How do you handle the dreaded family picnic?
 

When I found out that I was invited to the family picnic ( that happened yesterday ) I was a bit mortified. First, I DO NOT WANT anyone to take pictures of me. Second, when my grandmother tells me that I look like I've lost weight, it is hard for me not to be upset with her. It is CLEAR that I have gained some weight. Third, the food.... oh the food. It's just a menagerie of fattening foods. Yuck.

I overslept yesterday and had to work, so I had coffee and some protein for breakfast. Not too many calories there. When I got to the picnic, of course I looked and felt huge.Anyway, I did my best to eat the most protien possible, and avoid overeating (even though people were begging me to eat more... goodness I hate that. If I'm not hungry I'm NOT HUNGRY. You don't need to stuff me. :mad:) Fruit was a pretty big option, so I tried to eat a bunch of fruit instead of the other items offered. That, and there was a taco dip that was mostly a dry chili. I had a bunch of that too. I feel guilty after yesterday, but I new it was inevitable.

Sorry for a little bit of a vent, but I thought this thread may be beneficial since it's that time of year!

So, I am wondering, how does everyone else deal with those uncomfortable family situations? Have you had any picnics this summer? Do your relatives tell you you're skinny to try to get you to eat more food? Feel free to vent as well! :D

i dont have any family here around me....my mom and dad left all their family behind in Michigan to start a life in Alaska before my younger sister and i were born...i never knew any of my grandparents, uncles, aunts or cousins....i had an older sister who was stillborn and a half-sister that i only found out about when i was in my 20s...i've met her once...i dont even live near my parents or little sister anymore either

i am so jealous that you get to go to a family picnic! what i wouldn't give to go back in time and know my grandparents before they passed away....i would love to have a family photo taken with all my relatives and i wouldnt care in the slightest how heavy i was in that photo...i just recently found one of my aunts on facebook and her daughter, my cousin....the last time i saw my cousin, she was 18 and i was 4, the only time i've ever met her...now she is in her late 40s with grown children of her own...

you are so lucky!

I'm sorry. :( I really didn't look at it that way. I feel bad, and apologize. It wasn't really meant that way. I really am lucky, and I did have a nice time. After the initial discomfort, things sort of balanced out.

I was just a bit discouraged by the comments and being surrounded by people twice my age who are half my size, and can eat whatever they want. Additionally, my family picnics are usually torturous since everyone doesn't really get a long. It just is not a supportive environment for me whether it is about weight or not, it's usually just a popularity contest.

I hate feeling pressured to eat food at cookouts too. What I do like to do however is make a recipe of my own which I know is delicious plus I know all the nutritional info cause I made it myself so it can be my go-to at a get together. That plus I'm totally with you on filling up on fruit.

I's very basic and simple: you decide to be 'nice' and bring food to the picnic. Obviously, this is food that you have picked out that is healthy and taste good.

I go and eat what I normally do. I just eat a lot less of it. No more than one serving of anything and I skip the potato and macaroni salad. I still have cole slaw, but I really only eat it at family picnics anyway. Oh and I split a brownie with my SIL. We're both trying to lose weight so it works for us. My AIL makes amazing brownies so this way I get to have some but not too much. I also eat a lot of fruit. Luckily no one there is very pushy about food. They ask once if you want more and that's it.

Agreed, prepare your own dish (something like low-cal 7 layer dip with freshly cooked beans, fresh chopped onions, lettuce, and tomatoes, and yogurt for "sour cream") and contribute. Then you can fill up on the healthy option you brought and supplement a bit with items from around the table that may not be so healthy. :)

Wow, I guess you're right.

M3K don't be too discouraged. You seem to have done okay in spite of all of the fattening food and it was just 1 day. Just get back on your plan. I used to struggle with these situations until I realized that I'm going to be invited to functions for the rest of my life if I'm lucky and even when I reach my goal weight I'll NEVER be one of those people who can eat whatever they want, so might as well come up with a solution now.
Smile politely and say "really, no thanks! I'm stuffed."

My family has big family picnics in the summer, winter, fall, spring, dog’s birthday, cat rescued from a tree, you name it :lol:
My MOM is the biggest pusher of food on EVERYONE! Basically, b/c she likes to make a bunch of diff stuff, then swoon in all the compliments on how wonderful it is :T
She is actually offended when I refuse to eat her food—at any time, not just for picnics and such.
Sometimes, I stand firm with her and say, “You know I am not eating that!”
Sometimes, I allow her the satisfaction of “winning” and :drool: for seconds.
Then, the next day I :running: my legs off!!! :rofl:

I never had a problem with family pushing food. I guess I was so FAT that people were glad I was doing something about my weight. DRINKING on the other hand, that is awhole different story. Some of my family and many of my friends are booze pushers. I don't want to drink. I'm firm. NO, I do not want it. The end, I walk away. I've had to yell it before, but it gets the point across.

People don't push food on me anymore - they know I am not eating it. I choose the bits that I want to eat, and that's it. I've had the passive aggressive comments about how I basically eat air - which is super annoying but oh well! Those have stopped now too although now I am getting comments like "what are those pants, size 0????" to which I normally reply "nope, DOUBLE zero!!" (not true btw - I'm not even close to a 0!!)....I have silly sisters, as you might be able to tell. :) Anyways there are always these events happening, most every weekend in my family, and I do not indulge at them. I eat the number of calories I had planned on, and that's it. That's how I manage it, and so far so good!

My grandparents keep telling me I'm losing too much... despite being 30lbs overweight! I just tuck it under my belt as a compliment to be honest.

Admittedly (and this may be a counter-productive suggestion to you if you're on a really fixed regime) if I get invited to big gatherings/family meals/buffets/BBQs, I tend to ignore the fact that I'm on a diet (to an extent!!!)... tomorrow's another day.

Thanks.

Yeah, I think next time I will try to bring my own food. That's an excellent idea that I definitely hadn't thought of.

Family events are SOOOO hard because nobody really eats healthy lol. So what i do, i bring my own turkey hotdogs and turkey burgers for the grill. I also bring my own wheat buns and i ask ahead of time what foods people are bringing. If I see a lack of veggies, i make it and bring it myself.