Discussion Board

I am sure I am not the only one who (has) or continues to experience jokes regarding the way I eat. It has been this way with many of my male co-workers since October. This past weekend I possibly torn my MCL in my left knee playing soccer. I come into work today and everyone I spoke to says it's because I am "lacking protein." I give a brief laugh and shrug it off. No reason to justify how I eat or why I decided to chose this lifestyle. I find it funny that because I sustain an injury it's suddenly because of how I am eating or as one individual said, "your bones are weaker since you are not eating meat." Huh?

I have avoided any confrontation with anyone over it, but it has been rather frustrating to point out what I was doing and that my diet did not attribute to my injury. Why aren't people accepting of an individual's decision when it comes to what they eat? I don't come into work every day telling them they are wrong to eat meat, drink milk or cook with oil? Nope. I support what I am doing for MY HEALTH. What others I work with eat, if up to them. Like many points that are brought forward in a typical discussion, I usually have a strong counterpoint to support my lifestyle.

My husband and I have encountered this a lot. It seems to us that people are really threatened by anyone who makes really healthy, but fairly radical (from the mainstream point of view) choices and sticks with them; it reminds others that they themselves are not making those choices.

Or else, they really are concerned for you. That is possible - if anyone has not spent time researching and finding out on their own about this WOE, the strong media and cultural message is that dairy and meat are good, and you are a reckless fool not to eat them.

It is no fun, however, to be poked fun at when you are in the minority.

I'm here to tell you that this too shall pass. I got plenty of flack and ribbing when I first started McDougalling about 16 or so years ago. One person in particular, poked lots of fun and then later, when my other friend was trying to eat healthier, this person said "You aren't going to get like her, are you?"

Now, when we go out she pays absolutely no attention to what I'm eating. Shame, though, because she's on meds, walks with a walker, etc.

As you may have read in my journal last Friday, I seriously lost it with a co-worker who made a crack comment about my WOE and my exercise choice.

About 3 - 4 years ago I lost about 40 pounds (and have since put it back on) and had a different co-worker tell me how awful I looked. I weighed 140 pounds and was wearing a size 6. 140 pounds, size 6. Really?

Yet...we have some very large individuals here at work which no one will dare to comment on them shaking down the vending machines for kit-kat bars or having pizza, wings and coke for lunch. I've often said people are happy when we're fat and miserable rather than at a healthy weight and exercising.

Depending on who is asking, depends on the answer I'll give these days. Lately I've been "flying under the radar" and not placing spotlight on my WOE since I've been getting a bit testy and cranky with my fellow "nutritionists".

Keep on keeping on... difficult for even the most obtuse to argue with success.

I've had the opposite reaction myself... with several of my friends making positive changes to their diets after observing my weight loss and other health benefits. In a twist of irony... my best friend and former Atkins advocate... who obtained a Gastric Bypass several years ago and has since gained 40-50 lbs... has difficulty following this WOE due to restrictions on what he is able to consume without encountering dumping syndrome symptoms...

"Living well is the best revenge." George Herbert

I have experienced this from co-workers. I just tell them its my choice to eat they way I do and leave it at that. When people try to give me hints on eatting things I don't eat, I just nod my head and smile and leave it at that.

I eat the way I want to by choice and I know they have concerns but really are there suggestions any good? Not for me I don't plan to have hip replacement or other things done to my body. I'm doing just fine.

I have a lot of people who are interested in what I eat but I have stopped going into detail. If someone is really interested I give them some book titles and even lend books but for only those really interested in changing there lives.

Cathy

Knut, I found your post interesting, as I too had Gastric Bypass and have absolutely no problems eating this way. I'm curious what he dumps on, do you know? It's usually related to sugar or simple carbs, but some people dump on other things.

I've been pretty lucky overall. Family members voice concern and just want to make sure I'm healthy.

My coworkers are used to me eating this way and I'm always told how great I look. I tell them I feel wonderful.

