've gotten a lot of shit from my friends for being disciplined enough to follow a diet and lifting regimen that I can track and measure progress. Lifting is the reason that, when compared to my friends, I don't look sloppy. My regimen comes at the cost of being able to eat at restaurants multiple times a week.

As has been previously well described here on TRP people don't like when they are forced to look at themselves; and thus begins the shit testing. I have been on the receiving end of this particular shit test on multiple occasions and in a group setting, can be disastrous if you don't proceed with caution.

"Don't you want to enjoy life?" Or "...yea but I want to enjoy my life." Or "I would work out all the time, but I have a life."

At some point, they will try to rationalize their laziness and call it enjoying life. The majority of us enjoy setting small goals and destroying them in an effort to get better every day. Not these folk. These people call you out in front of others in an attempt to make it seem like you aren't enjoying your life.

This situation needs to be navigated with utmost care and at first, seems like a lose lose situation no matter how you respond.

"Let's go out to eat, forget your diet. don't you want to enjoy life?"

If you respond by saying you enjoy by lifting weights, you enter their frame and begin qualifying yourself to them. Then they get on the defensive for not lifting and they find some way of making light of the situation, inevitably making you look bad.

If you respond by saying screw my diet today let's go out to eat, you lose on multiple accounts. Not only do you lose your gains but every one else loses respect for your diet as well.

One way to navigate out of this safely is to agree and amplify. When asked if I want to enjoy my life, I responded "what is this enjoy you speak of? is that like when people smile?"

You don't fall into their frame, you don't get defensive, and most importantly you resume your diet and exercise regimen. Every time they bring it up, agree and amplify.

Disclaimer - I only write this in the setting of eating out at restaurants multiple times a week. Obviously, eating out can be managed as long as it fits your calorie goals and macros. The "enjoy life" shit test can be applied to almost any scenario, (ex: let's drink, let's smoke, let's play video games, etc) but you are a man on a mission so this doesn't phase you.