Am I paranoid?

[Katlambert]

Is there anyone else who didn't tell anyone that they were on Atkins? Up until now, I haven't told a soul outside of my husband. I think that there are a couple of reasons for this.

1. The fear of failure. I didn't want to tell a bunch of people that I was on a diet only to fail and then have them see that I tried something and didn't stick to it.

2. The fear of sabatoge. Not that I think any of my friends, etc. woud purposely sabatoge my efforts to lose weight, but since they don't know, they don't pay any attention to what I am eating (or not eating). I don't have to deal with kindhearted people who tell me that one piece of bread, pie, cake, cookie, whatever won't kill me because they don't even notice that I'm not eating them.

I'm just wondering if anyone else has put off telling people...and if so, when did you finally let people know? Now that I've reached the end of a clean induction, I'm contemplating letting a few people know what I'm doing. Also, I've had a comment or two about looking like I'm thinning out a bit...and I've just sort of shrugged them off. Obviously, eventually I'm not going to be able to shrug it off as I continue to get smaller so I guess I'll have to prepare myself to tell people something at some point.

[Mistics]

Re: Am I paranoid?

I'm paranoid as for my diagnosis

But, yes, I didn't tell others about my diet. For the same reasons, I think.
I will strongly tell, when I'm done.

[Desertthorn]

Re: Am I paranoid?

I generally tell folks now, but when I first started I usually avoided the topic

[dreamof145]

Re: Am I paranoid?

When I first started, I was embarrassed to tell people for all the negative feed back I got. I still get negative feedback from some, but it doesn't bother me. I did have doubts about myself and whether this WOE would become a way of life for me, but it is my way of life now. I think that as we become more comfortable with Atkins, it just becomes habit. I don't usually talk about my choices, I just do it.

I don't usually broadcast that I'm on Atkins. Those who are close to me know I am. I just decline the foods that are offered to me that are not acceptable to my woe.

[Katlambert]

Re: Am I paranoid?

Becky, so what did you tell people when you lost alot of weight. I noticed that it's a pretty big number that you've dropped so far!

If someone asks outright do you tell them or just say something vague like you are watching what you're eating?

Suprisingly, I never heard any negative feedback about Atkins before starting it. Maybe I just wasn't paying attention...but the few people that I talked to who were on Atkins loved it.

[changing]

Re: Am I paranoid?

The only people that I've told are my family members (because they have me to dinner a lot) and my closest friends (same reason). A few other people know, but only because they wanted to know how I'd lost so much weight. If people ask, I tell them, but I don't broadcast the info...

I think for me it's a matter of taking the path of least resistance. I hate conflict and find it extremely annoying to listen to someone spew the usual malarkey about how bad fat is for you so I don't open that door. And you're right, it IS good protection against sabotage.

I don't think you're paranoid. I think you're prudent.

[dreamof145]

Re: Am I paranoid?

Well, when people started noticing that I was losing weight, they'd say..."are you on a diet?' And I'd say, "No, I've decided to start eating healthier and exercising." Most of them just accepted that.

If we were in a crowd and one of the people who knew me mentioned that "Becky's doing Atkins." Thats when I'd get the whole spill on how it was a dangerous plan. But, by then (about 50-60 pounds gone)....I was at the point that I didn't have any doubts about Atkins anymore. I'd become confident with my way of life so I no longer felt I had to defend my choices. If they wanted to discuss it and find out more about it, I'd tell them. If they just wanted to talk negatively about it, I'd just tell them to read the book cause the information they had was incorrect. I always carried a book with me in my purse (and still do) so if they were really interested, I'd give it to them. I buy them for .25 - .50 at the thrift store and always have 3-4 copies of it.

[julirama723]

Re: Am I paranoid?

You're not paranoid! I haven't told people either. This topic is one that really gets me going...

My boyfriend knows, as well as one of my friends who did atkins before she had her last child. I haven't told anyone at work, because the people there, IMO, are ALREADY so close-minded, that I don't even want to open up the atkins can of worms. They're so nosy, too, about what I'm eating, making comments about why I don't have this or why I'm only eating that. At one point I just said I gave up sugar and caffiene (they asked why I carry a water bottle around). Finally I got so annoyed that I just stopped going to the cafeteria and I eat lunch in my room now.

There's another reason why I haven't told anyone at work. I've lost 30lb. and only one person (the friend who knows I'm doing atkins) has said anything about the weight loss. I think it's pretty obvious when the tight pants I wore the first week of school are falling off me by the 5th. I don't know if they're blind or jealous or what. I don't like to think that they're jealous because it's not like I'm a supermodel without those 30lb. but a lot of people at work feel worse if another person has success at something. It's so immature, I hate it!

[Outback Jess]

Re: Am I paranoid?

