discussing this diet with people..Hard to do!

[pattylpn]

I am wondering how others feel about this. I have lost over 30 lbs and I am starting to have my friends and family ask me how I did it.
Well, If I say Low Carb Atkins, I get lectures.... Saying I need carbs for energy and I will lose muscle etc..
I think that I should just lie and say weight watchers or something. It is more acceptable.. They all have negative feelings about atkins..
I personally love the atkins diet. I believe it is healhy etc. I just cannot discuss it with others and it is very frustrating.
How do you answer there questions without getting a negative feedback?
Pat

[daquix]

Re: discussing this diet with people..Hard to do!

I personally don't care what other people think. I let the results do the talking.

[Einy]

Re: discussing this diet with people..Hard to do!

For me, I suffer from the same thing from time to time and keep asking people to read the book rather than being such a stereo type and talking with no clue what Atkins is.

Hopefully you read the book yourself. It has great info in there that can be a good emanation in such situations.

If they like what you say fine, if not, then just simply ignore them.

[LCer09]

Re: discussing this diet with people..Hard to do!

I am wondering how others feel about this. I have lost over 30 lbs and I am starting to have my friends and family ask me how I did it.
Well, If I say Low Carb Atkins, I get lectures.... Saying I need carbs for energy and I will lose muscle etc..
I think that I should just lie and say weight watchers or something. It is more acceptable.. They all have negative feelings about atkins..
I personally love the atkins diet. I believe it is healhy etc. I just cannot discuss it with others and it is very frustrating.
How do you answer there questions without getting a negative feedback?
Pat

I usually answer "How did you lose all that weight!?" with "I cut all sugar, starch and flour out of my diet." Because for some reason, that is seen as reasonable. Then when they say "really!?" (because they always do) I answer with "Yeah, Atkins, its great!" When anybody tries to argue with me, I just tell them to find me a single carbohydrate essential for human survival. As there are none, it ends the conversation quickly. (although I normally do have do re educate them on the definition of "essential") You will always get negative feedback, because, well frankly? People are stupid sheep. To this day my mother is convinced that I am going to keel over and die, even though even she admits I've never LOOKED healthier in my adult life.

[DigitalMocking]

Re: discussing this diet with people..Hard to do!

I don't tell people that I'm doing atkins or even say low carb.

I generally let people know that I've cut out "white starches" from my diet. No processed sugar, white flour, white rice or white potatoes.

That satisfies them, and I don't have to listen to ignorant remarks.

[mitzimarie]

Re: discussing this diet with people..Hard to do!

Oh, I know what you mean. I get quite frustrated at times.

Usually, I answer that I've given up sugar, pasta, bread, and flour. Sometimes, that's good enough... other times, they break into a lecture about how bad that is for me. Thankfully, I have an absolutely true answer that shuts them up pretty quickly... I tell them that my doctor is 100% pro-Atkins, and he is the one who suggested it to me. I think that I may start carrying a copy of my blood work around with me, too, because they don't believe me when I tell them that my total cholesterol is 115.

I think the Gary Taubes book, Good Calories, Bad Calories should be required reading for every health professional. It is sickening how the lowfat dogma came into existence, and I can't believe how many doctors still believe in it. Ugh!

[serendipity]

Re: discussing this diet with people..Hard to do!

I'm with you 100%. I have people tell me they could never give up carbs. My reaction is, "Why not?" There will always be the naysayers who tell me Dr. Atkins died from his own diet and I'm going to get heart disease. I ignore their ignorance and I just have to remind them that when I lost weight in 2004, my high blood pressure went away and my good and bad cholesterol have always been very good. My doctor said my bloodwork is perfect and I've had a clear EKG.

[cheribaby]

Re: discussing this diet with people..Hard to do!

It's funny how many people think Atkins is giving up carbs totally. That's not it at all. It's about ending an addiction to bad carbs and learning what your personal carb level is, then eating only the right carbs. Veggies have carbs. And as you move up the OWL ladder, you add more and more carbs into your diet. This WOE simply lets you discover which carbs your body reponds positively to and which ones your body responds negatively to. (i.e. Even though nuts and seeds are rung 3, I totally can't eat them because they cause me to have serious cravings.)

When people ask me, I usually give them the "no white flour/sugar" response, because even the new government guidelines talk about that now. If someone seems really positive and interested, I will tell them the basics of Atkins and encourage them to get the right book. I also tell them my ENDOCRINOLOGIST recommended this WOE to me. That usually shuts them up.

[deec73]

Re: discussing this diet with people..Hard to do!

Ive lost 62lbs since the end of August, which is when I started Atkins. Ive heard from numerous people about how bad of a diet it is, raises your cholesterol, etc...


It goes in 1 ear and out the other. I feel good, im starting to look good (haha) and thats all that matters to me.

So I say SCREW anyone who thinks negative of the Atkins diet. Because it has worked for me.

[Boo1667]

Re: discussing this diet with people..Hard to do!

I personally don't care what other people think. I let the results do the talking.

