Other people's negative attitudes towards dieting

You shouldn't have to create excuses or apologise for trying to live a healthy lifestyle. But unfortunately, you just can't win with some people.

No one likes having a mirror held up to their bad habits, and that's what can unintentionally happen when they see someone making the choices they aren't. Some people will acknowledge that reflection, others will reject it. And the ones in the latter category that can be...more than a little irritating to deal with.

A lot of the time it can be from the people closest to you. But you have to be stronger than their insecurities and do what's best for yourself.

Ugh Yesss!! if I am eating clean then people act like I'm such a downer cause I'm not eating bad with them. But then if I do eat bad then the act like I'm going to instantly gain my weight back! I can't win. Yesterday I flat out said to my Grandma and Mom "One slice of pie is not going to make me gain 12 pounds."

You could lie and say your doctor told you you're gluten sensitive. That covers a whole range of foods.

My favorite thing to do when I decline something is to say either, "No thanks, it doesn't agree with me." or "No, thanks." (my personal favorite) or "No thanks, makes me break out." Someone once asked me what I break out in, and I said fat. I got the idea from an recovering alcoholic friend of mine who, when declining drinks, will say the same thing. When asked "breaking out in what?" he answers, "Handcuffs." HAAA!

:laugh: Win!

Ignore the criticisms and advice of these people because they don't have a bunch of letters after their name qualifying them as any kind of experts. Just smile, say thank you, and move on! I have to do this all of the time.

Haters always have to say stupid stuff, i wouldnt dumb down when they comment, i would just say something like " I choose to not be fat anymore" if they were calling me an anorexic....and if they say " what are you trying to say' I would then say "come on ( in a condescending voice) I dont studder" lol

ya, I get this all the time, if im with my friends, they threaten to shove food down my throat if I only eat a small sandwich and a couple chips (i eat just to be polite, id rather eat my own foods) then I dont eat cake and I get, "really, c'mon, its albertsons cake with whipped frosting, you're already so skinny" now im vegetarian, and my mom keeps trying to convince me chicken and fish are vegetarian foods :huh:

the food shoving thing has actually happened to me! and that friend thought the things were "healthy" too because they contained a thin strip of apple! they were loaded with crap! Forgive me for not wishing to poison my body with something I wont even enjoy. I prefer to enjoy my "non-clean" foods with things that I'll really savor and appreciate, not choke on and forced down my throat without a taste!


And OP: Honestly, sometimes you might have to be a little rude. I know it's hard, but as with any other circumstance in life, no means NO. If people don't want to accept that, perhaps they need a firmer, louder, clearer NO THANK YOU.

Negativity. Its a nasty one. My in-laws (mother-in-law, father-in-law, sisters-in-law), who are all overweight and weigh about 50 to 250 lbs more than me (I weigh 230 lb right now and am proud to say am getting fit and losing weight) ragged on me for years. I say this about my in-laws because before I moved to my husband's hometown and away from my family, I was overweight but not outrageously for my height and only weighed about 155 to 160. Once I moved here, they plied me with high fat sugar laden food, it would make me sick everytime I ate at their house because I was never raised on high fatty foods. They would actually guilt me and my husband into eating. Trying to be accepted in the family, I did what I had to do to try to be accepted. Now 9.5 years later I'm wayyyyy overweight, struggling to get it down, working out as often as I can, exercising better portion control but wanna know something, they never did accept me. I started to read a Jillian Michael's book recently and I'm discovering that I have to ignore them, concentrate on me, where do I see myself now, in 5 years, in 10 years, what is my plan for life because after all its my plan not theirs, its my life not theirs. They don't pay for my clothing, my mortgage, my food bills, they don't sit at my desk for 40 hours a week, shouldn't I be, NO, am I not worth more than that? I am. My husband and I have come to terms with their negativity and decided that we are going to live for ourselves, we have mapped a life plan, are putting money away to achieve our goals and unfortunately have made the decision that because of how their negativity affects our lives, we have to separate ourselves from them because its not healthy. My husband's family (both sides) have severe depression issues and we've discussed triggers with our family doctor, we are so lucky to have a great doctor who really cares for us and is helping us, and he's even suggested to avoid our triggers which is my husband's family. Its a hard thing to do but you know, we're now happier, we're sccessful in our weight loss, we built a house, we camp, we travel, we're doing things that we were held back from doing. I think it takes a lot of digging down and finally making realizations that other people's opinions are just that, their opinions. Its hard to make decisions of how to deal with it, what works for one person doesn't always work for another person. We are lucky that we have other friends and family who are choosing to embrace our lifestyle, be happy for us, encourage us, its hard to let go of those people who drag you down but sometimes you do what you gotta do. My health is more important.

i just tell people i'm not hungry. no one questions that.

but yeah, it seems the people who are the most unhealthy are the ones criticizing. just jealousy i guess. jealous they don't have the strength to fight through it.