Just told someone "I'm on a diet" #facepalm

Relationships are funny things, even with our coworkers-neighbors-mail deliverer-landlord-person next in line at the Grocer. We create most of our difficulties with others, as you know as evidenced by #facepalm.

Since I try to eat food from all the food groups, in moderation and choosing my fats and carbs carefully and eating fruits&veggies with abandon, if folks ask I tell them I'm on a special diet. Its called "Omnivorianism". It is okay to engage in humor with every aspect of our lives. Some topics deserve to be reserved but most folks limit their whole experience of humor. Even Socrates recommended it.

You didn't do, or say, anything wrong.

You are all adults at work. I'm sure they didn't give it a second thought.

Edited by: GERRTIE at: 1/7/2020 (15:06)

diet literally means what you eat. whatever you eat.

🤟

Tell them you are on a healthy eating plan. Forget the word diet!

I am following a healthy lifestyle diet. Low sodium. Healthy fats. Healthy Proteins including seafood. Healthy carbs. Healthy breakfast. Healthy lunch. Healthy supper. Healthy snacks.

I don't look as if I am overweight, so when I tell people "I'm on a diet", they look me up and down and say that I don't need to diet. I'm having trouble with my knees, so I just reply - tell that to my knees. I usually get no further comments.

Edited by: KLBAUSSIE at: 10/11/2019 (07:50)

"No" is a complete sentence and can always be followed by a polite "thank you." I do understand, though. I'm not on a diet. Instead I adhere to intuitive eating. Try explaining that to someone. LOL Besides another way of looking at it is, some of the folks at work may feel they need to be on a "diet" and wish they had your self-control. They might even feel guilty or uncomfortable hearing you are on a "diet."

No is easier. No, thank you is easy and carries a message of appreciation and spares the one asking from hearing all our reasons for the no.

I do that too. I don't worry about it as long as my own mindset is where it should be. Just a simple no thanks I have food to eat or have other plans or just a "no thanks" should suffice. We don't owe an explanation of our food choices to others.

moderation.... smaller portions or ask for things with extra fruit/veggies. you can also ask for things with less sauces.

another option is once to same "no thanks, i'm good". most people think less about our eating habits then we think.

I probably did a time or two....for the most part just said something like "I'm not in the mood for xyz" . or the easiest was I "brought something for lunch."

Interestingly enough Subway has some relatively healthy options & is a place we stop in when we're traveling.

for the most part I didn't explain a thing...just gradually made some changes and no one really noticed. Of course I worked with all men who IMO are notoriously not that senstive to others.

I eat a ketogenic menu.. many people do not understand it.. I tell them I can not have sugar.. that they understand.
Good luck on your journey!

There is absolutely nothing wrong with telling people you are on a diet. First of all, going into a long saga about lifestyle changes and healthy choices, even if that's a more apt description, is probably just going to make people's eyes glaze over. But "diet," even if simplistic, is easy to understand. People can relate to that. Second, you might find that your co-workers will try to support you. That was the case for me. A few months into my "DIET" (and I still call it that after two years of successful weight maintenance), one of my colleagues quickly sprang to my rescue one day when dreaded sugary home-baked treats were being passed around: "NO, Mrs. L doesn't want one -- you know she doesn't eat that!" And that strengthened my resolve even more. But as others have also said, Subway isn't such a bad option if you and your co-workers DO want to have an occasional lunch out. In addition to a variety of bread choices (including none at all -- you could just make a salad), Subway has tons of fresh veggies you could heap onto your sandwich, and they even have veggie burgers.

Definitely got a "me too" from over here!

While I most often don't give any explanation for a "no thanks" or "yes please" (I rarely see a need to know WHY someone chooses something, so I don't figure anyone else needs to know why I make a choice), there are times when a close colleague or friend might take a refusal to join them for a meal or snack as a personal rejection. That doesn't make for a good working relationship, so I have definitely used the "it doesn't fit in to my diet" as a quickly understood excuse! I do try to always follow that up with "I'd still love to get together with you, so shall we make it after lunch?" to make sure that they understand that I'm rejecting the food, and not them.

I'm going to go out on a limb here and assume that you are a reasonably intelligent person who already knows that there will be choices available at a Subway that could fit in to whatever your dietary limitations are, that you are quite capable of determining when a restaurant trip is something that you want to include in your day, and that you refused simply because you really just didn't want to go there at this particular time and change the choices that you had already settled on for the day.

I'm smirking a bit here (self-recognition) that your automatic use of the "I'm on a diet" excuse has a bit of quite lovely irony when you are so carefully working on changing your own mindset and approach to being long-term overall lifestyle change, instead of the usual temporary quick-fix restrictive "on a diet". I know that I found it a bit dispiriting to discover just how deeply entrenched that "normal" idea of being "on a diet" is for most of us - and how easily it pops out when we don't consciously stop it! I suspect that it might make things a bit awkward for you the next time that they offer and you DO choose to accept --- but it shouldn't take more than a "I'm learning to enjoy including different healthy options when I want them" to make it easy to accept or refuse in future.

