something that i have been thinking about since i read it.. is steve pavlina's philosophy on eating differently (in his case raw food only) in front of other people and the social stigma it creates...
Here’s how I look at this situation. If I eat a crappy diet in front of other people, I’m subtly encouraging them to do the same. That does a real disservice to people who share a meal with me. I don’t want to be the kind of person who lowers the standards of everyone I eat with (or who reinforces pre-existing low standards).
If I put myself in the position of eating a healthy diet when I’m with other people, then I subtly influence them to improve their own eating habits as well. I don’t need to discuss what I’m eating to have this effect I know from experience that it happens automatically. Try it for yourself by sharing a meal with someone whose diet is much healthier than yours, and see if you don’t feel slightly more motivated to make some improvements. We’re all subtly influenced by the people we connect with.
Eating with someone who makes strange comments about my food isn’t a big deal to me. The more important issue is whether I’m serving as a positive example to others. While they might superficially disconnect from me because I eat differently, I know there’s a deeper, more important connection that’s being established beneath the surface. That’s the connection that reminds people they are in fact strong enough to make conscious food choices, even when everyone around them is doing the opposite.
my deskmate eats chips and candy from the vending machine on a daily basis, sometimes 2 and 3 times a day.. while i consciously know that there is no reason to ever eat cheetos or snickers bars, my brain justifies buying junk because i see my deskmate doing it all the time..
here is SPs entire post in case you want to read more about it..
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