Being Made Fun Of For Eating Healthy...

So my family always told me that I needed to start eating healthier and exercising more. They never thought that I was overweight or necessarily needed to even lose any weight, but they said it just because I never exercised and I ate a lot of junk food. So now I have gotten more conscious of myself and I have been eating healthy, counting calories, and working out everyday. And now I get made fun of and laughed at by the same people who always told me to do what I am now doing. Am I the only one having a hard time making the cross over to a healthier lifestyle? It makes it a lot harder to keep with it when everyone just laughs at you for adding up the calories in what you're eating or for making a salad instead of eating something unhealthy.
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Replies

  • CMB1979
    CMB1979 Posts: 588 Member
    Time to part ways with some people in your life.
  • RobynMWilson
    RobynMWilson Posts: 1,540 Member
    I"m a school bus driver. When I was training and brand new, I had packed my healthy lunch of a sandwich on whole grain bread with dark chocolate and water bottles and a few of the veteran drivers made fun of me and said, "Do you drink milk when you go to the bar, too?" But I look at them, and look at myself, and they can make fun all they want, b/c at least 70% of my coworkers are morbidly obese...

    Take it with a grain of salt. They're not the ones who have to shoot you with insulin if you become diabetic!
  • GlutesthatSalute
    GlutesthatSalute Posts: 460 Member
    No you're not the only one who gets made fun of for making different choices.. No matter where you go people are going to judge you, comment on things you do good or bad. You have to remember you can't make everyone happy.. BUT you can make yourself happy.. so say F em and do what makes YOU feel good. I eat clean for the most part and when I do go off track I don't hide it from friends or co workers.. it's my life/body and I'm going to do what makes me HAPPY..

    YOU have to have the IDGAF attitude.. in almost ALL aspects of life. :flowerforyou:
  • GetFitE
    GetFitE Posts: 247 Member
    Try to ignore them and just keep doing what you're doing. I had coworkers who would look at me sideways and laugh because I would measure out my foods and came to work with a lunch box full of small containers to assemble my meals together, but my journey is not about them. So you just have to keep sticking with it and doing what you're doing and ignore them. It's all about you and what YOU want to do!

    Good luck!
  • jwdieter
    jwdieter Posts: 2,582 Member
    Sometimes family members are stupid and annoying.
  • It gets awfully hard to do that when those people are parents, step parents, grandparents... lol
  • vhanquist
    vhanquist Posts: 6 Member
    all I can say from experience of my own is SOMEONE IS ALWAYS GOING TO BE UNHAPPY WITH WHAT YOU DO! The most important thing is if YOU are happy. Don't let others control you and your mindset so much. Its hard but once you let go and stop caring what others think you will truly feel great about yourself :) Hang in there!
  • cwaters120
    cwaters120 Posts: 354 Member
    I know first hand that family can be difficult. While happy to tell you what you need to do, you will never do it right - even if you do it like they told you to in the first place. If you find it difficult to listen to or easily get derailed by the negativity, you may need to distance yourself from them for a while (provided it's possible) until you can be confident enough in your routine and progress to not get derailed.

    That being said, have you spoken to them? Have you explained to them how difficult you find the negativity and how unappreciated it is? they can have differing opinions and still not be so "poo-poo" about it. Make sure you've come across clearly about the necessity of positivity around you right now.

    SOme of those family members may need you to take care of them one day - how can you do that properly if you aren't taking care of yourself? Just a thought :wink:

    Good luck with them all! :flowerforyou:
  • christyallgood
    christyallgood Posts: 79 Member
    My husband is the number one person who makes fun of me and, laughs and criticizes me on what I do and eat. I tend to hide what I am doing from him. I am tired of hearing him. In fact, right now I am making myself dinner when he is at my son's football practice because I won't eat what I made for him.lol He threw a tantrum last week (again) about not having food for him in the house. He means frozen tv dinners, ice cream, cookies, and any other processed fast food he can think of. He will not get on board with healthier lifestyle at all. It is frustrating.
  • Girlrose
    Girlrose Posts: 127 Member
    I find that people constantly make little judgments about what I eat (healthy or not) at whatever weight I am. For example, I ate a cupcake when I was at a heavier weight and my mom told me (years later, when I wasn't overweight anymore) that she thought, "She really shouldn't eat that cupcake. Her thighs are so big!" Fast forward to now, when I'm at a healthy weight. I was at a baby shower where there were sweets. My cousin walked around with a tray of cupcakes and encouraged me to have one. "You should have one," she said. "You're thin."

