Some people don't get it.

bigdane321

Most people in my life have noticed the changes in my habits and my appearance. For the most part people are very positive. However once in while i get these "friends" who ask me questions like this. " So when are you going to start adding real food back into your diet?" "Oh and of coarse your not going stop drinking forever are you?" And my all time favorite is. "Are you tired of eating your diet food?"

My wife and I have decided not to call it a diet anymore. We are health nuts were crazy stay away from us! Just kidding were not crazy but we are healthier and we're not on a diet were just living day to day lives making better choices for us. I know I can say this here on MFP; however', society along with some of my friends just think it's a phase. I try not to reply rudely but it's hard.

My new answers
Q1 I do eat real food it just doesn't clog my arteries.
Q2 I drink everyday 10 classes of water. I also partake in hops and barley however i know my limitations. Do you?
Q3 I haven't had any. What is diet food anyway.

My question is this. What negative comments or questions have you endured. And how do you handle it.

bigdane321

Most people in my life have noticed the changes in my habits and my appearance. For the most part people are very positive. However once in while i get these "friends" who ask me questions like this. " So when are you going to start adding real food back into your diet?" "Oh and of coarse your not going stop drinking forever are you?" And my all time favorite is. "Are you tired of eating your diet food?"

My wife and I have decided not to call it a diet anymore. We are health nuts were crazy stay away from us! Just kidding were not crazy but we are healthier and we're not on a diet were just living day to day lives making better choices for us. I know I can say this here on MFP; however', society along with some of my friends just think it's a phase. I try not to reply rudely but it's hard.

My new answers
Q1 I do eat real food it just doesn't clog my arteries.
Q2 I drink everyday 10 classes of water. I also partake in hops and barley however i know my limitations. Do you?
Q3 I haven't had any. What is diet food anyway.

My question is this. What negative comments or questions have you endured. And how do you handle it.

redalee

My mom (God love her soul) gasped and told me I looked like a concentration camp victim when I first lost this weight many years ago. So I gained it all back. lol
Trying again seriously this time, and she's up in heaven in her bestest body ever, so no more worries.

nopogal

That's a great attitude and shows that you and your wife will probably keep this up forever and be healthy people. I think we get so much negative feedback because other people are scared of doing it themselves. A lot of times those without the confidence to make real changes in their lives get jealous and have to try to pull you down with them.

I haven't gotten a lot of negative comments on my "diet", thank goodness, but I do get the feeling that other people in my office think that I think I'm superior to them for either eating better or exercising more. My intense workout schedule isn't just for losing weight--I like challenging my body and it makes me feel good. That's usually where the criticism starts in for me. "Aren't you overdoing it?" is a big one. Even my boyfriend doesn't really get it sometimes. It's hard to listen to the same questions over and over, but I guess we can just hope to be good influences on others rather than let others be bad influences on us.

Congrats on your healthy attitude and lifestyle!

tdroseler

gawd...i just got a power-full feeling reading your post, bigdane. awesome...that is the kind of attitude more of us need.

i have to admit it was the comment of a couple of q-tips (skinny women) that got me here. i over heard then saying how some women just LET themselves get fat. i went over to them, po'd of course, and said to them, " you want to know how to loose weight, ask a fat person, cause believe me, we have tried it all."

not the best attitude i know, lol...but it got me motivated, and now, i don't diet either...i eat to become healthy...
redalee: that just made me giggle...(hope that isn't rude)


Thank you for the boost!!!

diannholland1965

I LOVE THIS TOO!
One of my favs is...
"Oh One bite is not going to hurt you! "When they are holding a fat ladden spoon of something sweet and gooey.
Well no ONE bite might not hurt me, but after I scarf the whole thing it WILL.
Yes we eat real food. Real wholesome food. Real out of a garden unprocessed food.
A Big Mac is so far from real food it is not even funny. Do they REALLY want to know how that fast food meal is made? OR WHERE IT COMES FROM?
As for Diet food.
DIET
Did
I
Eat
Today?
Any food that you eat is diet food. EVERYONE that eats is on a DIET. but OUR diet makes us healthy and live longer happier lives.

amandagreen1980

I find a lot of people try their hardest to get me to eat all kinds of junk food, especially at work! They ask me if i want a biscuit/piece of cake and when i politely refuse they carry on asking about 4-5 times! I think they are testing me and want to see how long my will power will hold out. I also think people feel less guilty about eating these things if other people are eating them too. I know i used to feel like this, but if someone was trying to lose weight or eat healthy i would NEVER try to coax them into eating unhealthy food!
I think it is right that these people are generally jealous of us making this decision to improve out lifestyles!

