My Jaw Almost Hit the Table in Shock

Plate of Tater Tots

As part of attending Trivia Night, our team meets early for dinner.

  • We catch up before starting the game.
  • And get to know any guests joining us for the first time.
  • (Helps us be more strategic in how we weigh their answers for trivia!)

Last week, one of our friends brought a guest – I’ll call her Carrie.

  • As Carrie approached the table, she excitedly shared that she eats the way I eat.
  • It was an interesting way to say ‘Hello” to a stranger.
  • (Attempted insta-bonding for two points???)

Once settled in at the table, Carrie shared how well she did on her program.

  • She had lost 22 pounds!
  • She was feeling better.
  • She was glad I ate in a similar way.

One of our team’s traditions is to order tater tots as an appetizer for the table.

  • They cook them to perfection.
  • Smell amazing.
  • And everyone scarfs them down – except me as a general rule.

The tater tots arrived at the table.

Carrie looked at me and asked if I was going to break my normal eating habits to join her for tater tots.

What the heck!?

  • I just met this woman. 
  • She knows very little about me – like why eat the way I do.
  • And asked me to change my norms to join her in cheating on her eating plan.

When I said “NO” she deflated a bit.

As if she would feel guilty eating them if I didn’t.

I looked straight at her, “Carrie, I could care less what you eat. You do you.”

  • She confesssed she cheats regularly.
  • She isn’t really that strict about how she eats – and still lost weight.
  • I told her again, “It’s all good. You do what feels good to you.”

The tater tots were perfection that night.

  • She obviously wanted to dig in like everyone else.
  • But she gave me a hang-dog look as she just took a few from the serving dish.
  • She still wanted me to join her in the decadence. 

If I were a Good Girl, I would have joined her so she would feel good about what she was eating.

BUT, it wasn’t what I wanted to do.

So I basically ignored her for the next several minutes.

Makes me think of successful women raised as Good Girls… how often do you say YES when you want to say NO?