So ANNOYED by food pushers at my office!

I have some of those at my work as well. Most of the time I am able to say no thank you. When they really get to me I eat at my desk and go workout during lunchtime or go eat my lunch outside. Good luck.

But lately, they have been ragging on me about my diet. We were sitting in the lunch room , I had a sandwich and a salad, and one of my co-workers waved a chicken finger in front of my face and said "mmmmm sooo good. Don't you just wish you could eat it?".

Asking if you want to participate in ordering out can be viewed as friendly. This is a tough one to respond to because responding to rudeness is just hard. Polite people can be easily dealt with--rude jerks, not so easily.

Some ideas, which require a quizzical look:
"Did you really just ask me if I wanted to eat your lunch?"
"Why are you so interested in what I'm eating and not eating?"
"I didn't really see that, did I? Did you really wave your food in my face?"

Additional ideas:
"I'd really rather you kept your meal out of my face" (deal with the behavior)
"I don't think we need to discuss my food choices."
<stare at pointedly, saying nothing at all>

Follow all of these with a totally off-topic conversation starter to another person: "Lisa, did you say your daughter just got her permit?", "Mike, how are you vacation plans coming along."

This is really tough to handle--and I'd find it impossible if I didn't have something already figured out to say.

Do some burpees in front of them and say "ooooooooh don't you just wish you could do that?"

They're doing it to annoy you because they KNOW they're fat and unhealthy and they've given up. You have to stop showing them it's upsetting you - that's why they keep doing it. SMILE and eat your salad in their face and talk about how you feel so much better and how you can't wait to hit the gym. HIT 'EM WHERE IT HURTS. You NEVER let people see you sweat!

Also, I come from a different area of the Country where we don't have poutine. What is it?

The basics: fries with cheese curds, topped with gravy. It's Canadian. Some places around me are doing variations, like an asian kind with bulgogi and a fried egg and kimchi. Or braised beef poutine. It's just as awesome as it sounds.

Is that like the chili-cheese fries? French fries covered with chili and grated colby/sharp cheddar cheese.

If you really want to be nasty...and I woudln't blame...go to HR about harassment.

I say this as nicely as possible:

get over it.

By asking you to join them in their lunch orders, they're being nice, not sabotaging you.

The pushiness sounds like it's coming from a different place. How you react matters. If you act upset, they'll continue doing it, likely. If you say, "nah, I don't want to eat that - this salad is great" or "I don't wish I could eat that - I COULD eat it. but I don't want to" perhaps they'll leave you alone. If not, and if you do not enjoy eating with them, stop eating with them. Eat at your desk, take your lunch outside, eat at a different time if possible.

Eventually, as you lose weight, they'll see that your choices are paying off.

Edited to add: Now I really want poutine.

took the words right outta my mouth :drinker:

Oh wow, they sound mature

Keep on doing what you're doing, it's great that you're not giving in! Let them eat themselves into obesity and they'll be the ones complaining when you're at your goal and they're moaning that they can't lose weight!

I literally just pictured a table of women, 4 of them obese (all with chicken fingers and fries) and one with a salad. One woman was waving a chicken finger in the salad girls face. Is this real life?

They may think they're joking with you, because, as most of us have, they understand cravings that come with 'dieting' and think you're going through it too. They may not actually realize the ridiculousness, unsupportiveness, and harm they are trying to do. I don't think revenge is the right method here, and I definitely don't think comments like "I don't want to be fat like you" are appropriate as some have suggested. We should not body shame others. You don't know the struggles they are going through, and how would you feel if someone said that to you?

That said, rude behaviour is rude and we shouldn't have to put up with it. There were some good suggestions, I thought, such as just calling them out on it nicely with statements like, "I don't think we need to discuss my food choices."

A simple "hey, thanks for asking me if I wanted to (order/have some, etc) earlier, I appreciated that. I realize you don't want to leave anyone out, and you never know when I might be in the mood. However, once I've said no, please don't mock my choices? I'm working hard at something, and it makes me feel judged. I don't judge you for eating what you want, and waving food in my face just seems really rude, even if you don't mean it that way."

Let's face it, they may subconsciously feel threatened, and they may be unhappy or stressed or whatever. You shouldn't have to put up with it, but you shouldn't try to make them feel worse either. Lay it out nicely, and then if it continues, be less nice ('look Madge, I told you it bugged me to do that, knock it off, we're not in high school'), and if it still continues, call HR. Seriously. Because if after nice and respectful and firmer but still appropriate, they still don't stop, they are bullies. And bullying is bad work place behaviour.

I literally just pictured a table of women, 4 of them obese (all with chicken fingers and fries) and one with a salad. One woman was waving a chicken finger in the salad girls face. Is this real life?

Now picture the salad girl responding the way some of the posters in this thread have suggested, and it gets even more ridiculous.