Ignorant colleagues who have never had to lose weight

OK, I didnt get a chance to read all of the comments but...I get that a lot too. BUT, SHOCKINGLY, from my Mother-In-Law who, mind you, smokes, is diabetic and still eats/drinks what she shouldnt, is about 100 lbs overweight, if not more, etc. AND, when we go there for dinner while we are watching our calorie intake, she is CONSTANTLY trying to get us to eat more.

Understandably, most of the time, they THINK they are trying to be helpful but, instead, the arent. Instead of saying, "If you dont mind, what are you doing?" or, saying, "I have heard that if you do this..." Or something! But, instead, they think what you are doing isnt right, eventhough you have made progress and they wont see it.

Take their comments with a grain of salt and just move on to prove them WRONG or whatever. NOT saying that what they are saying is wrong or right, BUT, you know what YOU are doing for YOU and what YOu have to do to feel good about YOURSELF.

As for eating the biscuits and another person on here saying you shouldnt have them, It is YOUR decisions to have them and, HELLO, there ARE certain Biscuits that are low calorie or low fat or whatever that you could still eat. Dont let those people make you feel bad either!! Again, only YOU can decide how YOU feel and only YOU can make the decisions as to what you want to eat!!!

HUGS and keep up the good work!! It is a constant battle, mentally and physically for us all!!!!

Reminds me of my boyfriend, I love him to death....but death is about what I want to do to him with this diet. My doctor told me to cut out gluetin/wheat for about two weeks to see how I feel because my blood tests came back with a sensitivity and I was having some other health issues....so I've been doing great so far. Never knew what it was like to have feel bloated or have your stomach in knots all the time. So I've been craving non fat frozen yogurt.....ummmm what in that statement is bad?? Well he keeps saying no you're on a diet, like WTF its non fat.....frozen......yogurt!!!! Its like no calories...not like i'm asking for a hot fudge sunday!!!! Some people just don't understand if they have never been in your shoes. And most diets, or life changes, fail if you don't have just something you crave once inwhile. Needless to say I will be getting my non fat frozen yogurt tomorrow and I don't care what anyone has to say about it!!! Good job for all the hard work you have put in, I know it's hard to give up wheat when it's in everything we eat.

The Wall Street Journal had an article (yesterday, I think) "Colleagues Who Can Make You Fat". Sorry I'm not computer saavey enough to post the link. The article and comments about it do highlight some of the differing thoughts on workplace and obesity.

My work has a fitness coordinator which has really changed the tone of food in the office for me personally. I have become much stronger, but tactiful in how I handle my food preferences/team building moments in the office. As everybody's workplace is different and each person approaches food and fitness differently, I'm not sure it is worth giving my specific approach. I do feel comfortable recommending that it worth examining how you want to handle the food issues that come up in the normal course of your work world.

Anyway the article's interesting.

To generalise completely (and yes, I know these aren't always, or even mostly, the truth, but they're generalisations for a reason, they're at least based in truth ;o) men do tend to see a problem and try and fix it. Women like to talk about things (see, total generalisation, but bear with me).

These guys, not having a clue about how hard you've worked, your research and your understanding, heard you were trying to lose weight and immediately started reeling off 'fixes'. Whether out of a genuine desire to help or a need to show off their 'knowledge', they parroted everything they think they know, some of which sounds quite sensible. However, without knowing the context of your not eating wheat and without giving credence to the idea that your knowledge might surpass theirs, they probably didn't realise that what they were saying was going to insult or upset you.

That's my theory, anyway )

I would agree - only tell those who your trust completely for their support that you're trying to lose. Other's reactions are impossible to predict or control, and you never know whether they might say something that would derail or upset you.

Keep up the good work :flowerforyou:

I have a few friends who live the gluten free lifestyle. It's not for me, but they have dropped some serious weight. As for the unsolicited advice from coworkers, just ignore it. Fact is that we're all different in terms of maintenance levels, diet preferences, etc.

Just think XX+lbs in the future when your support from friends will evaporate. You'll look around and realize that you're in better shape than your coworkers. Then then the 'you look skinny' comments will start coming. It's amazing how much pressure hard non-dieting, out of shape people can bring to bear on someone who's being successful with weight loss.

Hang in there and just ignore the fools.

All you need to do when you don't want to eat something, it say it doesn't agree with me. You don't need to get into why. Those ignorant colleagues thought they were trying to help. (they didn't) But what they saw was someone who was trying lose weight eating biscuits. You said it yourself, they didn't know about all the exercise and the other stuff you were accomplishing. The see all these fad diets out there and thought this was another one of those.

Let it go. If you witnessed and accident, on your way home from work, then saw it on the news but they neglected to mention a few facts, would get all upset??? You might just walk away shaking your head saying "That's not what happened" Do that wiht this.

Just remember that you never need to explain, justify or defend yourself to anyone other than you. You're doing what you think is best for you, regardless of other people's opinions. After all, you're the one that has to live with the consequences of your actions, not anyone else. Everyone has an idea of what they think "healthy" should be, and I rarely find that any two people agree WHOLLY on a set of beliefs (though there may be a large degree of overlap).

Do as you please and you can choose to nod, smile politely and acknowledge other people's "concerns" or tell them to bugger off. Either way, do what you think is best for you and keep moving on towards your goals.

you say "thanks for the advice but im on top of what i should and shouldnt be eating and why, enjoy the biscuits"

Agreed. They (maybe) didn't mean any harm and were trying to be helpful. Even if they weren't, keep it simple like the suggestion above, smile, and walk away.

You're doing great!

to be honest they are right. You should listen to them more. Overweight people have quite the idea that "skinny" people get or stay that way by accident, but as you are finding out first hand its a continual balancing act. Foods such as biscuits, crisps, all that junk you basically can't eat at all, or very sparingly, (like one of these once a month) otherwise you won't remain slim.
P:eople get tired of overweight people making excuses such as slow metabolisms (baloney) wheat allergies etc being the cause of the overweight.

sorry if this offends but I struggle to see why you had any of the biscuits if you need to lose weight.

What the hell is wrong with you?

I am thrilled to find this thread!!!

I have found that initially when I was talking about getting in shape and building muscle, people LAUGHED at me!! they said muscles were ugly, why would I want that, that isn't beautiful, blah blah blah....

Then after a few months, people noticed!!!! they were like WOW, great job, what are you eating, what are you doing, where do you work out, how much weight have you lost!!!

But...I also got OMG are you even eating, I wouldn't do what you are doing bc I actually like food, and other jabs along those lines.
I know this shouldn't both me, bc it's just jealous people trying to blow out my flame. One of the lowest blows was when I had people at work complimenting my progress and asking for workout tips/recipe ideas THEN one of my FRIENDS said, "oh she just never eats and runs all the time." Which is so untrue and hurtful bc I have worked hard and it felt like she really discredited all my hard work

The truth, I LOVE LOVE LOVE tastes and flavors and healthy food. I have become much more responsible when it comes to portion control and I have learned how to balance my diet better to keep calories low. Oh and I MOVE!!! everyday might not be the best workout or anything intense, but I take the stairs to my 5th floor of work, I park further from stores, and any other little tweaks to move move move.

THE other TRUTH... I love love love helping others get in shape. I will give you all my tips so far for diet, exercise, and positive self talk. I am under the impression that we all can be fit and healthy and happy...it doesn't make my progress any less valuable if everyone around me is healthy too.