Maintaining diet integrity in social situations

olivebeanhealthy

How do you communicate and maintain your low carb/keto diet choices in social settings? I'm looking for tips on ways to turn down offers of food, especially lovingly made treats - especially things to say that include some humour, and don't make the other person feel negative about their own choices*.

* Which sounds a bit funny at the same time, because if I believe that sugar is unhealthy, why would I still want to support someone else in eating it?

Smoking used to be a social norm, but no one thinks twice if you don't smoke now. Drinking is a pretty strong social norm to, yet choosing not to drink seems way more socially acceptable than no sweeteners/low carb.

deansdad101

metta4 wrote: »

How do you communicate and maintain your low carb/keto diet choices in social settings? I'm looking for tips on ways to turn down offers of food, especially lovingly made treats - especially things to say that include some humour, and don't make the other person feel negative about their own choices*.

* Which sounds a bit funny at the same time, because if I believe that sugar is unhealthy, why would I still want to support someone else in eating it?

Smoking used to be a social norm, but no one thinks twice if you don't smoke now. Drinking is a pretty strong social norm to, yet choosing not to drink seems way more socially acceptable than no sweeteners/low carb.

Met;

My standard line when someone offers me food I prefer not to eat is "No Thanks - I just had a bar of soap"

That usually catches them so off guard they move on to the next person, speechless, and leave the "crazy" alone - works for me.

As to the whole issue of my "diet" - I'm never the first to offer it up as a topic of discussion. Much like "hey, by the way, I'm a (fill in the blank with religion of your choice) - it's nobody's business but my own.

But, if someone asks, "boy you lost weight, how did you do it?" (which happens way too frequently for me but brings a smile to my bride's lips) - I'll answer truthfully but prefer to leave it at that unless they persist. If they are truly interested (not just making small talk) I'll suggest that they give me their email addy and I'll send them some links to get started.

Edit - at the insistence of the First Lady;
"...and then he palms them off on me and announces that his number was called for the men's room"

One of the links is to this group.

I don't deal well with "reformed" smokers or diet/exercise "zealots" and will do all in my power to NEVER become one.

mtpage04

Things that are lovingly made for you, suggests the person who made it for you loves you as well. Of course you don't want to hurt their feelings. Be gracious, tell them it looks delicious, but you are going to pass on that tastiness for the moment.

Linda860

I would say it depends how well you know the person. If you have a relationship with the person, you ought to let them know how you eat; otherwise, they will make the same mistake again. If you don't, it may not be worth it. Just thank them and say it looks great -- and serve it to your other guests.

cclepew

I'm diabetic, and that's usually enough of an explanation: "I'd love to/that looks great, but I'm diabetic and try really hard to avoid sweets/carbs." As long as they know it's nothing personal, they won't be offended.

cindytw

I definitely play the "allergy" card in any given situation. Now if someone was to come up with a gluten free cookie, I would eat one and move on, but for anything else, 'it makes me sick" suffices. Plus if it is something that doesn't agree with you, you can just say You are sorry but that doesn't sit well with you.

FIT_Goat

Pretty much everyone around me knows how I eat. At this point, it's almost a running joke. At the work Christmas party (Friday night), several people commented on the food and if I could eat it. They did have unbreaded hot-wings, so I had some of those. They had some pulled pork, drizzled in BBQ sauce. But, I was able to snag a corner of the tray which had been missed and just got the plain pork. I also pulled some sausages from the sausage/pepper dish and had those. When I pointed out that there were options for me, the next comment was inevitably, "are you sure everything's not overcooked for you?" I eat my steaks very rare, but I don't know anyone who eats pork or chicken rare.

At this point, people pretty much put up with me. The only time I really turn heads is when I try and convince a waiter/waitress to just bring me the steak and not any of the sides or salads. You'd be shocked at how difficult it can be to get that concept across. Last night, for example, it just wasn't going to happen. The waitress insisted that I get two sides.

Me: Fine, bring me two sides if you must.
Her: Which two sides would you like?
Me: {I haven't even bothered to look at what they have, so I don't even know what the options are} Any two, I'm not going to eat them so it doesn't matter.
Her: Would you like green beans?
Me: Sure, that's fine.
Her: Great! You'll love them. How about a salad? Our house salad is delicious.

I think I ended up with a baked potato, plain. It is the easiest thing to put on the table and I don't feel too wasteful about them throwing out just a potato. The potato is one of my go-tos when I am forced to pick a side. When she came to give us the check, she looked shocked to see the green beans and potato completely untouched. I really think she believed that I wasn't serious about not eating them. Also, I should note that I try to smile and be light-hearted when having these sorts of interactions. I know it's strange for most of them. I also realize they're just doing their job.

GaleHawkins

At first I thought LCHF was going to be hard to do when eating out. Today a group wanted to eat out and time was a factor for some so we went to Arby's. I learned they have a side salad for $2.09 and I got two packs of the Buttermilk Ranch dressing and a water glass. Total carbs was 8 gram and total fats was about 50 grams but not a protein source at only 5 grams. This was a 500 calorie meal for me at a fast food restaurant that works into my diet fine.

Now that I got past being keto adapted and looking at what I can eat beyond Fat and Protein and still stay under 50g carbs daily I am finding very low carbing can be quite tasty and doable when eating out.

It makes me sick to think about the past diet of like a huge cheese burger on a bun, fries, a huge sugar drink plus a refill to go plus a milk shake. Oh I forgot a ton of sugar laced catsup.

Actually more and more will say something like they need to starting what I am eating because of the way I keep slimming down. In my case the scales have not fallen like I has first wished but the inches keep going as the pounds creep down slowly.

No cravings now means I do not run over others getting to food.:) That feature of LCHF is worth it alone. Before I would go into shut down mode due to a sugar crash. Now I can think it would be nice to get lunch/supper but if for some reason I need to put it off for another four hours I keep going just fine.

marye2021

Just smile and say thank you, take it if it is at your house party then immediately serve it or keep it in the container and bring it to work with you or share it at some other social situation.

I have a long time family friend that CANNOT bake to save her life but EVERY year at Christmas they bring over box after box of baked goodies. So we smile and say thank you because it's the thought that counts and then we toss it in the trash.

Some goodies have to be given away immediately because they are too tempting. But if at a party say you will have to try it later, or smile and say you haven't had a chance to snag one but you will if you can. Or go the route of allergies. I don't like macadamia nuts, so I tell people I am allergic.

OR Lie and say you had one and it was delicious (last resort )