With all the parties, gatherings and social occasions, temptation is at an all-time high during Christmas. And where there is temptation, there are quite often food pushers.
It isn’t unusual to find yourself surrounded by cakes, chocolates, pastries and more. Feeling motivated to stick to your diet isn’t always easy. This test of personal strength can be tricky enough as it is, without your friends or relatives pushing food onto your plate, encouraging you to “just have a little bit, it won’t hurt.”
It’s a challenging situation: on the one-hand you may tell yourself “there is no point, it will only taste good for a few minutes, but it’ll set me back for much longer. I should put my health first.”
Then there’s the other argument, “they’ve put so much work in. It’s such a nice gesture and it would be rude to say no.”
At Diabetes.co.uk, we are firm believers that nobody should be pressured into eating something they don’t want.
At the end of the day, it’s your life, your health and your decision. We want you to have the confidence to stand up for yourself and choose to eat only what you are comfortable with.
The question is, though, how do you turn down the offer of food in a polite way?
While there is no one right answer, there are some ways that are likely to come across better than others.
Stand your ground
Why not try explaining why you can’t or don’t want to eat sugary foods? For example, ‘It’ll make me feel guilty / I’ll put on weight / It’ll push up my blood sugar” are all very valid reasons. Some people may respond well and leave you be.
However, a lot of people don’t understand how much of an issue diabetes can be and you may have to deal with comments like “It’s only one slice” or “it’s only one treat, it won’t affect you”.
Once you get caught into trying to justify your position like this, it can be difficult to resist the pushing without feeling exhausted afterwards.
Saying no with confidence
A better way is to make your negative answer ’no’ sound positively … positive.
Think along the lines of “it looks really delicious. However, I’m doing so well with my healthy eating lately and it’s given me so much confidence that I don’t want to break my success.”
How can someone contradict that? Would they want to break your success?
Now, if someone does say “oh, one slice won’t break your success” then simply stand your ground. Repeat that it looks lovely but you want to keep hold of your healthy eating success.
Saying no can be tough at times but try to maintain the strength to say no to temptation and yes to great health.
For recipe ideas and further advice about staying on track over Christmas, visit our award-winning Low Carb Program.
Best of luck and have a great Christmas!
