Tuesday, November 27, 2007

The Ugly Side of the Holiday Season




Now is the time of year when people are decking the halls and spreading holiday cheer to everyone and their brother. But there is an ugly side to holiday cheer. It's also the time of year when decadent treats and desserts seem to multiply like caged rabbits. For those of us who struggle or have struggled with controlling our body weight, the holiday season can feel a lot like a Cambodian minefield. It feels like everyone we turn, there are cookies, cakes, pies, candies -- and a million and one reasons why it's OK to indulge.

But the worst part of the holiday season are the food pushers. The name is self-explanatory. Food pushers are those who push food at you. They tell you that you deserve to treat yourself, that just one bite won't hurt, that we all need to splurge now and then. Food pushers are a year-round hazard, but the holiday season seems to be when they are in rare form.

I try to see the good in people, to assume that they mean well and don't understand the ramifications of their actions. After all, that's a much more pleasing thought than to believe they are intentionally trying to sabotage your efforts to maintain a healthy way of eating.

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

My opinion is that the food pushers may think that since they can justify to themselves the reasons they are taking just one bite, or one piece, or one plateful, that they should be able to justify to you why you should do the same. My least favorite is the offended food pusher. If you politely decline their pushing of the food, they take it as a personal affront. I have only run across one of these in my time, and I've decided the problem lies with them. They don't want to be reminded that maybe their choices aren't the best, and anyone's polite refusal of their food is the reminder they don't want. These are their issues, not yours, though it's still difficult to extricate yourself from such awkward situations.

People get so testy about food. It's so weird.

Tonya said...

Most of the food pushers I know are the type to get offended at rejection. But you are right, the issue does lie within them. I think many food pushers are trying to excuse their own behavior or to get you to join the club, figuring that if you do it, it's ok for them to do it as well.

Anonymous said...

i'm glad you are able to not giveing into your food pushers