Put Yourself First!

[Bren]

PUT YOURSELF FIRST

by Joan J

Over the past few months I've read numerous posts all along the same vein. It's such-and-such special occassion/visit/vacation/banquet/snacks by co-workers and I will have to go off Atkins because I don't want to hurt so-and-so's feelings, who cooked cake/dessert/potatoes/macaroni salad/pizza/high carb foods.

My advice: It's OK to put yourself and your health first!!

One of the drawbacks of being obese is that we may not feel we deserve good things in our lives. We're not worthy. The other person is more important. It's important not to hurt other people's feelings -- no matter that they are hurting ours/have hurt ours in the past/just don't care about our feelings or our health.

Trust me, people will not stop loving you/liking you/talking with you/being related to you/working with you because you say NO THANK YOU, I CAN'T EAT THAT.

If your cousin/mother-in-law/co-worker/president of the PTO was a vegetarian and came to your house for dinner, would you INSIST they eat steak and stop talking to them if they didn't? Of course not. If you father/son/daughter's best friend/neighbor was a reformed alcoholic and came to your house, would you INSIST they have mixed drinks before dinner?? Would you never see them again because they refrained from drinking alcohol? Of course not!!

So why why why are YOU not worthy of the same consideration?!? You are simply putting your health first by not eating non-induction or high carb foods. Do you not deserve better health?!? Is your health less important than anyone else with dietary restrictions??

Try the "No thank you, I can't eat that" tactic and see what happens.

First, you are going to feel better about yourself for having the strength to stick to your WOE. And this self-discipline muscle is just like the rest of our muscles -- the more you exercise it, the stronger it gets!!

Second, you're going to discover that no one thinks less of you because you don't eat their food!!! (And if they do? Then they don't care about your health and they don't care about your personal well-being...and they don't really care about you.) They might actually admire your strength (aka will power), admire the fact you are taking care of yourself, and admire the fact that you are serious about losing weight.

And one last helpful hint. You do NOT have to tell people you're on the Atkins diet if you don't want to listen to millions of myths and misconceptions -- You'll die. Your cholesterol will go sky high. You're only losing water. Blah Blah Blah. When people ask you how you're losing weight, simply say, "I've cut out sugar, flour and trans fats... and I'm eating simple whole foods, especially those high in fiber." They'll say "Oooooh, that sounds so healthy!!!"

And it is. And you deserve to be healthy. So stick up for yourself and learn to say those magic words -- "No thank you, I can't eat that." It's not being selfish -- it's being self-caring!

Joan J
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