Oh, the undoing!

I stepped on the scale this morning and it said 276. Two pounds down from Sunday which is when I got started back to clean eating. I still have 4 lbs to go to get back to where I was before I fell into the sugar bowl. I hate that I have to spend this week undoing what I had done the week before Christmas. What I hate most is that the food I ate was not even worth it. It's not like I had gourmet meals or something. I actually think that after eating clean for a couple of weeks my taste buds didn't appreciate me eating crap.

I seem to be easy prey for giving in to the pressures of others when it comes to my eating plan. In the January 2009 issue of Clean Eating magazine, there is a great article about this very problem. It's called "Surviving Sabotage" by Peggy Hall on page 66, if you have the magazine. It gives great ideas on how to avoid the people who mean well in your life, but that just don't get that you are changing your eating habits. This article gives great tips on what to say when you don't want to accept the food that's being offered. Even if the food was made "especially for you." You don't have to eat it. I'm always afraid I'll upset the person if I turn it down. Now I have a new strategy for handling these situations. I can say "thanks, that was so nice of you. I'll have some later, I'm kinda full right now" or "you are such a good cook, can I take some home for later?"

The main idea is to "use positive language (avoid trigger words like no, can't, shouldn't, diet, lose weight, etc.)," "express gratitude," "acknowledge the effort" and "suggest an alternative." This method will make the giver feel good and you will escape having to eat something just to make them happy. Of course, sometimes you just have to accept the food. That does not mean you have to eat it. Just set the plate down and continue to talk or do whatever so no one notices you aren't eating it. That part sounds difficult, but I used to work with a girl that always took a piece of the birthday cake or donut or whatever was being offered during office celebrations and when she got to her office, she threw it in the trash.

I want to be like that. I want to fly under the radar of the saboteurs in my scope. I want to say "I've had plenty, thanks. I'm going to pass on dessert for now." And in saying that, know that my decision to pass is okay and that no one got hurt by me saying "no thanks."

Anyway, if you have the mag, read this article. It will give you tips on how to stick to your eating clean diet.