Having to justify your diet choice.

Boogaloo

Full Member
Just as a quick follow on from comments made on another thread, I'm sick to death of having to justify my choice of diet, all because people dont fully understand it.

One of my collegues who is a nurse spotted one of the bars on my desk, so I explained that I was doing the Atkins. Cue a horrified expression.

So I gave her a run down of an example days food as follows:

8am 2 eggs with mayo
10am Perhaps an Atkins bar.
1pm Chicken salad
3pm half a small tin of tuna with small amount of diced red pepper
6-7pm Salmon/Chicken/Pork with brocolli and mushroom.

I asked her if she could tell me how that could be deemed unhealthy.

Well no she replies, but thats not "proper" Atkins is it!!!!!!

To me it goes back to people giving Atkins a go, not getting in their 20g of Carbs and making themselves feel like dog poo. Then telling everyone how bad the diet is.

It really does make me angry!
 
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Totally agree with you Laura. I get so fed up of trying to justify myself to friends/colleagues/family all the time. I do not have to justify or explain myself to anyone and when i explain what i actually eat compared with my brothers appalling diet (who lives with me atm) they still fail to get it or understand my point. Just the fact i'm on any kind of diet means that it 'must' be unhealthy. They whinged at me on CD yet said i was looking better, now they whinge at me for being on atkins. Then they ask how much more i want to lose, i tell them approx two stone and they look horrified! N i'm like, i'm only just out of the obese bmi category so i'm sure two stone is doable lol.. Grr... Rant over now.
 
Hi Claire, well done with your new BMI. Never mind what anyone says, it is your body. Sometimes with certain people, i cant help but think they are more comfortable with me being over weight. I too get little support and clearly see the differnce in my peoples reactions with food versus cigarettes, it is definetly true. Some people like to keep you a bit fat!!!!. It makes them look good beside you. Alot of people find it difficult to watch someone achieve a new goal and increase their confidence. I lost 2 stone last summer and one girl i know (who has always been threatened by my looks and me) told me she was sorry but she didnt see much of a difference!!!i went from 14 to 12 stone , a very obvious change in apperance. So just be mindful of unsupportive people sometimes they have motives othertimes they are just lovely people who are blessed with the ignorance of trying to loose weight....
 
Oh tell me about it. It drives me mad, and it makes me not want to say the "A" word. But i do. And just put up with people giving off the look.

I mean obviously eating a load of crap that was making me obese is much healthier than what i am doing now...right...*insert eye rolling smiley here*

I don't know why people try to make you cheat too :(

My mother in law is a bit like your friend newlife, she has a problem with people who are overweight, she has food issues herself. But she goes out of her way to make comments and it really p*sses me off. Like picking up a pair of jeans and saying "Oh these are nice, why don't you try them on....oh whoops they are a size 10 and you are not..never mind"
 
Hmm I've had it tonight and it frightens me. I told a friend that I was doing Atkins and she said, "Oh, that's dangerous!" I then told someone else and he said "Oh, that's dangerous, you can get kidney failure from that, trust me, I know. One of my mates had complete organ failure from it."

I said that I was low carb most of the time anyway because bread and pasta make me bloated but it's just given me the willies!
 
It will be a load of old nonsense Penny, I guarentee it. I'm sure we would have heard about it in the press if someone would have suffered complete organ failure because of a low carb diet.

If there has been any serious health problems, penny to a pound its because they have not been doing it properly. Most likely doing the fry up diet that the press likes to portray as Atkins with no veggies/salad etc.

I believe you are worried because Atkins goes against everything we are ever taught about diets (Low Cal and Low Fat). It just takes a while to get your head round it.
 
I agree with everyone on here. I live in Italy pasta land/carb city and when I told friends I'm on a low carb diet they always say you are eating too much protein and that's not good and etc.. and boats that the mediterran way of eating is the best way to be. It gets on my nerves so I just tell them now I dont like pasta which is not completely a lie, I'm not a bit fan of pasta. It's a shame that people can't be more supportive but I agree that it's their ignorance of the diet.

louise your MIL is terrible. It would take every ounce of restraint to not want to tell her off.
newlife of course you can see a difference from 14 to 12 stones. she's jealous which is sad.
boog I agree with the smoking and have just a little. Penny me too I've heard all these bad things associated with low carb diets and etc.. and it gets on my nerves to hear people claim it does all of this to you especially if they arent doing the diet correctly.

At least I have this forum and fellow low carbers for support.
 
People are just prats! The ones who have complained most at me are the ones who never said anything about being unhealthily overweight whilst passing me the biscuits! Cave people didn't eat carbs, they have only been part of our diet for a blink of an eye in terms of the human race on the planet. They didn't survive on pasta and flour products, and we are here today to testify that the diet spawned future generations in abundance. If you feel ill, or look ill, then review your diet choice. Meanwhile whilst you are looking great, feeling great, and losing weight, tell them that whilst they are entitled to uneducatedly think what they like, you are not really interested.

Pah!
 
I wouldn't worry about it, I think people just feel like they have to say something sometimes, it always amuses me that when you ask them what research they have done to come up with negatives it is always the same answer, NONE. The next time someone says something to you, ask them to go do some research and you will have a sensible discussion with them, I am willing to bet that they don't care enough to bother :)
 
wow hellraiser you look great!!! keep up the great work? Are you OWL now?
 
Thankyou morenachica.

Sort of on OWL, I must admit I've never really followed this diet to the rule-book, I kind of make it up as I go along, watching my carb intake but keeping happy.
 
Don't you think that a lot of people who disapprove are over weight themselves and are envious. It's the same when we do lose weight & a 'friend' says, "You've lost too much weight, you don't look well" where in truth you look a darned sight better than the 'friend' does!

Then there are the people who make & sell sugar/carb laden 'food' (junk) it's not in their interest to say the Atkins diet is healthy, their bank manager wouldn't like it! So out come all the scare stories.
 
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Exactly! Especially when we eat foods laden with sugar and is actually a poison to the body... hmmm what's so bad about eating meat, veg and in proportion?
 
Tbh - & I maybe wrong here - but...... I think people should just do whatever they feel happy with.

Every day there is something in the news/media/press stating this is bad this is good, do this, do that bla bla bla

There will always be something that "people" will moan/comment about & I am under the impression that when ya times up,ya times up - surely by making oneself feel better about themselves - wether it be by VLCD/ATKINS/SW/WW -whatever - has got to be a bonus - better to have a world full of happy content people surely ?........others are far too quick to judge these days, I get it from my parents - they are under the impression that 2 lose weight you just eat less and those that are overweight just have no willpower ........GRRRRRR !

Do what makes you happy - who makes the rules anyhow ? - as far as I am concerned there are no rules to life - do what YOU think is right for YOU !!!!!

Hugs - Bev xx

sorry if I have offended enyone.
 
Hellraiser you definitely look good. Keep up with doing what works for you and makes you happy. I agree with that 100%..

fitz no offense taken at all. You made very valid points and I do agree with you. Someone will always have something negative to say no matter what diet you are doing.. do what works for you.. that's what I do and ignore the non-believers or "haters" as I call them..
 
And most of the population hear/read negative stuff from the media and believe what they read. I mean today I've had chicken, salad and spinach with courgette and some strawberries, what is wrong with that?
 
Fitz, My SinL is like your parents She is tall and & thin, as were her parents. I have been slim but never thin so she is judgmental & patronizing & prone to witter on about "healthy eating" & "everything in moderation." Yet her cupboards are never without cakes & biscuits, mine are bare of these things unless I am expecting a visitor who eats this sort of thing. Grrr!!
 
LOL, great thread for a rant here. :)
 
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