{"id":790,"date":"2021-09-30T23:35:36","date_gmt":"2021-10-01T03:35:36","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/getyourspicerebuild.mighty-little-websites.com\/?p=790"},"modified":"2021-09-30T23:48:16","modified_gmt":"2021-10-01T03:48:16","slug":"shutting-down-food-pushers","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dralexrosa.com\/shutting-down-food-pushers\/","title":{"rendered":"“But I might not be able to stop”…the most dangerous drug: food."},"content":{"rendered":"

I will come right out and say it, there\u2019s been times when someone has offered me something and I\u2019ve said to myself- \u2018But I might not be able to stop at 1\u201d<\/em>. Other times when I\u2019ve had to mentally prepare myself before going to a party- pretty much giving myself a pep talk consisting of don\u2019t eat any carbs, don\u2019t even look at the cake, only eat the veggies, I hope they have a veggie plate. If I was going to a relative\u2019s house, then I knew the pressure would be on, my family would be merciless in offering every delicious carb-filled fried Spanish delight, and if you said no, oh boy, you\u2019d better be ready to answer a firing squad of questions like why not try a little, why don\u2019t you want to try some, is there something wrong with my cooking, and one of the worst- just eat it, you\u2019re not going to stick to your diet anyway.\u00a0<\/em><\/p>

And, they\u2019d be right about that last one…at least they were right about it for most of my life. <\/h2>

Fast forward to today. I\u2019m now a mom of 3 who\u2019s reclaimed her body, and healed herself mentally and emotionally. <\/p>

\"\"<\/a><\/figure>

I\u2019d like to share 6 of the ways I\u2019ve used to shut down food pushers for good- things I\u2019ve done personally and lessons I\u2019ve learned from working with other women who have faced similar challenges and are continuing to change their lives.<\/h2>
  1. REMEMBER THAT CHANGE IS HARD FOR EVERYONE<\/strong><\/li><\/ol>

    When the topic of food pushers came up, a client of mine who had lost a lot of weight let me in on her very unique strategy, she told me \u201cI remember that I\u2019m not the only one dealing with change.\u201d She knew that as scared as she was of people pressuring her, many of the people pushing food on her were doing it because they were scared. They didn\u2019t want their friend to change because it meant they might have to change. They didn\u2019t want their friend to turn down deep-fried Oreos because it meant that they might have to reflect on why they needed to eat deep-fried Oreos. So she started realizing that they were more scared of her than she was of them. That change in mindset was enough to take some of the power back and more easily help her say \u201cno\u201d to an extra helping of whatever was being offered. <\/strong><\/p>

    2. RESPOND WITH VALUES, NOT OUTCOMES<\/strong><\/p>

    When people push food, a lot of what they say falls into the \u201cone little (fill in the blank) won\u2019t hurt you\u201d category. You can choose to ignore it, but if some people are really really pushy you can respond in an unexpected way that turns the focus of the conversation. If the idea of saying, \u201cbut I might not be able to stop at just one\u201d is scary for you, try practicing \u201cI\u2019m doing this for myself.\u201d Or, \u201cI\u2019m practicing willpower.\u201d Or, \u201cNo thanks, I\u2019m on my way to being a better me.\u201d Responding with the values you are trying to embody rather than the outcomes you want is a great way not only to shut down a pushy person but serves as a reminder to yourself about what YOUR journey is really about.<\/p>

    3. The Importance of Setting Your Healthy Boundaries Around Food<\/strong><\/p>

    No matter how insistent the food pusher in your life is, you are the only person who decides what and how much you eat.<\/p>

    You get to draw that line yourself! Maybe one day you decide to have dessert with everyone, but the next week you would prefer to skip dessert. Maybe you plan to have a big fancy breakfast with everyone on Sunday, then the next few days you go back to intermittent fasting.<\/p>

    Everyone has their own definitions of what healthy means to them and everyone has a different way of eating.<\/p>

    Just because it\u2019s right for someone else, doesn\u2019t make it the right decision for you. (I had to tell myself that a LOT during my 75-pound weight loss journey).<\/p>