jjmom
I've never left Jo to cry before. When she cried in protest, I would usually think of ways to distract her, and mostly removing her from the situation.
Like, she loves to play with the dogs' water. Initially, I always said No and then take away the bowl. She would start to cry in protest and I would quickly give her something else to play. After several times, she knew that's no boundary and never attempted to play with it again. But she's back to it recently. I'm applying the same rules. This time, whenever I take the water away, she knows that's the protocol and there's not even a whimper of protest. She knows she shouldn't do it. And quickly she moves on to something else.
So I really think you're the best judge to determine which method works best. For eating, again, I'm in the minority, if she doesn't want her food, I won't force it on Jo. My theory is if she's hungry, she will eat.