PS i havn't ever given in to them!!......yet!

kjllose

Yeah Big D I have a girl friend who doesn't get it either. She won't even try to eat healthy. I don't think what she eats is unhealthy just the amount she eats. I was at her house the other day and I was kind of stuck there because hubby had my vehicle and when lunchtime rolled around she asked me what I wanted to eat and out of all the stuff in her house ( I eat salads alot) I chose a banana/pnutbutter sandwich on whole wheat. She looked at me kinda funny.
I think you are lucky because your spouse is really into it with you. I think mine is getting there slowly, because I've been doing this for 2-3 months. So he sees me losing weight and feeling better and I noticed he's been getting on the scale more often. But I don't push him. He even likes some of the lighter meals I've made. I have started cooking much more healthy. So I kinda look at it as a diet in part but I think it is just starting to become more habit. I just look at food differently. I liked Diannholland's comment and I think I will post it on the fridge:bigsmile:

banks1850

This whole thread is like one giant motivation tool. :happy:

I mean it, all of you have done great work. I have to say I haven't noticed
much negative feedback, but I do get a lot of people looking at me funny
when I refuse to go out to lunch with them. They look at me like I'm from another
world when I say I brought my lunch. Hehe, I like it though, cuz while
they are out munching on the pre-meal bread or nachos, I am working
out in the (empty) company gym.

Oh, and the candy dishes all over my office drive me nutz. I haven't taken even one thing
out since Halloween, when they put them out (well, ok I had a dumb dumb lolipop, but I spit it out after a few licks, thought it was chocolate, but it was root beer!)

ahertel0214

I've posted this before but I think we should all be on a LIVIT not a DIEt. Make sense?:happy:

filergirl

Going out to eat is tough. I don't want to overeat, and particularly if it's a nice restaurant, it's as if people get offended -- you're not being "lavish" enough. Ordering just what you need to eat is being "cheap." It reminds me of the linkages between food and consumerism. What you eat (or don't eat) can become a status symbol, ditto for how (and where) you work out and what brand of yoga pants you wear.

Personally if I could survive on tree roots and wasn't addicted to glossy consumer magazines I might consider living in the forest somewhere. Except I'm a nationalist, and **** it's cold here in the winter.

bigdane321

I've got a new one. My wife and I went out for a splurge meal. When we got home our neighbor asked where we had been. We told him the name of the restaurant and he said,"Doesn't sound like diet food to me." Giggling like ahhh I caught you. What is wrong with some people. Do they not know it's hard enough to do this without the peanut galleries adding comments. :huh:

Furpaws

For my height and age, I'm 30 pounds overweight. And unfortunately, I'm at "that age" where it doesn't come off easy anymore. And when I'm fully dressed (not bragging now), I don't look overweight - I've learned to disguise it. So when I sit down in the lunchroom at work with my little can of salmon and some triscuits, I hear: "is THAT all you're going to eat? Good grief, you don't need to lose weight! Here, have a bagel!" So my reply? "you haven't, probably never will, see me in my underwear. If you do, you will understand why I'm eating like this". I've had weight issues, eating issues my whole life (so far). I've heard it from family and "friends". Mostly them debating or discounting my need to eat healthy. My ex used to call my a hypochondriac - obviously not knowing what it means. My mother: "oh, you're not fat". My seriously overweight daughter (and grand-daughter): "oh Mom, one little piece of cake won't kill you". And you know what else really gets me? The MEDIA. Fast Food has become big $$ and ENTERTAINMENT. Look at McD's and their happy meals. Driving to work at 7:00 a.m. the radio is full of ads for B-King, McDs, etc for a McMfn and similar fat-laden CR@P. :explode:

Stepping down now........ :ohwell:

lashonda

I used to be one of those people who didnt get it. I would eat what i wanted when I wanted and if anyone would comment I would say " Im gonna die fat and happy, not skinny and hungry like you". I kept that up unt ill I stepped on the sclaie one day and found myself at 249lbs. Now that I changed the way I live and eat I feel really bad about all the rude things I said to people who were just trying to help.

