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Showing posts with the label Do NOT Accept...

Do NOT Accept...Bad Behavior

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Behavior is the mirror in which everyone shows their image. --Johann Wolfgang von Goethe About a month ago, I did something that is generally out of character for me: I posted something nasty on someone else's blog. This is difficult to admit, especially in a public forum, but it must be faced. I won't go into details because the specifics are less important than the act itself, which falls under the heading of "bad behavior." The owner of the blog did the right thing and called me out (on a PM) on what I had said, and he was absolutely right. Even so, I was about to respond in a snarky manner, but then my brain started working right for a change: I stopped my finger in midair from pressing the publish button. "Whoa!" I told myself. "What are you doing?" Then I felt shame because I had forgotten my manners; I was a guest (probably unwanted) on the blogger's site; I was acting like a total Neanderthal and about to compound my idioc

Do NOT Accept...Unwanted Food

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Acceptance of prevailing standards often means we have no standards of our own. --Jean Toomer Food Pushers. Pressure Feeders. Whatever you call them, these are people in your life--parents, grandparents, siblings, children, other relatives, friends, and co-workers--who, for whatever reason, try to force food on you. Guess what? You do NOT have to accept it. That does not mean that you can't ever eat any goodies--sure you can--but make sure it's on your terms, not someone else's. I'm not sure why our friends and family like to push food at us, especially when they know we are trying to make life-long dietary changes. Some possible reasons can be found here . When someone insists on your taking an unwanted food (for whatever reason), one of the best responses I have discovered: "It looks good, but I must decline because it's not in my plan for today. But I'd love to take a small piece home for later." That way, you can save the food f

Thought for the Day--March 18, 2011: Avoiding "Pressure Feeders"

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Totally avoiding pressure feeders can be difficult, if not impossible, but you can lessen the damage they can cause to your efforts. A "pressure feeder," a friend, family member, or co-worker who knows you are trying to make health and dietary changes, insists on sabotaging your efforts by pushing treats and junk food at you. They will insist that you must try what they offer and will try to guilt you into giving in: "Oh, you're so thin now; surely a little bite won't hurt..." "I made this just for you..." "You're much too thin already; you need to fatten up a bit..." If you don't want to eat the treat, simply politely decline. All too often, however, pressure feeders will make a big deal of your diet and may even poke fun at your efforts and blow it all out of proportion. The best tactic: change the subject ("How about those Orioles...?"). If this person insists on hammering on this subject, politely ignore him or he

Memoir Madness: Driven to Involuntary Commitment