My cousin's wife recently lost her dad to complications from diabetes. He was only in his early 60's. When I told my aunt that I was doing everything in my power to avoid that happening to me, she said "please keep doing what you're doing"...wow...that speaks volumes to me.

Did you watch the Melanie Joy lecture on carnism? She talks about how it is the norm to be repulsed by the idea of eating animals, accepting some number of animals as food and overcoming that natural instinct takes effort, you have to turn off a switch, it takes a bit of societal brainwashing and we tend to hang on to those sorts of nonsensical things in very aggressive nonsensical ways.

My daughter was telling me about this study with chimpanzees. They took a bunch of chimpanzees and had a banana on one side of the room and when the chimps went for the banana they would get blasted with water. This was kept up until the chimps would no longer go for the banana, if one chimp would try the others would hold him back. Then they started switching out the chimps one by one. A new chimp would come in and start to go for the banana and the others would beat him and hold him back. They kept switching until it was a whole new group of chimps none of whom had ever experienced being blasted by water... and yet they would still refuse to let any new chimps go for the banana. None of them even knew why this was something that shouldn't be done, they just knew that's what they'd been trained to do by their peers.

Us humans aren't all that different from chimpanzees.

He has difficulty with many starches and certain vegetables. Rice, potatoes, beans, any bread product etc... as well as rich deserts.

Difficult for him to obtain enough protein... though coming from Atkins, he has an unrealistic expectation of how much protein he really needs.

Take 10 different people who have had Gastric Bypass and you will have 10 different responses to the procedure.

To his credit... most if not all of his recent weight gain stems from psychological dynamics...

And I was but a phone call away from obtaining the procedure myself... which can be lifesaving for certain individuals...

Summer -- wow, I haven't watched the carnism lecture, but reading your post I had a sudden vivid memory of learning, when I was a very small kid, that meat came from *animals.* I must have been three or so, and was shocked and weirded out and thought, But I love animals! Why do we eat them? But then I realized that We. Just. Eat. Animals. and that I should not pursue that line of questioning. And I actually remember pushing down my shock and horror at the idea.

Wow!

As for people not accepting: I mostly don't tell people. I hate arguing about things like diet and religion and politics -- things that people are heavily invested in. If cornered, I'll say something like, "Oh, I don't eat each much dairy, it doesn't agree with me," or just, "No, thanks!"

@Summer: I have the link to Melanie Joy's lecture in my email, but no time yet to watch it. It is on my list of things to watch.

@Knut: Yep, I am keeping on, keeping on. I know what I have experienced so far and have been pleased with my transformation. As you and others have said, it was MY choice to change my lifestyle and eat this way.

@Bean: Probably would have been the way to go, keeping it on the down low, but when I got talking with a few women in the office who are vegetarian/vegan about cooking and food it was overhead by one individual who decided to make it everybody's business. Live and learn.

I would have believed that carnism was innate, but I had an experience with my grandson that proved otherwise. I babysat him for his first three years. I read to him from the time he was just a few months old and many of the stories were about animals. He also had quite a collection of toy animals of all types including wild animals and farm animals. When he first began to get teeth at about 10 months, I gave him some animals crackers. We talked about what the different animals were. He took a bite and I said, "look you bit the head off the elephant." I never saw such a shocked look on a child's face in my life and he refused to eat animal crackers for quite some time after that. Unfortunately his parents eat a lot of meat and my grandson who is now five years old, is now a full blown carnivore, but it proved to me that most children (who are sometimes much wiser than adults) do not want to harm animals.

just say "watch how fast i recover"

seems to me that most people feel a bit conflicted about eating animals. isome react w/ bravado when we're out and about (i'll have the meat lover pizza; make that a triple cheeseburger), but most people i encounter ponder my choices/theirs when this topic comes up ---- and like many here, i don't bring up the subject.

it's no longer seen as a totally wigged out choice - vegan's hit media thanks to celebs, etc. and the best reaction to odd comments might just be no response?