Everyone wants to know how to deal with food pushers.
First, a food pusher is someone who offers your food…a lot…with a smile…then again even after the 100th time you’ve said, “I’m trying to lose weight!”
Food pushers can seem relentless.
I used to get all pissy about it. I didn’t like having to say no. I didn’t want to hurt anyones feelings. And, I didn’t like being put in a position to deal with temptations.
What I realized is that I was making a big ass dramatic experience around someone offering me food.
I assumed they were an asshat or that I needed BOUNDARIES. I was a real head case around this!
It stemmed from something simple: deep down I was AFRAID I would cave.
So instead of realizing it was natural to not feel confident when offered a heaping plate of nachos, I resented and stewed that someone was “pushing” food on me.
I learned that my mental focus needed to be seeing the foods as “not on my plan.”
Simple.
I can handle being tempted and I can handle being nervous around food. The worst that is happening is I don’t like seeing foods not on my plan.
Damn, I will tell you, that REALLY helped me. It helped me drop my resentment toward people who offered food often. It also helped me go out to eat. I noticed a reduction in being tempted by foods on the menu or what other people ate around me.
Dropping the drama around food pushers allowed me to practice being around foods I previously “worried” and “fixated” on, without a food pusher.
Once you have your mind right then it’s easy to use some one liners with your “food pushers.” Here’s a few:
“I’m not quite hungry yet. I’m going to wait until I can really enjoy it.”
“I ate before I came.”
“I’m working on some personal health markers, but thanks.”
“My trainer has me following a plan I really like.”
I love that one. Who knows you are your own “trainer?”
Last piece of advice. NEVER tell someone you can’t have something or that you are dieting. You will push the GO HARD button on the food pusher. Why?
They want you to be HAPPY! And if they think food makes you happy then they are going to really offer long hard.
Until next week,
Corinne
