Personally, I do not think there is any reason why you should eat to make other people happy. I don't care what our society considers "polite." If I don't want to try someone's dessert, I don't. If I only choose to eat what is healthy at a party spread, that is what I eat. By now, my friends know I am not being rude. I am living the way I choose to.

I'd also be careful about going off plan just to make someone happy. Can people bounce back from this? Yes? But can it become a slippery slope that takes you back to the beginning? Again, yes. It's better to plan and choose exactly when you want to splurge and on what.

I'm sorry to hear about this. When I was young, I was underweight. Complete strangers would walk up to me and my parents and say, "My gosh, she's SO skinny." But that was just me; I ate a ton and was bony.

That unhealthy body image stayed with me until I was in my 30s and filled out enough to not look bony any more. Finally, one day, I looked in the mirror and realized I wasn't skeletal anymore.

I'm very petite and don't need to eat much. (Unfortuantely, I eat more than I need, thus my current weight issue.) But lots of my coworkers would say, "Is THAT all you are eating for lunch?" It was all I needed. I'm not sure why they felt they could just comment on my food intake.

It's a conundrum. :)

Originally Posted by Kara:
Why is it when other people are complete jerks and treat someone like crap do people say THEY wanted to run away and hide. Really? I can't fathom being embarrassed and wanting to hide when someone treats me like dirt. I would look her straight in the eye and say something like "Wow. I can't believe you just said that. Are you always so rude?"

This person was the type of person who would keep needling people for gossip/info...and if you said something she didn't like, she would do the 'high school' thing, run over to other people and whisper in their ear while pointing at the 'offending' person. I didn't want to stir the pot with her.

All the other girls just stood there, staring...it was a very uncomfortable situation. I ended up giving all the meals to another girl who got kicked out of her house and couldn't afford any food.

Originally Posted by Alki:
All the other girls just stood there, staring...it was a very uncomfortable situation. I ended up giving all the meals to another girl who got kicked out of her house and couldn't afford any food.

Well, you can feel relieved that everyone there knows what kind of person she really is and she is the one that looked stupid and not you :hug:... People can be such idiots :rolleyes:

It's comforting to know that I'm not alone. I've actually got a new girl at work who is a lot like me- only more outspoken about telling others to leave us and our homemade lunches alone! Sure feels nice to have a teammate! Plus she got really mad at my manager for calling me anorexic and stood up for me, I haven't heard a word about it since! Whew... Thank heaven for people who aren't as shy as me..