How do YOU handle overweight friends?

This is going to be everywhere, so enjoy the ride! I got some ADD thoughts today.

I was able to get an insurance-like plan for folks with pre-existing conditions. I have a consultation with a surgeon on August 5th. I hope to walk away from that appointment with a date for surgery. I want this stupid gallbladder out!!! I want to eat without any kind of pain. It would be great.

I was lucky enough to be in minimal pain from food and eating this last weekend at ComicCon. I had a blast. It was amazing! I loved it. I met Matt Groening and David X. Cohen. I met the guys from Ghost Adventures. I got to see Robert Kirkman. I slept 6 hours out of 48. That was not very fun. But, what a weekend! I dunno how I could top it if I go next year.



The real reason that motivated me to write this blog has to do with a problem I'm sure we've all faced at one time or another. I'll start by saying I've read numerous articles that say having overweight friends will also keep you overweight. In my case, I'd say this has some truth to it. Right now my biggest weakness is eating out. I love to cook and am very good at it. But, I get lazy quite easily when it comes to that... I hate turning on the oven or stove because it'll heat up the house. I rarely make easy dishes- I love to create elaborate, full meals (with leftovers for meals later in the week) which require a lot of time and cleanup. My diet is rather limited at this time due to my gallbladder and its unpredictability. I'm also a big foodie, so I like to eat out and try new things. Its easy and often times I'd rather pay for the convenience of someone else cooking food for me. Like I said: WEAKNESS. I can easily decline an invitation to the movies or for a drink at a bar. I give in so easily to an invite to eat out somewhere, even if I've given myself every excuse there is: I really can't afford it, I have something in the fridge about to go bad that I need to cook, I will make better food choices eating at home, etc.

One of my best friends loves to eat out. She has uncontrolled PCOS, does not watch her diet at all, does not exercise at all, and has very little interest in doing anything about any of it. I'd estimate her weight to be about 250+... a good deal heavier than I am. We are always dining out together. She's the one person I dine out with most out of everyone. And she keeps feeding into that weakness. She's always finding new restaurants for us to try, usually with pricey, outrageous portions of food. I have a tough time making the "healthier" choice at restaurants, especially if I'm ordering a salad and she's ordering a bacon burger, ya know? That does make me feel deprived! And the healthier choices at restaurants are always pricier than the junk. She knows I'm on a quest to better health. I'm studying nutrition, for goodness sake! She knew about my 28-day exercise streak. But, still she does this.

I will admit I have not said anything about it before. How does one broach the subject? Do I tell her she's contributing to keeping me fat? Or do I try a gentler approach and tell her that I'd rather do something else than eat? She doesn't like to do the same things I do. I love to hike and kayak and be active and outdoors. That's not her cup of tea. Also, she's the one with the car, so she drives us where ever we go (to eat). What should I do? Has anyone else ever encountered this problem, and if so, how did you handle it?