How social situations can affect your food choices

I was thinking this morning, after reading one of my MFP friends posts, about how social situations used to affect my food choices. The funny thing is that depending on who I was with, my eating habits could have been different.

A little background on me:
I used to be the easy going, go with the flow type person. The person with no formed opinion. Just wanted to make sure everyone around me was happy and having fun. I would sometimes adapt to the people around me and take on their opinions momentarily to ease certain situations.

I was afraid of conflict, wanted things to go smoothly and usually that meant putting my own personal wants and needs to the side for the sake of others.

Being that "people pleaser" that chameleon type, I wouldn't always do what was best for me. I would do what was best to keep the peace. I would do what was best to avoid conflict, and to keep others happy. In fact, if there was a choice between what was good for me and what was good for someone else... I would always choose what was good for someone else.

It really took me a long time to recognize this. In fact until I met my husband, I was that way my whole life. It really took someone who loved me, and cherished me to see that I was too selfless.... and yes there is such a thing.

Now this may not sound all that bad, but honestly I think that this mind set may have gotten me into the overweight predicament that I am currently in.

So getting to the original subject of this post....

Looking back I see now that the level of commitment I had to staying healthy and keeping at a reasonable weight was subjected to the insecurity of others around me.

I was a 6'0" tall woman who was thin, and well proportioned. I got a lot of attention from the opposite sex. I actually enjoyed being active and usually had lots of energy. I was confident of myself and self secure. I had many talents with music, and it was the center of my life. So what happened? How in the last five-six years did I put on 100+ lbs of weight?

Well this is my theory.....

Being that chameleon, that people pleasing person, when others would compliment me, and then make an insecure comment about themselves I would feel guilty. I would feel bad for that person, and take on their eating habits, or their "no working out" mentality.

I basically would choose them over me.

I have found in the last three months of my commitment to losing weight and being healthy again that there are some real personality struggles for me to deal with.

I struggle to stand my ground when I make a healthy choice and someone tries tear it down. I struggle to not let others eat away at the new mindset I have for myself.

But what I need to do, and what others out there like me need to do is rise above this. I have talked with others on this site who have the same issue.

We need to not let the insecurities of others run our lives. We need to take on a mindset of improvement and bettering of our lives.

We can draw a line in the sand and say "No more!" The first couple of times that I had to disagree with someone when they made a comment about what I was eating or my going to the gym, it was hard. But it gets easier and easier every time I assert my intentions.

This post is just a long winded way of trying to encourage others out there who may struggle with the same issues. It also helps affirm the decisions I have made for myself. It empowers me just to be writing this. I hope that this will give the courage to someone to stand up for themselves. To open up a mindset of "I choose me"

I choose me. I choose to better myself. I choose to finally put my needs above others for a time. I choose to make an investment in myself so that I can be in a better place to give to others.

Good luck to you all on your journey, whatever that may be. :-)