    Now that I have started to exercise and eat healthily, my family members tend to make a lot of comments. My sister said, "Why are you eating spinach for lunch? You're not fat." It's like they have the mindset that you need to be overweight to have a healthy lifestyle.

    I've learned to ignore what is said and to not let it affect my healthy eating. It sure would help to have supportive people around, though!
  • RaggedyPond
    RaggedyPond Posts: 1,487 Member
    I am thousands of miles away from my family but my husband is very supportive. My parents eat a lot of tv dinners so I think if I went home to visit for an extended period I would have to buy and prepare my own food.
  • bohica36
    bohica36 Posts: 67 Member
    Just tell them that you're eating healthy because you want to look good at their funeral.
  • Just tell them that you're eating healthy because you want to look good at their funeral.

    That's a good one ! I liked the comment about them not being the ones shooting you with insulin.

    I am fortunate enough to have a supportive bf and supporting family. My co workers however will gaze at my change of ways, just because they knew i used to never turn down an after work beer and now i have pledged no alcohol until further notice. But it's slight fun they are poking at me, they are intrigued.
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  • darkguardian419
    darkguardian419 Posts: 1,302 Member
    Let them revel in their jealousy. It's a bitter pill.
  • BonnieandClyde29
    BonnieandClyde29 Posts: 1,026 Member
    No you're not the only one who gets made fun of for making different choices.. No matter where you go people are going to judge you, comment on things you do good or bad. You have to remember you can't make everyone happy.. BUT you can make yourself happy.. so say F em and do what makes YOU feel good. I eat clean for the most part and when I do go off track I don't hide it from friends or co workers.. it's my life/body and I'm going to do what makes me HAPPY..

    YOU have to have the IDGAF attitude.. in almost ALL aspects of life. :flowerforyou:

    ^^this
  • Shetchncn1
    Shetchncn1 Posts: 260 Member
    They know they should be doing the same thing but they are just displacing their guilt. Just say "whatever" and blow them off.
  • drefaw
    drefaw Posts: 739
    I hear it at work almost daily... Doesn't bother me at all. Like was said earlier, they are usually the one's that could use it more than myself. I actually got the cafe here at work to start offering more healthy options, so they all ***** about the junk food that was taken away to put the healthy options in place ...hahahahahhahaha

    They actually sell protein shakes, ect here now ....and you get a discount on healthy snacks or meals .....

    So, no matter who whines about it to me, it is still a big WIN in my book .....
  • frizbeemom
    frizbeemom Posts: 101 Member
    I hear it from family, friends and coworkers... not too meanly but I'm considered a little "crazy", but I don't mind it at all. This works for me and is getting me closer to my goals... while most of them are jealous of the progress I've made but aren't willing to do it themselves.
  • Don't let it get to you. Human nature is for people to comment/chat about others. You're doing the right thing and getting healthy. There's probably a bit of jealousy in there from others too! People try to offer me sweets and biscuits when they know I'm counting calories :grumble:
  • Pinkranger626
    Pinkranger626 Posts: 460 Member
    I'm constantly getting made fun of about my food choices. I'm a personal trainer and a fitness instructor and I'm very conscious of what I put into my body because I really notice a difference in how I feel, my energy levels, etc. when I eat junk. Now, I'm no saint and I eat my fair share of junk food (totally a fat kid at heart) but I find that the ones who make comments and tease you about your food choices are the ones who know they should be eating better and I think it's a guilt reaction. It makes them that much more aware of what they just ordered or ate that they know they shouldn't have when you take the extra precautions to order something healthy for yourself.
    That being said, I don't push my food choices/beliefs/preferences on anyone. If someone wants me to help them with food choices and information then they can ask and I'd be happy to share it. But I will never comment on what someone else is eating. I know a couple people in the field that will jump right on someone for their food choices, and it really makes me angry.
  • jetlag
    jetlag Posts: 800 Member
    Belittling people is an attempt to control them. It's hurtful that that's what they're trying to do, but what they actually say shouldn't stop you from achieving a healthy life. Stick to your guns :-)
  • melaniecheeks
    melaniecheeks Posts: 6,349 Member
    Just go with the jokes, join in, say "Ooooh what mad rabbit food shall I have for lunch today then!"
  • melsinct
    melsinct Posts: 3,512 Member
    People will criticize you no matter what you do. As you lose more weight you'll gain more confidence and learn to laugh it off. Many of those people a just jealous and misery loves company. The day will come when friends and family will turn to you for advice.

