Save Some Lives…

Food focused gatherings can tend to go bad.  Weddings, graduation parties, birthdays, most of our celebrations revolve around food in some way.  When I ask questions about how things ‘went bad’, generally it starts out with much talk and attitude consisting of this:

“I told them over and over, I don’t eat wheat, I don’t eat corn, I don’t eat cheese. I will not eat sugar, I can’t have bottled dressing, I can’t have dairy. There is nothing here that I can eat. No, I can’t eat that steak because you marinated it.  Yes I looked at the salad but it has BROCCOLI in it and I hate broccoli. I am so hungry!  I expected there to be at least something here I can eat No, fruit salad is not good I can’t eat bananas…”

On and on.  Can you imagine being the person listening to this negative drivel and food hate?  It is not fun to listen to.  It doesn’t look like fun to be you.  And then the launch into your ‘food program’ and how much water you ‘have’ to drink…

And here is where it goes bad: the person with all the picky food needs then dives into the cake! 

This same person will ask me “How can I help my (family, friend) get healthier?  How do I help them eat better?  What can I say to them, what can I do?”  Well, first of all, STOP BEING A PAIN IN THE ASS.  Stop expecting the rest of the processed world to bend down to your needs.  Stop making this look so psychotic!!

In a gathering, instead of the above tirade, do this:  “I’d really enjoy a huge salad right now and a piece of meat.”  With a big smile.  Then be quiet, no one needs to hear about your food judgements.  If they ask, be positive minded and if you can’t, then please do not speak about it.

Oh, and YOU BRING THE BIG SALAD.  A big enough one to share, because many folks will eat well when the food is available.  Do not expect the other people to do this for you.  Do it for yourself, and do it for them.

We can save lives by making clean eating look not only good, but fun.  Not only fun, but easy.  Folks fear being separated from the pack, being ostracized, being the odd person out.  So show them how to do it with class, with a smile, with a generous spirit of indulgence for other people’s weaknesses.

Compare:

“Jody used to be a lot of fun until she started that Genesis thing.  She’s lost weight but boy is she hard to be around.  Plus when I eat around her she is always judging me.”

“Andrea sure looks good.  She changed how she eats and her smile is so bright, she always brings that really huge yummy salad, and man she is just a pleasure these days.”

Save some lives this summer.  Be a good ambassador for health.