me to eat pizza and pasta and mocking when I go for a grilled chicken toss salad instead, or only having a small portion of something without "more" or "seconds".

FireOpalCO

Don't be the girl eating carrot sticks forlornly in the corner. Do be the girl who

a. doesn't show up starving
b. brings healthy and interesting snacks/desserts to share (hey guys, I tried my hand at hummus)
c. carries a snack in her bag at all times
d. says thank you and doesn't ruin it for everyone else "OMG do you know how many calories are in this???"

Adulthood will be just as bad, but then it will be business lunches.

Eselte

Or, just eat it and log the calories and exercise to offset some of it..

zenhiker2014

I also think not drawing attention to yourself helps - if you don't make a big deal about "dieting" other people don't make a fuss about trying to get you to join in.
Discreetly eat a small piece of pizza, eat it slowly so no one notices you are still on first piece, same as cheesecake, drink diet soda or such so no one really sees the difference - that sort of thing.
I found people lost interest in what I was or wasn't eating when it didn't look that different to them.

^^This. I take a small portion and make it last. Or if I just don't want to partake at all, I put extra effort into making conversation and being very engaged in every way except eating. Example: I got invited to a brunch with several friends over Memorial Day weekend. I said I'd love to come but planned to eat earlier (I said it was because I would be getting up to do a bike ride and didn't want to wait , vs. blaming it being on a diet). They understood that. But it still had the potential to be awkward when I arrived and sat at the table with them but didn't have any food. So I complimented the food being served ("oh, those strawberries look wonderful!" Etc), accepted a cup of coffee, and promptly started making conversation about this and that and pretty soon everyone more or less forgot about me not eating with them.