When it comes to food, learning to just say no can be difficult when faced with a friend or loved one's offerings. Regardless of their motives, people love to push food onto others. Whether it's a girlfriend who likes to bake and give her creations as gifts, or your mom, who makes all your fatty favorites every time she invites you over for dinner --- overcoming this obstacle can be difficult. When Aunt Ida or Cousin Betty plead with you to try their creamy, dreamy potato casserole, you don't have the heart to refuse their offerings, especially at the risk of offending them. There are a couple of ways to approach the situation. Before even embarking on a healthy eating plan, it's important to surround yourself with people who will support your weight-loss efforts and not pressure you into eating anything you don't want to eat. And making your desire to eat more healthfully known to those around you gives you more responsibility to stick with the plan - or have those people to answer to if you don't. But if the offer presents itself, then you can gently turn your loved one down by explaining you just had a big meal and couldn't eat another bite. Or you can sample a small bite and discreetly push the plate aside when somebody else comes along. The most important rule of thumb is to be tactful so that you can walk away from the situation with your dignity and your waistline still intact.