In an ironic twist those same people are now asking how long I think I can keep this up and " wont it be hard when the diet ends and some of the weight comes back?" My favorit was " Make sure you dont get rid of all the Fat clothes, just in case"

redalee

Lashonda, I hope you slapped that last person that made the comment about the fat clothes! Just kidding! Guess you can just give them the old Spock eyebrow lift :huh:

lizard9800

Luckily I don't get negative comments about the food I eat. Everyone I have told has been either supportive or neutral. My boyfriend was the one who brought all this on because he is super healthy and in shape, so I have a great resource at home. If I want to make squash he doesn't say "Eww".
In fact, I work at a small government place and we all live next to each other. Every time we have a company potluck I always bring the salad and my co-workers wives thank me profusely because they are all dieting as well (one of them looks amazing and is great motivation for me).

What I get from my co-workers is "Why do want to exercise?" "What is the point of hiking around pointlessly when you just end up back at your car?" "How can you be into cross country skiing when it is so cold outside?" "You know kayaking and snowboarding and rock climbing and everything else you do is dangerous?"
Well, to them I say - Hiking is not pointless. It is a nature walk. I see beautiful scenery. I see wildflowers and wild animals. And I'm surrounded by like minded people who care about their body. Cross country skiing is meditation. It is peaceful and serene. And if you do it correctly you don't stay cold, in fact you shed layers. So what if I like sports that are labeled extreme. We live in an extreme town. I play it smart. Getting in your car everyday is more dangerous. Does that stop you?

And you shouldn't let others insecurities stop you either. Everyone on this site is awesome! :flowerforyou:

(I just realized that this post makes me sound like I am in better shape than I am! I just try to take advantage of all the different exercise options, even if I am huffing and puffing through it all. One of my main motivations for all of this is to be able to do all these activities even better and get the most out of them.)

Dsmart

I haven't figured that out. The people at work make me feel like things are my fault, like where we eat. It's like someone mentions going out to eat at a certain place then the first question is well can "she" eat there. I am compassionate to their needs and ignorance but sometimes I wish I had some support too. I usually just give in for them but then I feel bad that I did it and feel bad that no one seems to care. It does brew up some resentment and distance between us but I don't know what to do. I've tried to educate them on my health needs/why I do this but I still feel like I'm stupid for my efforts. Plus if I just give in to them then I feel like I am not standing up for my health. For me this issue is a no-win.

loreeb18

Furpaws, I feel the same way. I am not obese, I am a little overweight. According to my mom and husband, I look great. But I would like to lose 15-25 pounds. I just know what clothes to wear to make me look better. My coworkers will never see me in my underwear or in a bathing suit. But when I do wear those, I want to feel as good as I do wearing clothes that hide all my "flaws". At work, everybody in my department is a good cook. They are always bringing in goodies. If I don't eat any, they get on me about "Why do you need to lose weight?" I feel like I have to eat to avoid that.

dhayes

I have also been fortunate the people in my office have been super supportive. They even substituted a box of teas for my birthday cake last friday. I love different teas and really appreciated that they were so thoughtful. It probably helps that most of the people in my unit are women, they all eat healthy and work at looking fantastic .(:embarassed: hope i don't get into trouble with human resources)

nopogal

I found a great quote from a Weight Watchers article on how to respond to those comments, especially during the holidays when the food and drinks are flowing...if you are told, "why do you need to lose weight? you already look good" then you can respond "I didn't get this way by overeating and I'd like to stay healthy"...(try not to sound too snotty)

Loretta_Jo

No, people don’t get it and the sad thing is they never will. Best of luck figuring out the best way of handling these situations.