How to say 'No' to 'Food Pushers"

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Replies

  • Yes! It happens all the time! "You're not eating enough! We're worried about you! A few more pieces of this or that won't kill you!" God! I am so tired of having to tell them that I'm on a diet constantly!
  • liittlesparrow
    liittlesparrow Posts: 209 Member
    People at work do this to me. Tell me that I don't need to eat "so healthy" and I never "eat anything". I just say I like what I eat and I don't need a frikkin donut (or whatever)
  • bettyann55
    bettyann55 Posts: 87 Member
    just give them the finger and keep it moving
    What a crazy thing to say!!!

    My suggestion would be to say thank you however thank you for the offer. Be honest and you will do fine.
  • pinkraynedropjacki
    pinkraynedropjacki Posts: 3,027 Member
    Simple. Say no.

    It's your body & unless they are force feeding you...then say no.

    If you allow them to hand it to you and you eat it.... then you have no chance.


    Also stop telling everyone you are on a diet. You are supposed to be on a lifestyle change FOREVER. Diet is short term & always fail
  • IndigoFlowers
    IndigoFlowers Posts: 221 Member
    No is a common answer here but if someone is going to give me a cookie, I am going take the cookie, eat it and say thank you very much.

    however, NO.

    Yes!! Exactly my thoughts, I'd love for someone to offer me a cookie right about now :)
  • Smile.

    Or ask them if they want some brussel sprouts.

    I've NEVER thought of this. I'm going to start offerring veggies back. Good idea!
  • tameko2
    tameko2 Posts: 31,634 Member
    When they say "just one won't kill you" you could turn, stare at them, let your lip tremble, and then start bawling some horrible story about how your mom/aunt/dog ate a cookie and then had a stroke, and then scream "IT WAS WAFER THIN" and run away.
  • Candi_land
    Candi_land Posts: 1,311 Member
    just give them the finger and keep it moving

    Would not work with my 4'9" 85lb Puerto Rican Grandma. I'd get hit with a slipper and force fed some rice and beans while being told I need to lose weight to find a man to marry and impregnate me. Wait, what was this about?
  • WannaDizzolve
    WannaDizzolve Posts: 270 Member
    i say, "no thanks." if that doesn't work, i take the cookie or pastry, walk away, and put it down. or crumble it into my saucer if i'm at tea. i often plead blood sugar issues. people seem to accept that. If that doesn't work, i just leave...
  • Mock_Turtle
    Mock_Turtle Posts: 354 Member
    Claim allergy or religious reasons? Half my office thinks I'm Muslim and gluten intolerant

    lol this is good.

    Just ask them if it's Halal, and when they give you a quizzical look just handwaive them away and say you can't eat it if it's not.
  • ninerbuff
    ninerbuff Posts: 48,990 Member
    Hi, lately at school people have been trying to hand me free food like crazy. "Oh have a cookie!" And when I say "No, thank you." They tell me things like "One won't kill you!" Or ask why I won't eat it and this is constantly happening and I need new way to say "No" to them. Curious to see if this happens to others here as well!
    Easy, chew it than spit it out in front of them. They'll soon stop giving you their hard earned food.

    A.C.E. Certified Personal/Group FitnessTrainer
    IDEA Fitness member
    Kickboxing Certified Instructor
    Been in fitness for 30 years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition
  • Debbe2
    Debbe2 Posts: 2,071 Member
    My best friend is a food pusher. I say no and she keeps asking. I found that if I firmly say No, Thank you but No! Then I don't say another word. She is thrown and says well ok then! :wink:
  • leantool
    leantool Posts: 365 Member
    i feign indigestion, acid reflux, migrain trigger ,food allergy , served up with a polite smile!people don't hate it when you are in a worse frame than they are!:wink:
    i'm horribly into white lie:blushing:
  • phoenixrizez
    phoenixrizez Posts: 50 Member
    I say just tell them no,and that you are a sugar intolerant Muslim looking to lose weight; remember to say that if you eat one bite of what they offer not only will you offend your God you will have horrible diarrhea and possibly vomit...and then tell them to **** off as you walk away.
  • NYCNika
    NYCNika Posts: 611 Member
    Hi, lately at school people have been trying to hand me free food like crazy. "Oh have a cookie!" And when I say "No, thank you." They tell me things like "One won't kill you!" Or ask why I won't eat it and this is constantly happening and I need new way to say "No" to them. Curious to see if this happens to others here as well!

    My answer would be "if I'm going to splurge 400 calories on something nutritionally devoid, it's going to be alcohol!". :)

    A top shelf margarita or martini or a crappy cookie... Not a tough choice for me!
  • Michellerawrrr
    Michellerawrrr Posts: 310 Member
    When you decide what you want more this won't be an issue for you, saying no is not a big deal. I live with "food pushers" and now I just laugh at them!:bigsmile:
  • caly_man
    caly_man Posts: 281 Member
    saying "I'm good" has never failed
  • StheK
    StheK Posts: 443 Member
    Take whatever they give you. Immediately throw it in the trash (preferably where they will see).

