I’m the type of person to get uber excited about something, especially when I see results from it or feel it working – and it’s super hard for me not to share my excitement with everyone around me! What I’ve realized though is that not everyone has the same health #goals or concerns, and I can even come off annoying or pushy, without intending to. So through lots of trial and error, I’ve found ways to still be healthy without rubbing friends and family that are just not into it the wrong way.

Share your “why”

I’ll never forget one of the times I was on a detox and had a friend make a comment about how I was “one of those people” who was all about the new trends. I’m sure there are a ton of people who do juice cleanses because it’s a trendy thing to do, but it made me realize that she probably had no idea what my real intentions were. At the time, I was feeling super sluggish and just needed to reset – I wanted to feel renewed, and removing certain food groups and booze always helps me with that. So even though I had real health reasons for doing a detox, my friend had no idea.

If you share your “why” – your reason for doing whatever it is you’re doing – people are much less likely to judge you so quickly. And not that you have to defend or prove yourself at all (hey, you do you!), but I’ve also found that people are less likely to be skeptical if they hear the whole, honest, story.

Don’t push your ideals

If you try to push your beliefs onto others about what they should eat or other health choices, they will instinctively get reactive and try to defend themselves. It took me awhile to realize that this had nothing to do with how I was approaching them – it’s simply human nature. When you’re trying to be healthy, it can be hard (almost impossible) to not want to try and convince others that they should also do things like eat organic and stay away from parabens in their beauty products. The thing is, you can let people know what you’re trying out and what you’ve learned in terms of being healthy, but you can’t force your ideals upon them. I’ve always found that those who are truly interested in hearing more or learning about your lifestyle will come to you.

Arrive prepared

In my opinion, one of the most annoying things you can do when you’re trying to be healthy is to ask people to cater to your dietary restrictions. If someone is hosting a party at their home, the last thing you want to do is stress them out with having to buy you some vegan cheese for the cheese plate. But you also don’t want to come off rude and not eat when you get there. Instead of feeling bad, now I’ll just bring my own things over depending on what I can or can’t have. So if you’re headed to a friend’s house for dinner, just bring whatever it is you want to eat or drink over with you and not make a huge deal of it.

Any tips you have on how to be less annoying when you’re trying to be healthy?