Social Barriers to Weight loss

There are many social barriers to overcome if we want to lose weight and keep it off, and it is these social barriers that in part explain why "no thanks" isn't used as often as it should be when we're trying to lose weight.

Some of the most significant of these social barriers include:

• A desire to fit in with other people.
  
  
• Food and drink are central to many of our most important social gatherings, such as birthdays, anniversaries, achievement ceremonies and religious festivities like Christmas, Easter, etc.
  
  
• The word "no" has negative connotations.
  
  
• We generally don't want to offend people when they're trying to be nice and hospitable to us.
  
  
• It's very easy to justify a "yes" answer to most questions.

Why being able to say "No Thanks" is important

Put very simply, being able to say no to food and drink that we'd rather avoid or minimise our consumption of while we're shedding kilos is important because it will help us to consume fewer calories and therefore help us achieve our weight loss goal.

It's not too difficult to add up how many calories we could save ourselves if we said no to the occasional slice of cake, hand full of potato chips, alcoholic drink, soft drink, biscuit or pastry.

Being comfortable saying no in certain situations and being able to do it without offending people will also help us feel more relaxed attending social gatherings that we might otherwise be tempted to avoid.

Just because we are limiting our intake of certain foods and drinks, doesn't mean we're resigning from life and we need strategies to ensure our relationships with our family, friends and colleagues don't suffer while we're watching what we eat and drink.

Questions and Answers using "No Thanks"

Here are some common questions we're all asked that are better answered "No Thanks":

Q. Would you like a biscuit with your coffee? A. No Thanks.

Q. Would you like another glass of wine? A. No Thanks.

Q. Would you like some garlic bread as a starter? A. No Thanks.

Q. Would you like to upgrade your meal for $0.50? A. No Thanks.

Q. Would you like a slice of birthday cake? A. No Thanks.

Q. Would you like a piece of chocolate? A. No Thanks.

Q. Would you like a can of soft drink? A. No Thanks.

Q. Would you like dessert? A. No Thanks.

Q. Would you like some more food? A. No Thanks.

Q. Would you like some fries with that? A. No Thanks.

How many other questions that you regularly get asked can you think of that should be answered "No Thanks"?

Adding extra words to "No Thanks" as an explanation

When some of us do answer "no" to these and other questions, we feel that we need to explain ourselves.

Phrases like "I'm on a diet" and "I'm watching what I eat" often follow "No Thanks".

The problem with diet related explanations is that they can often make us feel isolated (in as much as we're the only ones not eating or drinking), self-conscious about our weight and can offend others unintentionally by suggesting what they are offering and eating themselves is unhealthy.

Some useful additions to "No Thanks"

If you don't feel comfortable telling people you are on a diet and that's the reason you don't want anything to eat and drink, try these instead:

No thanks…

• I'm still a little full from my last meal.
  
  
• It looks and smells wonderful, maybe later.
  
  
• My stomach is feeling a bit queasy.
  
  
• I've just taken some medicine and can't eat for an hour or so.
  
  
• I've been getting a touch of heartburn lately and I'm afraid if I eat it will flare up.
  
  
• I'm not hungry right now but I'd love to take some home with me.

Regardless of what excuse you use, remember it's always a good idea to compliment your host on their food.

Preplanning is another solution

Preplanning is a super strategy when it comes to weight loss and it can certainly help you to avoiding saying yes to eating and drinking things that you'd rather not.

For example, if you are attending a function at a friends place, speak to your host well before the event to make sure there are foods and drinks on hand at the event that you feel comfortable eating and drinking.

An alternative to speaking to your host beforehand is to take what you would like to eat and drink to the gathering.

Rather than making it obvious that it's really for you, make it a giving gesture, like taking a bottle of wine to a dinner party for example, and simply just eat and drink what you brought.

You might be surprised, there may be others at the gathering that are also watching their weight and may be glad you did.

Conclusion

The dieter's dictionary is full of weight loss terms, jargon and buzzwords which many of us feel we need to keep up with in order to successfully lose weight.

In this article, we discussed one of the most important phrases in the dieter's dictionary "No Thanks" and explained why it isn't used as much as it should, and why everyone with weight loss aspirations should practice using it.

Good luck with your weight loss and thanks for visiting weightloss.com.au.

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