Some people don't get it.

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.

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!!!

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!

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!)

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.

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 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:

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.

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)

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.

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.

i learned something recently, about communication. It is as much about the talking as the listening.
My father and i have this really great, close relationship. I can actually talk about anything i want with him. He is my best friend, and i , his. We pride ourselves on knowing everything there is to know about one another.
Wrong.

The other day, i called him to see if he wanted to have coffee together, i would come over. He sounded gruff and miserable on the phone. My instant thought was, oh...he is having a bad day. No problem, nice to have the warning. I went over. made the coffee, while he was in the livingroom. He looked like he had a scowl on his face. We talked for a bit, and i noticed him relaxing. Finally i asked him what was bothering him. He gave me this strange look, and said, "Nothing, why?". So, i told him, what i just wrote here (i won't type it again, lol). He laughed and said, "No, no, i was sleeping and the phone woke me up." Turned out he had been up real late(got stuck on POGO, lol)
My point is...i heard what i thought was real, letting my own mind draw conclusions.
Perhaps when your co-workers ask if it is a place where you can eat...they are being as conciderate to you, as you are to them.
Now, obviously i am not there, so i can't hear how they are saying it, butsometimes we let our insecurities, fears, worries, etc set the "tone" of what someone says to us.
However, if you ask them straight out if it realy bothers them...they may realize they haven't been fair to you, or they can explain to you, how thye feel...when all the cardds are on the table, so to speak, then maybe you can all come to a comprimise, where no one feels bad, and your work environment may improve.

Most importantly, you are doing something positive for yourself...never feel guilty about that...feel empowered.

OMG.....I must tell you about my husbands friend, that lost almost 80 pounds for her wedding, and tortured me with her constant remarks about my weight, on the day of her wedding they had the limo go to Mcdonalds and that was the day she went off her diet. She got pregnant on the honey moon and its been over a year since her baby was born and she is in bad shape.She has put on at least a hundred pounds, but doesn't notice because she is always to busy looking at my weight.....

On this past Sunday we attended a fundraiser together, and it was all you can drink and eat buffet, i prepared myself a small plate consisting of a hotdog w/no bun, one spoon of rice and one wing, one spoon of pasta....I ate the hot dog and rice and couldn't eat the rest because I didn't care for it.
She, prepared herself and ate not one ,not two , but three over loaded plates of food. My mother inlaw was shocked that she ate so much, and ended up taking hotdog to go!

This is the person that laughed at me for starting to diet and exercise, and she asked me how long is this going to last?
And she reminded me about the calories in my rum and diet coke beverage I allowed myself to have, I simply stated to her with the calories I ate and what was in my drink, didn't compare to what she just stuffed in her mouth...........
What's wronge with people? What happened to supporting a friend?

When at 20 years old I was 200 lbs and had to have my gallbladder removed, it finally clicked to me that I needed to lose weight. I went on the South Beach diet and dropped 35 lbs over the course of about 9 months. When my family showed up to my college graduation and I was 165, they were flabbergasted.

Its been 5 years since then and I tend to fluctuate 5 pounds in either direction of that 165. I got married at 165... but I'm still 20 lbs overweight for my height. And I'm sick of it! So now I'm really sticking to this meals plan and exercise on MFP.

Now, though, I've started getting these questions... "Why are you dieting now? Wasn't your wedding a month ago??" or "Don't lose any more weight, you look great right now" Really? How do you know I wouldn't look FABULOUS at 145? I agree with the girls who said, "How do you know what I look like in my underwear?"

Frankly, I'm losing the weight for my honeymoon. We leave for Las Vegas on December 28th and I plan on wearing a REALLY HOT dress for New Years Eve.

Other people definitely need to have other people eating to justify their eating habits. I'm just lucky enough to have a husband that pushes me to keep going on the days I just want to have some french fries!

I must admit I am not in most of the situations you all describe. I'm a schoolbus driver so there is not an office full of sweets to avoid but my boss has always taken a positive interest in how I'm doing. He's rooting for me to lose everything I told him I wanted too. Most of the people in my life are really considerate too. I've been doing this for three months and I am finally getting the support I want at home. Last Saturday I made myself a salad at my mom's while my brothers family opted out for McD's and my mom wanted a sandwich. No one said anything negative about it at all, in fact my mom said she had all the fixin's for salad since she knows I like them for lunch. My sister- in-law was telling how to make cake with diet coke from weightwatchers. They were all supportive. I'm so glad I don't have half the negative things I'm hearing going on in my life because this would be sooo much harder to do. But I am glad I also have this mfp family to turn to when I need them and I want to be there for them when they need it.

You should be proud of yourself. :drinker: Some people make it seem like if you don't lose a whole lot of weight, it doesn't count. Whether you are trying to lose 5 pounds or 105 pounds, it's hard and you should be proud of your progress, no matter how much or how little. :flowerforyou: