AIBU about 'healthy eaters' who scoff your 'naughty' food while telling you how much harm it's doing you?

[GoldfincTart]

We were away camping this weekend with friends we haven't seen for about 18 months. They talked a lot about how they'd completely overhauled their diet. Fair play, they look great on it and we could learn a few tips from them.

Their breakfast was home-made spelt crackers eaten with home-made hummus and radishes and carrot sticks. They drank herb or green tea. We had bacon sandwiches on sourdough from the wholefood shop and ordinary tea. We wouldn't normally have bacon sandwiches, but we were on holiday and had an active day planned. They were 'White bread! Bacon! Yorkshire Tea! Do you know what that's doing to your body?' — and then later in the day asked whether we could spare them a slice or two of bread with real butter, because for them it was a treat. We did. And it went on. DH and I got back from a 7-mile walk and a swim and had tea and a slice of the lemon drizzle cake I'd made. I didn't offer them any because obviously it's not the kind of thing they would eat. And next thing they were 'Oh, if it's home-made... so bad for us, but just a little slice.' Or two, as it turned out. For dinner they had a big green salad and a lentil salad. We had salmon with asparagus, spinach and Jersey Royals with lemon and butter. Although they 'never eat potatoes' they were salivating over ours and quietly finished off the rest of the Jerseys, which I'd cooked with the intention of making potato salad for the next day. They helped themselves to all our 'bad' snacks, they even asked for a coffee. 'We don't drink coffee, it's so bad for you, but if you're making one...'

Then at the end of it when we said goodbye it was 'You two are terrible with all your naughty food, it's back to healthy eating tomorrow.' So bloody rude, surely?

Love that film!

"What's the treat today, Keith?"
"Raw mushrooms"
"Hmm, raw mushrooms, my favourite!"

They sound very pretencious. Think I would be starving to eating that pafetic breakfast. As for bacon it's impossible to eat it on any bread other than white.

This reminds me of the 'competitive undereaters' thread from a few months ago.

But yes, very condescending and irritating, not to mention belying of their insecurity. Ignore it.

They sound very dull- hate people who bang on and on about eating healthily.

Keep it to yourselves no one cares!

also be more assertive about your stuff!

Jesus. That sounds really really tedious. Think carefully before going away with them again.

It's the lecturing which is rude. It's not a real conversation point, it's called being superior.

I would have eaten the lemon drizzle cake and advised them to feast on the spelt crackers.

The point of a holiday is to do things differently. I have to be careful what I eat due to a health condition but on holiday I just eat what I like. All my friends that have died before turning 50 were the vegetarian, non-drinking marathon runners - not a big sample size but it makes you think. However my chronic pain is better if I eat no gluten and less sugar. On holiday in just drink more wine to kill the pain!

Do they own a couple of hair shirts!

No one knows what goes on behind closed doors. Personally, I suspect your friends might be desperately short of money!

Your evening meal had me salivating and I have just eaten!

If they are genuine, I am not sure they have a terribly healthy relationship with food. Everything in moderation...

If they'd suggested eating an ounce of anything of mine, I'd have gone proper pisstajke on them and said "oh no I couldn't let you eat that, I'd feel terrible, you'll feel terrible tomorrow and I'd feel terrible for you .... I'm so incredibly impressed by your clean eating. It's inspiring, really. I might take a leaf out of your book after this weekend.
But honestly I couldn't bear it if I was a factor in you breaking your clean eating eating regime, I couldn't let you have that....."

They wouldn't have been getting an iota of my food.

Don't waste your tasty potatoes on them next time.

How did you not laugh at them?
I do eat healthily but I enjoy the more unhealthy foods too, everything in moderation and I wouldn’t dream of preaching to anyone else about what they should or shouldn’t be eating. It’s up to them.

I had a housemate like this once.

Always talking about the amazing healthy food he made, then in the middle of the night would eat all of my bread! Often didn't get a slice of my own bread as he had eaten it all.

I also personally quite like cooking healthy balanced meals and reading about health benefits of different foods, but don't think I have ever felt the need to mention it to anyone (outside from my own children/this post!)

It's the combination of preachiness and cheekiness which sounds irritating.

I also remember co-workers always commenting on my lunch 'ooh you're being good', 'cheeky slice of cake' etc - the whole good Vs bad food language annoys me too. Even for my own children I would only say how some foods have xyz benefits for the body, and some others don't have those benefits so it's good to regularly make food choices which give you something which helps your body. But I would never discuss that with adults.

This, absolutely! "No, I wouldn't want you undoing all your hard work, and besides, your spelt crackers look delicious. No, you know how terrible caffeine is, you just enjoy your herbal tea - I'll drink my cappuccino in the tent. As you say, this food is all terribly bad for you, and who would want cake when you have [dramatic pause] lentils?"

Then clear all the food up and keep it well out of reach.

They will probably calm down.

Go with them again if you otherwise have fun but be prepared. Just tell them you have brought extra portions of Heart Attack but can they bring hearty salad to share, please.

Why is Yorkshire Tea specifically bad for you 😅

They're following a fad diet and it's probably miserable. Savoury breakfast sounds like one of those obsessive glucose diets where even oats and fruit juice are 'bad' they sound incredibly annoying and I'd find it hard to hang out with people like that. Food is a really joy as a balanced diet and camping is not the time for anything elaborate!

I know people like this. It gets tiring very quickly and they just don't realise how bloody rude it is.

I guarantee you, within three years they'll be back to eating the awful food daily. They won't stick it out on salads forever.

I'd just be honest with them. Can you stop saying how naughty food is to us? This is what we're choosing to eat so it just comes across rude. And even a little ridiculous given you've eaten so much of it yourselves. Let's just not talk about food?

They sound dull as fuck.
Also - since when are potatoes bad for you

And - coffee is good for you. And entirely necessary.

It’s sad but so few people have good relationships with food. Your friends definitely don’t!

I know this is the extreme end of the spectrum, but I've suffered with ED since I was in my early teens are conversations around 'naughty' vs 'good' food are so triggering for me. It's such an unhealthy attitude to food. I'm so glad you didn't give in and change your eating plans because they guilted you into doing so OP!

Meh- if they're that easily persuaded, I doubt they're as angelic as they make out. I bet as soon as they got home they made a trip to Greggs 😆

Urgh they sound infuriating.

I have what many may consider a restrictive diet, and I really don't like talking about it or drawing attention to it.

I like it when people compliment on my body changes but that's it.

That would greatly annoy me.
I'm a mostly healthy eater but would never dream of telling anyone else what to eat because it's none of my business. She sounds like a massive twat!

Good idea. That might stop them

I’d drop them like hot Jersey Royals.

“oi you can fuck off eating my spuds, I’m saving them for tomorrow”

“yes you can have cake on condition you stop wanging on about your sodding diet”

”caffeine kills, enjoy your herb water”