Word.
I'll let people think their thoughts, and I'll just keep buying smaller pant sizes.

The funny thing is that I see so many people on low-cal or low-fat who will also include that they cut out all white flour, sugar, and overly processed refined carbs. I can only say, "Really? Me too." The only difference in my diet and their diet is determined by which Rung I'm on, and I'd rather do it this way, because it cuts out the cravings and I never go hungry along the way.

They continue to crave and go hungry because they never allowed their body the chance to detox. It's like giving a heroin addict just enough to keep it in their system, but not quite enought to get high, leaving them in a constant state of miserable limbo.

I'm glad I've had the chance to clear my system of all the garbage that was making me miserable. Now I can face a plate of pineapple upside down cake without some epic internal struggle that usually ends in me downing half the cake in one sitting, followed by a full night of bloated self-loathing. It's so much easier to take a glance, say "no thanks" and move on without so much as blinking.

[Mirya]

Re: discussing this diet with people..Hard to do!

To me thats as bad as people being persecuted ofr their religion. I do find though that sometimes it is just easier to tell people I am allergic or something rather than have to explain why I order something a certain way. Today for example.... I went to a well known hometown pizza place while my car was being worked on today for the 2nd time..... and ordered a Grilled Chicken Salad with no breadsticks <it came with them> and no dressing but extra cheese. The woman literally looked at e and said... NO DRESSING? Thats not a salad and said but you want EXTRA cheese? I said yes. Of course i heard her back their gigglng with her coworkers and carrying on about this girl eating plain salad. When she came back with my salad I asked if there was a problem and informed her that I am allergic <technically our bodies do gain weight from some things as an allergic reaction> It was just easier... and they wouldnt have understood.

[Brook]

Re: discussing this diet with people..Hard to do!

I posted this somewhere else and being it's the same question, I have the exact same answer.



I *never* leave out the good Dr's name when people ask me how I accomplished what I have. When ignorant people start spouting at me about how unhealthy it is, I just give them ~~THE LOOK~~ and then ask them if they've ever read the book and where their concern was when I was weighing in at close to 240lbs and couldn't walk up a flight of stairs. I then remind them that they asked me because I *am* the picture of health, energy, vitality, and commitment to being healthy.


Wanna learn? Let's talk.

Wanna tell me I've done a great job and leave it at that? - Thank you and have a nice day.

Wanna argue about it? Bring it. Tell me how unhealthy the healthiest thing I've ever done for myself is?.... I have yet to walk away from one of those conversations without the other person backing down - be it because they admit they haven't done half the reading up on the subject they first represented they did or because they get tired of being counter-pointed. I'm a pit-bull like that. Like I said-Bring it.

I will never hide the fact that Dr. Atkins helped me save my life, and other people's ignorance will never make me.

[matawguro]

Re: discussing this diet with people..Hard to do!

Within the first year of doing Atkins, whenever I was asked how I lost so much weight, I usually answered "sex". Unfortunately, I could never get people to believe me. That usually led to me confessing I was doing Atkins.

It wasn't that there was a lot of negativity towards Atkins in the Philippines, it's just that no one knew what it was and sometimes it would take to long to explain. Normally, I'd say Atkins made me give up rice, pasta, bread, potatoes, and other foods Filipinos instinctively know to be fattening. So I've never received much flak.

When someone tries to lecture you about Atkins, don't say "You're wrong." No one wants to be told they're wrong. You get into a debate, and one ends up a winner and the other a loser.

It's better to respond by saying "I understand your point. In fact it was one of my concerns when I was deciding to start Atkins. So I decided to do some research (or ask my doctor), and guess what I found out (or what my doctor told me)..."

What you want to do is instill doubt in the other person's position, enough for him or her to look up the truth on his/her own. If you try to debate or fight the other person, that person will only try to look for info that will help him/her get back at you instead of really digging up the truth.

Edit to add:
BTW, IMHO telling people to "read the book" is pointless. It's like trying to convert a Muslim to Christianity by telling him to read the Bible. Not going to happen.

Gary Taubes (I think it was him) said if an atheist told you God didn't exist, you wouldn't believe him. But if the Pope told you there was no God, you'd think twice. That's why Taubes' book title was changed to Good Calories, Bad Calories from the original The Big Fat Lie. Taubes felt the new title had a better chance of being picked up by medical professionals who needed to be convinced. The old title would only appeal to low-carbers and that would just be preaching to the choir.

[Chicklady]

Re: discussing this diet with people..Hard to do!

You guys are all so polite Maybe I am just a *itch!! I tend toward some sarcastic remark about people who repeat what they've heard and being puppets of the media....

But you know, these days, like if I'm eating out, I'm more likely to get a "my brother lost 50 pounds on that diet" than I am to get a "that's not healthy" remark.

[Hayden]

Re: discussing this diet with people..Hard to do!

I bet everyday, you wish you'd kept a copy of your blood work from the time, before you started Atkins.

I think that I may start carrying a copy of my blood work around with me, too, because they don't believe me when I tell them that my total cholesterol is 115.