    THIS.

    I had two female coworkers who would tease me about the lunches I would bring. Once I lost enough weight where it was noticeable, guess who were the first to ask how I was doing it? :bigsmile: I have found that the people who mock your healthy food choices are generally the ones who feel guilty/need to lose some weight themselves. It is more of a defensive move on their part. Keep doing what you're doing and don't let the envious people get you down.
  • mike_usmc
    mike_usmc Posts: 105 Member
    I laugh at myself, becuase the style change is funny! I went from delicious Doritos and Coke to celery and pure water all the time. I'm kind of a jokster though so maybe that is why I find humor in it. Almost like the gambler who thought he had it, wagered his pay check and lost it, but still somehow just laughed at it. I took a gamble everytime the Doritos, and the Coke, and cheeseburgers came about, and I'm paying for it now.
  • shanniepk
    shanniepk Posts: 98 Member
    I live in the South and hear snide comments all the time. I belong to two local workout groups and we have private facebook groups to encourage each other. That helps and MFP is helping as well. Don't let it discourage you. Once I started showing significant improvement and weight loss, some of those same people also started asking what am I doing to look so good. It's your body and your health:).
  • parallax1978
    parallax1978 Posts: 13 Member
    My husband is the number one person who makes fun of me and, laughs and criticizes me on what I do and eat. I tend to hide what I am doing from him. I am tired of hearing him. In fact, right now I am making myself dinner when he is at my son's football practice because I won't eat what I made for him.lol He threw a tantrum last week (again) about not having food for him in the house. He means frozen tv dinners, ice cream, cookies, and any other processed fast food he can think of. He will not get on board with healthier lifestyle at all. It is frustrating.

    Sounds like you need to upgrade...
  • CipherZero
    CipherZero Posts: 1,418 Member
    People giving you crap for making healthier lifestyle changes are bullies, pure and simple. After hearing the same sort of garbage from people at work and family, I started 'hitting back'. The results have been hilarious to me.

    Cow-orker (who is easily in morbid obese category): You shouldn't drink protein shakes, they're bad for you.
    Me: *looking them over* When did you become an authority on healthy living?
    Cow-orker: ...
  • Yeah, I get sick of this so badly. I get made fun of so much for eating healthily by my sister and also my friends. I don't understand what is wrong with treating your body the way it should be treated and trying to be in the best shape possible. People seem to think its unhealthy for me to be so healthy. Its unfair to be ridiculed or made out to be "too obsessed" when all I'm trying to do is maintain a healthy diet and exercise very regularly.

    What annoys me the most is when people ask how I lost my weight and I say healthy eating and exercise. They ask me if I was on a "diet" and if I am just gonna go back to eating whatever i want. No I'm not. I enjoy eating well and exercising so why would I want to throw that all away. Diets are complete bull****. People should be disagreeing more with the people that go on those dumb diets than the people who just want to live a healthy lifestyle.
  • LadyBugLex17
    LadyBugLex17 Posts: 146 Member
    I was wondering if this happened to anyone else. . . searched it and I see it is.

    Just had a not so fun experience, but I lived to talk about it ;)

    Moving on.... letting those people be those type of people. & i'm not talking about the junk food eating type of people. I'm talking about the judgemental, negative type.