I have not talked about it at all. I am very happy to keep it to myself, after all I have no desire to recruit, or defend or explain anything...Where I gather with most people is in our offices at the church, and we have a weight watchers commander/guru...she is an awesome lady who just relocated back to our home office here...she was around during a season I wasn't on board at the church and has now come back...every body knows her, and yet we are relatively unknown to each other. They all run to her over their "points" and she is starting a weight watchers chapter in our church building in Jan07... Our fearless leader did low carb, at one point and he called it the "Lawrenceville Diet"...eating bacon all the time in meetings...Being the guy seriously not wanting to endorse any one thing, he gave his low carb eating a funny name, the name of our town, Lawrenceville...

You know girls, they will pick anything apart if they are bored, threatened, or jealous!!!! Save it for someone else...I don't need the noise....

[Curveegrrl]

Re: Am I paranoid?

It took me a long time to tell people too. There are still quite a few people I haven't told.

I told my parents (which also means my sister and auntie would have known about 2 minutes after I'd hung up the phone...my mum likes to share) because...well I tell them pretty much everything. They are two of the most supportive people in the universe. If I was going to do something that would help me lose weight and make me healthier, they were all for it. They'd also just lost a great deal of weight following a low GI diet, so they weren't all "Low fat, low cal!!"

My best friend in Japan knew, because she's the one that got me on the program.

I didn't tell any of my friends back home though. I specifically asked my parents not to mention it if they saw any of my friends (my mum likes to share, but she can keep a secret if you ask).

My reasons were very similar to everyone else's. I was worried I wouldn't be able to do this for very long. I didn't want to tell everyone I was totally changing my lifestyle...and then not follow through. I knew that Atkins had quite a bit of bad press, and I didn't want to put up with "but's it's so dangerous!" e-mails.

I also didn't mention anything for some slightly more vain reasons. Living in a foreign country, I hardly ever see my friends. I wanted to wow them when I went home. I wanted jaws to drop! Having gone from a size 32 when they'd seen me last to a size 20 when they saw me this spring certainly accomplished that! So now my friends from highschool know, and they are all properly impressed.

I still haven't told my friends from university. I know longer worry about defending Atkins, or not being able to stay on program. Now I REALLY want to turn heads when I go home for good!

[Katlambert]

Re: Am I paranoid?

I'm so glad that I'm normal!

[G-Mom]

Re: Am I paranoid?

One of the worst people it was to convince that Atkins was a good plan was my father-in-law. His wife went on Protein Power and her potassium level went so severely low that she ended up in the ER. He kept telling me how terrible MY plan was because HER plan did that to her.

He's a know-it-all about most things (even though I love him dearly and desperately want his approval), so I have to let it slide what he says.

What I am getting at is that it is difficult at first to "come out" so to speak (one relative who was adamantly low-fat was and still is difficult to convince) but I think it is very important to do so. Arm yourself with knowledge so you can defend your WOE.

Honestly, I say "at first" because now, after losing 107 lbs people don't dare say that I am going to die on my WOE anymore, since I look so healthy.

You can't get supporters unless you tell people. In the beginning, your success may mean the difference between telling close friends, family and co-workers and them NOT shoving a piece of your favorite 60g carb pie in your face, or not telling them and they do.

[Korelis]

Re: Am I paranoid?

I always told people I was on Atkins. The reasons I did that where simply.

1. Most people know the basic thoughts of Atkins. When I told my co-workers (because we would eat Breakfast and Lunch togather) they would always watch to make sure I was eating the right food.

2. I was proud to be back on it.

As far as lectures I have had a few people tell me its dangerous including my docotor. I just asked if they had read the book. All of them had said No. To which my response was (this was to the doctor as well) read the book get the facts then come tell me how it will hurt me. To this day not ONE of them has said anything bad. If they did I would tell them I am going to do the lesser of two evils. Personally I don't think eating the way I did helped me any and would have put me into an early grave. For the longest time I just accepted the fact that I was fat and that was how I was to be. Now that I want to join the US Marines I can't be fat and do that too.

[Pumababi]

Re: Am I paranoid?

I agree with you all. I don't tell people because of the same reasons as you. That's why this board is so awesome, because everyone here is making the same life style change and we can support each other!

[Kent]

Re: Am I paranoid?

I was more similar to Korelis. I told everyone when I started for almost the same reason Katlambert did not -- the fear. I had to have a reason to no longer eat the food they brought in whether to attempt sabotage or not. I also wanted everyone to know, and therefore my fear of failing was actually promoting me doing it right. I wasn't going to screw up if everyone was watching me, especially on a controversarial diet like Atkins. It had the added benefit of shutting those people up after I lost weight and their claims you had to eat complex carbs to be healthy. I wanted to be a poster child as I knew some days if I couldn't do it for me that I would do it for others or their opinion of me.

Either way is correct, and probably more depends on the personality of Atkineer.