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"Clean" eater critical of Low Carb

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BABetter1
BABetter1 Posts: 618 Member
in Debate Club
A guy at work, a self proclaimed "clean eater" who doesn't eat sugar or red meat or packaged processed foods (allegedly), said to another coworker that my diet is unhealthy. He went on to claim that I would lose muscle more than fat. I eat low carb, moderate protein, high fat. I do this primarily for health reasons (pre-diabetic and insulin resistant). And yes, I already know that this type of restrictive diet is not necessary for weight loss. So, pretty please with stevia on top, do not fill up this debate with arguments about how this diet is unnecessary. I know, unnecessary, still my diet of choice. That said, I am losing weight and currently involved in a weight loss contest in the workplace. Hence, the reason my diet has become fodder for public debate in the workplace. Here is an example of what I eat in a day: For lunch yesterday, I had a HUGE spinach salad with grape tomatoes, green olives, a bit of cheese, cucumbers, roast chicken breast, and an avocado with a little lime juice and salt. For dinner last night, I had: 2 servings of homemade low carb meatloaf and a serving of cauliflower crumbles-fried rice style with a bit of scrambled eggs in it. For breakfast: I have coffee with milk pretty much every day. So, as near as I can tell (I don't know exactly everything that he eats), the primary differences between our two dietary styles is that I do eat red meat (love me a good ribeye), do eat dairy (lots of protein and fat there too), he doesn't do either. He does eat whole grains, I eat little to none. I do eat sufficient protein to maintain lean mass. So, does "clean eater" have any basis for his claim that my diet is "unhealthy" and I will lose muscle?
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  • lemurcat12
    lemurcat12 Posts: 30,886 Member
    edited March 2017
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    I also don't see why a workplace competition would make your diet fodder for discussion unless you were choosing to make it an issue, but then I find the notion of participating in a workplace competition and making my weight loss a public thing (beyond what is unavoidable) unpleasant, so that just could be different personality types. On the health thing, I think what janejellyroll says is right on:
    janejellyroll wrote: »
    The thing about these debates is that they usually to devolve into a cherry picking of studies or junk science sources. His concerns with your diet probably center around the red meat and dairy and it's unlikely you're going to be able to convince him that those things are healthy if he's a "clean eater" who practices widespread food restrictions.

    But the harm allegedly done by those foods is more related to heart disease than muscle loss (note: I'm not saying they do lead to heart disease, I'm saying that is the claim made by those who say you should avoid them). So if he does try to start a debate with you personally and you want to respond, I'd just ask him what studies he's referring to that associate a low carb and moderate protein diet with muscle loss.

    My personal view is that if your calories are in check, you eat enough protein and healthy sources of fat, and get a good amount of vegetables and other plant foods (as it sounds like you do), that you are eating healthfully and worrying about the arguments saying one way of eating is even better vs. yours (Med vs. low carb vs. WFPB, etc.) is a good way to nullify all the benefits by adding to stress (or wasting time you could be working out or getting stuff done so you can go enjoy your life!).

    I do think that sometimes people who go on about how much healthier their way of eating is than another don't realize that there is evidence for a variety of diets and no one is going to agree and if you start telling people you are healthier than them you are just asking for it. Assuming you don't do that, just shrug it off and say you are comfortable with what you are doing, so is your doctor, and you feel good or some such. Could be he is evangelizing against meat and dairy or could be he just has a biased view against low carb and assumes you are eating mostly bacon and cheese. Either way, if he's convinced he's right (or that Forks Over Knives is the one true way), it's probably not worth getting into. When people tell me wheat kills or whatever at work I just tell to say "oh, I don't agree, but if that works for you, that's cool" and discourage conversation on the topic. (Trying to get better at this on MFP sometimes too!)

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