Polite ways to refuse food?

Can you please help arm me with some polite phrases/ways to refuse food? I have a mother, stepmother, and friends that "love" me with food. (Try to show me love by feeding me) ! I'm pre-op, but still trying hard to lose weight and stick to my new lifestyle. How can I avoid eating foods that I shouldn't and still be polite to these well-meaning but not helping people? They should all already know better - I have told them what I am doing and what it means for the food I can have. Maybe I need to put it in writing for them, like make them a cheat-sheet?

I just tell people "No, thank you" and I refuse to let others fill my plate for me. I know they think they're being nice, but I find it annoying. I did this long before surgery because I was constantly surrounded by food pushers. You've got to take control of your plate and what you put in your belly. Focus on what YOU need to do...eventually, they'll catch on. If they don't, then it's their problem. 

Sorry if this turned into a bit of a rant, but it just bugs me when family and friends try to force food down my throat. LOL

Right - I guess they will catch on eventually. I think most people just see dieting efforts as a phase and assume you'll be back off the wagon eventually. Hopefully once I have surgery they'll backoff a bit more. 

Yes, that's true. After surgery, my food pushers were scared to see me eat. LOL I had to reassure them I'm normal, I just need smaller portions of healthy-for-me foods, like grilled meats, veggies, etc. 

When I came home from surgery, I put my eating plan on the fridge so if anyone had questions about what I was eating, they could reference that. My husband isn't a food pusher, but it was good for him to know what was acceptable and what wasn't (like flavored yogurts vs. plain Greek yogurt). Once you have your food plan, maybe you can photocopy it for them? Hopefully, that will reinforce for them that it's not Weigh****chers, Jenny Craig or some fad diet--it's your new normal. 

Good idea - I'll make sure my eating plan is up on the fridge and make copies for whoever would like one.

One thing that works really well for me is to make sure they know the wrong kinds of foods will make me sick. Of course, this only works post-op, and it can backfire. Those few times where you want to allow yourself a treat will make everyone freak out that you're gonna make yourself sick...so use with caution!

That's good to know - maybe I can say something like "I need to be careful eating things like that because it can make me sick" so they know it's a concern, but not a given?

I start with "no thank you."

If I feel the need to say more, I say something like "It looks delicious but I just can't eat another bite."

If someone really pushes, which doesn't happen often, I say "It looks wonderful but since my stomach is so sensitive, I'm afraid it would make me sick.  You don't want me to throw up, do you?"  That always works.  No one is going to say sure, they want to make me puke.

Lol, Kelly I need to remember that one. So far I have been lucky because I just explain it to them and most will understand. A lot of people I have met know someone who had some type of WLS so they already know about our limitations. I hope it gets easier for you, it can be daunting when you are in a room full of people who can eat "normally" and you cant. Good luck.

So far I've just smiled and said" I can't eat that but thank you" and its worked, no ones wanted to push, I've been asked a couple of times why I can't eat something to which I've explained( either sugar or unknown ingredients) and that's satisfied the asker.
Good luck, I have a couple of food pushers in my life- I know they mean well but it can be hard.