HATER-AID: #1 Drink of Haters!

Hater: Someone who makes themselves feel good by knocking others down. Haters fail to recognize the accomplishment of others. Put simply, haters will not be happy for you.

An example of conversing with a hater:
Mimi: Every since the promotion, Martin has stepped up his wardrobe.
Lisa (hater): If he's stepped up his wardrobe then why does he still wear that 1985 Member's Only jacket?

Hater-Aid: The drink of haters.
Used in a sentence:
Dang, why are you hating on Martin? Have you been drinking hater-aid?

Unfortunately haters live among us. Some work with us. They arrive at work with their boxes of kolaches and donuts coercing us to gobble them up. "Go ahead....eat one. You can eat just one." I call them THE PUSHERS. Drug dealers more like it...pushing my drug of choice...FOOD! The pushers push and push and push and push until you cave. AND THEY KNOW...they know your trying your bestest (not a real word, but it is now) to lead a healthy lifestyle. They know. In my opinion haters thrive on your failure. In the mind of a hater your failure confirms what they think they know about you...that you will fail to succeed at losing weight.

At my previous job (Head Start, no names), my colleagues sometimes made comments dripping with sarcasm, "Oh look at you eating all healthy. Hmmm...good for you. Whatever hater! I so badly wanted to respond, "The grocery store sells healthy food to everyone, not just me." Fortunately the ladies at my current job respect my weight loss efforts and offer food just once. AND A few of them provide encouragement and cheer me on...THANKS LADIES! But for those of you, not so fortunate I offer a few ways to avoid the THE PUSHERS a.k.a workplace HATERS:

• Bring snacks or store snacks at work in case of hater emergencies.
• Lead by example...bring healthy alternatives for breakfast like bagels from Einstein Bros. (yummers!)
• STAY OUT OF THE LOUNGE or whatever "corner" the pushers hang out on.
• Eat a hearty breakfast.

The same rules apply for potlucks:

• Bring your own lunch and only serve yourself the healthier potluck options: fruit, salad, low-fat dishes, etc.
• Lead by example..bring a healthy dish to the potluck and only eat your food and some of the healthier options.

• STAY OUT OF THE LOUNGE!

Refrain from falling victim to haters at work. Simply tell them no and keep it moving. If they can't take no for an answer then simply high-five their face with your hand. Keep in mind, not all pushers at work are haters. Just explain to unintentional pushers that you tend to move in a healthier direction when making food choices.

Now, the next type of hater (the most devastating type of hater) which I tend to lump into one category...THE FRIENDS AND FAMILY HATER! I deemed this hater the most devastating BECAUSE you expect friends and family to support whatever decisions you make regarding your healthy lifestyle changes. Sometimes your friends and family take on the role of the saboteur by making you feel bad about wanting to better your life and by discrediting weight loss progress made. O...you can count on them all right...you can count on them to point out ALL of the mistakes your making during your weight loss endeavor. Fortunately I have an awesome support system composed of my MOM and the SC (shout out to the Sista Circle). You know your friends and family better than I do, but when faced with a FRIENDS AND FAMILY HATER I offer the following advice:

• You can't pick your family, but you can pick your friends. I've HAD friends who made me feel like I needed to hide my successes. The operative word in the previous sentence ...HAD!
  
  
• Try to refrain from forcing your new lifestyle on other people. This is a hard one. I enjoy sharing new products, successes, tips and recipes. Just make sure you share with people who ummm actually care. I decided a "safe" place to talk about my journey is here in this blogosphere chocked full of encouragement!
  
  
• DO NOT RELINQUISH YOUR POWER TO HATERS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Haters can't make you feel bad about yourself UNLESS you give them the power...YOUR POWER!
  

Well, I decided to STOP handing over my power to haters, and I resigned to stop associating with them as well. Hanging out with haters produces too much negative energy. I rather surround myself with positivity and enjoy life's little moments like the intellectual conversation my boy's and engaged in regarding the age of SpongeBob SquarePants . As a homeowner of a 2 story pineapple, and a Krusty Krab employee, I guessed SpongeBob's age to be around 23...give or take. What do you think?

In closing...I leave you with this:

BEHIND EVERY SUCCESSFUL PERSON IS A PACK OF HATERS!

How do you deal with the haters in your life?