{"id":199,"date":"2013-02-25T14:32:58","date_gmt":"2013-02-25T14:32:58","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/brianberkman.com\/?p=199"},"modified":"2023-08-25T09:17:34","modified_gmt":"2023-08-25T09:17:34","slug":"a-troll-in-silk-is-a-troll-no-less","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/brianberkman.com\/?p=199","title":{"rendered":"A Troll in Silk is a Troll No Less"},"content":{"rendered":"

 <\/p>\n

To paraphrase Rodriguez, the man of the moment, A Troll in Silk is a Troll No less and if you are committed to reaching or maintaining a healthy weight, it is essential you know this. Sometimes trolls also wear pretty dresses and warm smiles but if they apply pressure on you to eat or drink something you don\u2019t want to, in my book that makes them a troll. And, forgive the mixed metaphors, but just like Rumpelstiltskin, you have to name them, if only in your own mind, to take back your power.<\/p>\n

I am pretty resolute when it comes to what I will or won\u2019t put into my mouth but just last week I experienced the power of the troll. The troll is the one who makes you feel bad because you aren\u2019t joining in in what they are eating or drinking. The greater power the troll exerts on your life (the example that is top-of-mind is a work colleague that I need on my side), the harder it is to refuse.<\/p>\n

The trickery is in the way in which trolls behave. They hide beneath the bridge and just the moment you are about to cross it they threaten you with pleas like \u201cOh, go on, have a glass of wine,\u201d or \u201cStop being such a stick in the mud, a little piece won\u2019t kill you,\u201d or \u201cJust taste this!\u201d or \u201cBut I made this especially for you\u201d. These are some of the ways trolls behave. I don\u2019t believe they know they are trolls nor the quantum of pressure they exert upon us but these are the people to watch out for. The boogieman is not under the bed, she is at the table with you.<\/p>\n

Here\u2019s what I\u2019ve learned:<\/p>\n

1) Nobody who loves or respects me will want me to break such a life-affirming commitment (to stay healthy) and if they do, it proves they don\u2019t love or respect me.<\/p>\n

2) It is possible to refuse even the most insistent person by asking them not to put pressure on me to eat something I don\u2019t want to.<\/p>\n

3) You could (I haven\u2019t yet, to be honest with you) identify the trolls behaviour. In my mind\u2019s eye I\u2019ve said things like: \u201cThe only reason you are putting pressure on me to join you is so that you don\u2019t have to be the only one drinking or eating junk at the table \u2013 if you want it, enjoy it, but leave me out of it.\u201d I can\u2019t really see myself saying that to someone who has power over me but I can and do think it and that makes it easier for me not to capitulate.<\/p>\n

4) A psychological truth is that what drives me crazy about people is also something I do myself. So, let me place the following on record. I get so much pleasure from baking that despite the evils of sugar and carbs I will continue to do it and continue to offer it to my guests. I offer what I bake to everyone, even if they\u2019re on a healthy eating plan, and I will continue to do so as, for me, it is an expression of my affection. Happily though I don\u2019t mind a jot if you refuse.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"Feeling<\/a>
Feeling on top of the world! Took this pic today after climbing the mountain behind the house.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

  To paraphrase Rodriguez, the man of the moment, A Troll in Silk is a Troll No less and if you are committed to reaching or maintaining a healthy weight, it is essential you know this. Sometimes trolls also wear pretty dresses and warm smiles …<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[21,59,147],"class_list":["post-199","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-weight_loss","tag-brian-berkman","tag-healthy-dining","tag-trolls"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/brianberkman.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/199","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/brianberkman.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/brianberkman.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/brianberkman.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/brianberkman.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=199"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/brianberkman.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/199\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2431,"href":"https:\/\/brianberkman.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/199\/revisions\/2431"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/brianberkman.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=199"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/brianberkman.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=199"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/brianberkman.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=199"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}