How to Resist Peer Pressure with Food
How to Resist Peer Pressure with Food
by Katie Jay, MSW, Certified Wellness Coach
Director, National Association for WLS
www.nawls.com
Do you ever wish the people around you would eat healthy so that it would be easier for you to do so? My husband came home grinning last night, having spent the evening with his sister. He told me that after visiting their aunt at the nursing home, the two of them bought a dozen donuts and went to his sister's house to enjoy the baked treats along with a good cup of coffee. The funny thing is I knew he had done something like that before he told me. I could tell by the glee in his eyes. The sugar high was unmistakable. He didn't overtly pressure me to eat, but one feeling I felt after that incident was sadness, because he could no longer enjoy those "fun foods" with me. There have been times in my life when this type of scenario would have led me to bring sweets back into our home. I was at a WLS event recently and went out to dinner with a group of fellow patients. I was the only one at the table who did not order dessert. The group teased me about being too rigid and I felt embarrassed. I am not immune to a temporary step off of my low-carb food path, but had I been alone or with other non-dessert-eaters, I wouldn't even have considered dessert. At church last night, at least five different people asked me why I wasn't eating, as they bit into casserole fare and gooey treats. Not a surprising question -- but the food choices were abysmal for me -- iceberg lettuce (all the dressing contained sugar), pasta, and sweet chocolate in various forms. Even my beloved employee brought Pop-Tarts to work last week! There was a time in my life when any or all of these incidents could have caused me to stumble. Temptation never entirely goes away; every once in a while it comes back to haunt even seasoned WLS masters like myself ;) So what do you do when the squeeze of peer pressure feels more like the Vulcan death grip? Let me share with you a few tips that continue to help me: 1. Resist the temptation for a few minutes. If someone is offering you food or encouraging you to eat something say, "Let me think about," or "I'm not hungry just yet," or "Maybe in a minute. I'm going to run to the restroom." Then ask yourself, "Is giving into temptation really something I want to do right now? What are the real, long-term consequences if I do?" More often when we give into temptation it is within the first few seconds of the offending thought. Once you get past that initial impulse, and think things through, you might surprise yourself with your wherewithal to resist the urge altogether. 2. Communicate your feelings in a clear, nonjudgmental way to those people who create temptation for you -- either consciously or unconsciously. Sometimes role playing can help you work out what you want to say, and to prepare adequately for potentially negative responses. 3. If a handful of coworkers routinely go out for pizza or fast food, and the pressure to go with them or get carryout is hard to resist, make sure you take time the night before to pack a WLS-friendly lunch (that is also tasty). Make sure you have enough to eat before your coworkers go out. Then, if you want to go out with them you can go for the companionship and not the food. The bottom line is I am responsible to manage myself in these potentially awkward situations. If I am struggling or self sabotaging, then I get help so that I can develop better strategies, and more helpful beliefs, and learn to take better care of myself. Your assignment Identify a peer-pressure food situation that has been causing you trouble. In your journal, explore something different you can do that would be in support of your WLS lifestyle. Or call a safe friend and talk it over. *********************************************************
Want to Reprint this Newsletter? If you'd like to reprint any part of this newsletter, do so with the following credit, including the copyright line:
From Small Bites, the email newsletter for the National Association for WLS. Subscribe today and get your F'REE report, How to Regain-Proof Your WLS at www.nawls.com. © 2009 National Association for WLS, Inc. All rights reserved.
by Katie Jay, MSW, Certified Wellness Coach
Director, National Association for WLS
www.nawls.com
Do you ever wish the people around you would eat healthy so that it would be easier for you to do so? My husband came home grinning last night, having spent the evening with his sister. He told me that after visiting their aunt at the nursing home, the two of them bought a dozen donuts and went to his sister's house to enjoy the baked treats along with a good cup of coffee. The funny thing is I knew he had done something like that before he told me. I could tell by the glee in his eyes. The sugar high was unmistakable. He didn't overtly pressure me to eat, but one feeling I felt after that incident was sadness, because he could no longer enjoy those "fun foods" with me. There have been times in my life when this type of scenario would have led me to bring sweets back into our home. I was at a WLS event recently and went out to dinner with a group of fellow patients. I was the only one at the table who did not order dessert. The group teased me about being too rigid and I felt embarrassed. I am not immune to a temporary step off of my low-carb food path, but had I been alone or with other non-dessert-eaters, I wouldn't even have considered dessert. At church last night, at least five different people asked me why I wasn't eating, as they bit into casserole fare and gooey treats. Not a surprising question -- but the food choices were abysmal for me -- iceberg lettuce (all the dressing contained sugar), pasta, and sweet chocolate in various forms. Even my beloved employee brought Pop-Tarts to work last week! There was a time in my life when any or all of these incidents could have caused me to stumble. Temptation never entirely goes away; every once in a while it comes back to haunt even seasoned WLS masters like myself ;) So what do you do when the squeeze of peer pressure feels more like the Vulcan death grip? Let me share with you a few tips that continue to help me: 1. Resist the temptation for a few minutes. If someone is offering you food or encouraging you to eat something say, "Let me think about," or "I'm not hungry just yet," or "Maybe in a minute. I'm going to run to the restroom." Then ask yourself, "Is giving into temptation really something I want to do right now? What are the real, long-term consequences if I do?" More often when we give into temptation it is within the first few seconds of the offending thought. Once you get past that initial impulse, and think things through, you might surprise yourself with your wherewithal to resist the urge altogether. 2. Communicate your feelings in a clear, nonjudgmental way to those people who create temptation for you -- either consciously or unconsciously. Sometimes role playing can help you work out what you want to say, and to prepare adequately for potentially negative responses. 3. If a handful of coworkers routinely go out for pizza or fast food, and the pressure to go with them or get carryout is hard to resist, make sure you take time the night before to pack a WLS-friendly lunch (that is also tasty). Make sure you have enough to eat before your coworkers go out. Then, if you want to go out with them you can go for the companionship and not the food. The bottom line is I am responsible to manage myself in these potentially awkward situations. If I am struggling or self sabotaging, then I get help so that I can develop better strategies, and more helpful beliefs, and learn to take better care of myself. Your assignment Identify a peer-pressure food situation that has been causing you trouble. In your journal, explore something different you can do that would be in support of your WLS lifestyle. Or call a safe friend and talk it over. *********************************************************
Want to Reprint this Newsletter? If you'd like to reprint any part of this newsletter, do so with the following credit, including the copyright line:
From Small Bites, the email newsletter for the National Association for WLS. Subscribe today and get your F'REE report, How to Regain-Proof Your WLS at www.nawls.com. © 2009 National Association for WLS, Inc. All rights reserved.
I admit to doing something similar recently.
I had eaten, but hubby and son (who was visiting for the weekend) wanted to go out to CiCi's Pizza [an all you can eat buffet]. I paid for a drink, and sat there and visited w/ them while they ate their fill. Now, I won't say that SOME of the food wasn't tempting, because it was ... but I did leave w/out eating anything, and having only a few sips of my drink. It was a good feeling, and it proved to myself that I can do this. :)
I had eaten, but hubby and son (who was visiting for the weekend) wanted to go out to CiCi's Pizza [an all you can eat buffet]. I paid for a drink, and sat there and visited w/ them while they ate their fill. Now, I won't say that SOME of the food wasn't tempting, because it was ... but I did leave w/out eating anything, and having only a few sips of my drink. It was a good feeling, and it proved to myself that I can do this. :)
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