Can't say no!

I have this terrible habit of feeling bad about saying no to food.  Saying yes to food and telling you how much I love the food you are giving me is my way of saying "I love you".  Not a good thing when you're watching your weight and a downright TERRIBLE thing when you're morbidly obese.  Its crazy that I sometimes find myself incapable of saying "I do love you and that you would offer me this deliciously decadent piece of ...(insert food here), but I can't eat it" as if people will take it personally should I refuse food.

Case in point.  My parents just got back from the Dominican Republic.  Of course like any self-respecting Dominicans they come fully loaded with goodies to distribute to their children.  I got the requisite bottle of liquor and my cousin sent me a brick of "dulce de leche".  To non-Dominican's dulce de leche is a sweet caramel like substance made from milk and sugar.  The Dominican version is much denser, giving off a consistency that is closer to fudge or a brownie than caramel like pudding.  In essence its just a brick of sugar, a diabetics worse nightmare, a hypoglycemic's wet dream!  I have no intention of eating this thing.  Once upon a time I would have hoarded it and eaten it as fast as possible so that no one would try to take any from me, yes I was both that fat and that greedy, but I'm trying to change.  I had the perfect chance to tell my mom, "Aww that's so sweet but I'm on a diet you should give it to people at church, or some kids, or ANYONE WHO ISN'T ME!" But of course I didn't.  What if it got back to my cousin that I didn't take it? So now I have this thing in my house and I'm thinking I'm going to start giving pieces away to my neighbors or something.  Or bring it in to work to distribute.  Anything to get that thing out of my house. 

I need to take a lesson in learning how to communicate a little better, for an English major I need to work on my use of words.  Why am I afraid of angering or upsetting people by rejecting food? 

So I have decided on this Note to Self: Rejection of food is not rejection of the person who made it. (Repeat to self until ingrained in sub-cranium)