    I have totally done this. Jaws drop, they get offended, and they never push food on me again. It is so much fun.
  • Life style change? I'm not sticking to only 1,200 calories forever. I'm only doing that until I get down to 199. Then I'm upping it to an amount where I can lose only two pounds a week. Cutting back and not eating so much? That's what I'm doing. But portion control is basically what I'm doing. I can eat whatever I want as long as I don't go over that amount. A calorie is a calorie after all.

    Also... you are on a diet. A diet is cutting back calories to a limit that will allow you to lose weight. Anyway... there's not really anything you can do to get them to stop. Not really. Instead of offending them, cut it in half... eat half of the cookie and just add it to those calories that you won't be able to eat for the rest of the day.
  • Fast_Track
    Fast_Track Posts: 33 Member
    I just tell them I can't eat X because I'm allergic or intolerant to Y ingredient. Works every time!
  • StheK
    StheK Posts: 443 Member
    Life style change? I'm not sticking to only 1,200 calories forever. I'm only doing that until I get down to 199. Then I'm upping it to an amount where I can lose only two pounds a week. Cutting back and not eating so much? That's what I'm doing. But portion control is basically what I'm doing. I can eat whatever I want as long as I don't go over that amount. A calorie is a calorie after all.

    Also... you are on a diet. A diet is cutting back calories to a limit that will allow you to lose weight. Anyway... there's not really anything you can do to get them to stop. Not really. Instead of offending them, cut it in half... eat half of the cookie and just add it to those calories that you won't be able to eat for the rest of the day.

    Yes, there is something you can do about it. And whether or not they get offended by you setting boundaries that are healthy for you is utterly not your problem. It's your body and your choice and they have no right to tell you what you will put into it. Saying "no" when you don't want something is not only perfectly ok, it's your responsibility to yourself. And to them, since you are not doing them any favors by enabling their complete lack of appropriate boundaries.
  • Yes, well I'd rather not offend my 76 year old grandmother.
  • ShannonBas
    ShannonBas Posts: 101 Member
    I usually say "Nah, I'm good... I don't want it." :happy:
    If they persist, I repeat. Usually they'll go about their business.

    A few of my friends are the worst about being "food pushers", but they usually back off when I stand my ground and insist that I don't WANT it. :bigsmile:
  • StheK
    StheK Posts: 443 Member
    Yes, well I'd rather not offend my 76 year old grandmother.

    So she can't respect your right to decide what goes into your body because she's 76?

    I don't think telling other people that they can't set appropriate boundaries just because you have chosen not to is a good idea. She specifically asked how NOT to give in to food pushers, and there are plenty of ways to do that if that's the choice you make.
  • triff14
    triff14 Posts: 129 Member
    I literally just made a post seconds ago about this same type of thing! Tonight I got pressured into ordering something from McDonald's...
  • purple_tux1
    purple_tux1 Posts: 250 Member
    ROFL, some of these responses are hilarious!

    My grandmother had a good one: she'd say "I've just brushed my teeth" (she hasdentures). Which was probably the truth and anyway, it usually had a stunning effect on the food pusher.
  • laurynwithawhy
    laurynwithawhy Posts: 385 Member
    Be as rude as possible.

    Seriously.

    When people tell me "one won't kill you" (usually while shoving 10 into their mouth), I tell them that yes it will, it will clog my arteries and give me a heart attack, and the same will probably happen to them. Go with "I have enough self-restraint not to die young over a cookie, unlike SOME people." It's obviously not true and really mean, but trust me, that will be the LAST time they push food on you.
  • chooselove
    chooselove Posts: 106 Member
    Claim allergy or religious reasons? Half my office thinks I'm Muslim and gluten intolerant


    this.
  • neandermagnon
    neandermagnon Posts: 7,436 Member
    I find that telling people "not right now" or "I'm not hungry" or "maybe later" works better than a flat out "no thank you", and that works much better than "no thanks I'm on a diet".... if people think you're saying no to "be good" then they think you're depriving yourself of something that you want, and that they can "help" you by "allowing" you to have the "forbidden" food. this is because of their own mentality towards food, dieting and "being good". Rather than arguing with them and constantly fighting off their insistance that "one won't hurt" and all the rest or trying to change their attitude towards food, it's a lot easier to tell them you're just not hungry, or don't fancy that particular thing right now. They're more likely to accept that you don't want something, than that you're saying no because you're "not allowed" to have it.
  • I have 2 friends that try to do this to me, and every time I have to shout at them because they don't listen to me! One time when I was visiting them they even went to McDonalds and I went with them, I had already had lunch before going in so I saved them a table as it was busy, they came over with meals for both themselves and me, after almost screaming that I didn't want it and that I also didn't ask for the food and saying it was a waste of their money I gave up, picked up the food, walked to the bin and poured it all in, now they never try to make me eat when I don't want to so that's my method!