Kudos on recognizing that it is time to start changing and updating your lifestyle, and then taking action to do so! Remember that it takes time to learn what is best for you long-term, and that changing mindsets and references takes a lot of time and patience --- and keep your sense of humour about when your "old normal" thoughts come popping back out of nowhere

Keep having fun, and finding the healthier and happier "new normal" that makes you feel your best!

"No thanks" and "Nope, I am good this time" are your best friends in this situation. No one is particularly invested in you getting lunch, they just like you and want to make sure that you are not left out from getting lunch.

Diet's primary definition is what one eats. So, provided you ingest things, you do have a diet and anything that passes your lips automatically qualifies as being part of your diet. You could always keep "I'm on the eat what I want, when I want it diet, and I would rather have x than Subway" in your back pocket if you really find an issue with the idea of being on a diet but keep tripping up and saying it.

If you want a sub, have a sub. That being said, make sure you are trying to find a slightly better option than you would have chosen before, but it also has to be something that you like as much. It takes time to find these solutions and going from no gym and eating junk to gym seven days a week and cooking everything from scratch is a recipe for how to fall off the wagon in the shortest time frame possible. Start with your place off of the wagon and pick one or two small changes to focus on for a few weeks (going to the gym once a week or going for a twenty minute walk once a week or adding in a serving of vegetables each day or simply tracking most of your food). When those things are automatic instead of you having to pay attention to them, you add another one or two small things to focus on. Build from where you are and it's much harder to fall off the wagon.

As far as eating out with others goes, find a place that offers something that you find very workable and you be the one to suggest everyone goes there. You can also poke around and find options at most places. The trick to finding options does rely on planning out what to have and also planning to go slightly lighter in your other meals (still vegetable heavy but a little lower calorie) and maybe to plan on a less aggressive calorie deficit for the day (midway between your loss ranges and your maintenance ranges). Which is to say that if you think you're heading to Subway for lunch, have a veggie omelet instead of cereal for breakfast and have steak and asparagus for dinner instead of the creamy pasta dish. If your maintenance calories are 2000 a day and your loss are 1400 a day, you maybe want to aim for 1700 that day. As you find more options you can go into your loss ranges a little more, but start out with a more workable goal until you get better at finding the balance. Even eating at maintenance periodically is okay provided you don't do it everyday. It will slow your loss, but it will provide you with valuable experience playing around with your calories and lifestyle. Knowing how to work those kinds of things in is essential to long term maintenance, but it is so difficult to learn how to get it right. So allow yourself that play and practice while you are losing.

"So the guys are work are all getting Subway and asked what they could get for me. I declined politely stating that "I'm on a diet".

Don't decline, and don't say you are on a diet.

Instead, remind yourself (not them!) that you are choosing a healthy lifestyle and have them get you an oven roasted chicken chopped salad, with veggies of your choice.

Or you can opt for a 6" sandwich as mentioned my MLAN613,

Edited by: LUANN_IN_PA at: 8/1/2019 (07:58)

Honestly, Subway is one of the better fast food options available. If you choose a protein like roast beef, turkey, or ham and stray away from the higher, even more processed items like salami, and load on the vegetables, you have a decent sandwich. I personally go for mustard mostly because I find mayo nasty lol.

I say next time go for it. After all, this is indeed a lifestyle change. You have to make changes you can deal with for a lifetime. Some fast food can be a part of that.

Edited by: MLAN613 at: 8/1/2019 (06:24)

I would say "thank-you" and choose a healthy option. There ARE plenty of healthy options with them. I occasionally have one but I don't get any dressing added and I don't have salt added and my meat preference is actually one of the healthier choices, too.

I have NEVER been on a diet in my life (65 years of it) and don't intend to ever go on one. That terminology has such a negative ring to it.

"I have YET AGAIN fallen off the wagon and gained back weight."

Perhaps one of the reasons for this is that you are making too many changes all at once. You mention having been to the gym 4 times in less than a week. Maybe you are rushing in too quickly with the amount of exercise (which can cause damage if you don't build up to it) and by cutting certain foods/groups out you set yourself up with failing on the diet side of it too. If you go to the Subway website and 'make yourself' a sub, by choosing your various healthier protein, plus vege, you will see that there is nothing wrong with it.

Kris

So the guys are work are all getting Subway and asked what they could get for me. I declined politely stating that "I'm on a diet". As the words came out my mouth, I was like "What? No! I'm NOT! I'm changing my lifestyle and improving my health!'

But how do you say that to a colleague at work who wants to buy you a sub sandwich?

I have YET AGAIN fallen off the wagon and gained back weight. My health, fitness and self-esteem are not in a great place, but I've YET AGAIN picked myself up and dusted myself off and been in the gym 4 times in less than a week. I'm making better food choices, drinking more water etc. etc. Doing the right stuff. But I'm NOT on a diet!

Anybody else feel like they call their "journey" a "diet" because it's just the simplest thing other people understand?