Freakin holidays (warning, rant)
 

I hate 'em.

Everybody's getting together tomorrow for Labor Day and naturally there won't be one healthy thing to eat there. These people are all allergic to healthy food. I mean, if they see the word "light" on anything, they run screaming.

"What?! Light! Why did you buy light?! I'm not eating that crap!"

Everything is drenched in butter or laden in sauces or fried in oil or if pasta or mashed potatoes are made, a whole stick of butter is added in. I DREAD holidays and getting together with everyone.

Yes, I know, I could fix my own food and take it with me, but then everyone gets all pouty like I've completely insulted their intelligence. And then they get their feelings hurt AGAIN if I pull skin off of things or scrape sauce or stay away from certain foods because they're so high in fat or if I ask if there's any butter spray available instead of regular butter, etc etc etc.

Oh my gosh! I just asked for fat-free butter spray! I deserve to be shot!

And I know from the looks on some of their faces that they're sitting there watching me pull skin off of chicken or scrape spoonfuls of mayonnaise out of my potato salad thinking, "There goes miss priss again, she's too good to eat the kind of foods WE like."

I think tomorrow I'm going to mysteriously come down with something. I'm not going.

Hi Linda,
I know the feeling... I avoid holidays like the plague too. I work in retail so I always volunteer to work on holidays. Then I have the perfect excuse not to go to holiday things. It is a damn shame it comes down to that.

Yes, it really stinks. If everyone would just let me be and let me do what I want to do without getting their poor widdle feelings all out of sorts just because I want to eat healthy and they don't (I forgot to mention that many of these people are heavy) it wouldn't be so bad.

Tomorrow about noon I'm going to get a real bad stomach ache. Yep.

I just take my own food. I decided when I started not to give a flying **** what other people think about what I eat. And I still don't. I honestly wouldn't care if their feelings WERE hurt (who gets their feelings hurt because of what someone else EATS? *baffling*)

For cookouts, I take my own veggie burger and my own whole grain bun. I usually bring a fruit tray, as well. Since it's a social event, I usually take a few small tastes of yummy things I might want to try, but I make sure I fill up on the healthy food.

Does it seem to you that family members who are NOT in shape resent you for fixing your own shape? I get the same thing...and its much worse with my heavy set relatives who have made the decision to stay that way.....its almost like an intentional sabatoge i.e. "ill make her feel so bad that she will have to eat the crud i put out and call food...then maybe she will be fat again like me"...my thin relatives usually serve things I can eat...mostly because they have had to do the same things I have had to do to get thin in the first place.

family, gotta love 'em. I have a very supportive mother who keeps others away from me in those situations and makes sure there is a healthy selection. Thank you mom, I love you.

My over-weight relatives are the exact same way. They tend to tease me about all the junk they are eating and say "you can't have this can you". I just watch them stuff their fat little faces and think no, you shouldn't be eating it either, but whatever. I try to always take a salad and fruit tray so that I know there is at least something I can eat. I don't mind skipping their junk but I hate being taunted.

Originally Posted by lilybelle:
My over-weight relatives are the exact same way. They tend to tease me about all the junk they are eating and say "you can't have this can you".

I would be greatly tempted to run my hands down my size 6 pants and say "you can't wear this, can you."

Glory, LOL, I've actually had my sister ask me to pull my jeans down and prove to her what size I wear. Size 4 thank you very much. Then she says, "well, I'm just bigger in the hips." Ha Ha, no sis, you're bigger all over. LOL. She has given me grief every since I got smaller than she is. My other sis is supportive, she works out and tries to keep her weight at a normal level and does a good job at it. The cruel sis tells me "I have gone overboard and am anorexic". I don't hardly think so.That's why I'm in here tonite,drinking water instead of giving in to my strong cravings for chocolate.

Originally Posted by Glory87:
I would be greatly tempted to run my hands down my size 6 pants and say "you can't wear this, can you."

LOLOL!!! That's hilarious! It reminds me of a tv show I saw once, this female impersonator had been mugged. And when the cop was questioning this person, he asked the guy "ocupation?" and the guy responded "Being beautiful!" the cop then said, "that's not a job!", and the guy said, "Oh yes it is!"

LLV, I know how you feel. As hard as it will be, just ignore them and keep right on doing the "rite stuff".

Lilly, she's jelious. You look incredible, and you don't have to prove it to anybody. You KNOW you look good, and they can't stand it. It's competition, plain and simple. I've noticed that when I'm fat, the ladies in the office are nicer to me. the skinny ladies that it. when i trim down, they treat me differently. its competition for attention. we become a "threat" to them, in a way. eh, its just one way to look at it, anyway.

Originally Posted by Glory87:
I would be greatly tempted to run my hands down my size 6 pants and say "you can't wear this, can you."

Wooooooooo! I'm gonna remember that one!

Thanks for all the input, ladies, glad to know I'm not alone. And yes, maybe they do resent me a little for leaving them all behind. I mean, I feel BAD that many of them are overweight (and I don't mean by just a few pounds, a few of them have to be over 300) and I wish they'd lose their weight too. But I'm treated much differently now than I used to be because I'm not one of their 'foodfest pals' anymore.

Linda,

You know how the occasional get-together becomes a chore? You know, junk and all just being on the main menu, it makes you wonder why you even bother? I feel that way all the time. I don't drink anymore, so cocktail parties are a no-no for me. Sometimes I feel like I should just bring plate of cucumber rounds with hummus, eat them without touching other people's crap and just leave. It's close to what I do now, actually. Not that you should do it, since you've got family and all. BUt I'm sure I know how you feel about these things.

The other ladies have great advice so I'm just sending hugs. I too know what it's like to be the "loony health nut."

Thanks, girls, I really appreciate your words :)

I guess I have a different take on things. I think it's possible that your overweight relatives (or officemates or friends, in a different situation) perceive your healthy eating and/or modification of the foods they've prepared as an affront, as if you're judging them for who they are, how they cook/eat and how they look. I'm NOT saying you're doing this (although based on the comments above, that seems to be the case), I'm saying they might experience it this way. And isn't being judged by these criteria one of the things WE hated when we were heavy and chose less healthy foods?

Regarding people being offended by what someone else does or doesn't eat, eating, esp. at holidays, is a communal experience. When someone's worked hard to prepare a meal, they want to see their guests enjoy it, not reject it. I know everyone's approach is different but in this situation a would eat a small amount of a few things and, if there wasn't something else that better fit my plan available, I would eat more when I got home.