Eating Paleo Politely

anotherplayer

So, I am about a week into finally working in the Paleo lifestyle. Loving it, it seems to have almost instantly cured my hypoglycemia. Can't believe it. I actually feel hunger now, instead of feeling like passing out. Anyhow, I go on a vacation with some family and friends here in a few days, and I know my G-Ma will be trying to feed me them pancakes and we'll be going out to eat, a-lot. Anyone who has been in this Primal lifestyle for a while have any tips on politely declinig the sugars and garbage processed foods?

Thanks!

pattyproulx

You can always say that you think you may have a gluten/wheat intolerance and that you're looking to eliminate it for a month or two to see if your health improves (or doctor has recommended eliminating it).

By eliminating wheat, it takes care of most sugary treats as well.

QueenOSpades

That's a hard one. Especially cooking grand mas.

I'm going to say that you can help her make breakfast for everyone, and at the same time you make yours and explain to her the situation.

If you have your own snacks/meals ready, she can't really let that go to waste either, right?

Akimajuktuq

Depending on the personality of the people you will be with, some will always be pushy and try to make you eat something that you've said "no" to. I find it hard to understand why people do that, especially people who supposedly love us.

Generally, don't make a big deal about how you eat, or draw attention, or say much of anything about food. I was so passionate at first that I came off strong at times and it's just best to avoid discussions/arguments. I still have to consciously hold my tongue in check especially when I first encounter people who are curious about why I eat, or don't eat, certain things. A room full of strangers is not the place to confidently lay it all out. Oops.

What I usually say is that "x food makes me sick, so I don't eat it, but thank you". Most people find it hard to argue with that. I'm fortunate that my family have been so blown away by my health improvements they no longer question what I am doing, and are quite supportive. They could use this lifestyle too, and I've provided some useful information but the rest is up to them.

SteamClutch

Tell them you are here to enjoy their company and you can't do that if you are bed ridden or in the bathroom the whole time.

charleigh78

Pack snacks (larabars are great) and eat what you can, skip what you can't, and supplement with your snacks. Don't make a big deal out of it. If they ask, just say that you are having some food intolerance issues and aren't sure what you can/can't eat yet so you are being very careful. When you eat out, go for meat and veggies or salads. It won't be perfect, but you can get close. Outback is always a safer bet than most restaurants. I've had some good luck with a few of Panera's salads and you can exchange the side for a bowl of fresh fruit (for $1 extra). Be careful with soups - most are thickened with flour. If you know what sort of restaurants they might go to then google gluten free menus for those places. It will give you a starting point.

I have been paleo for over 2 years. At first, g-ma can't imagine you not eating her pancakes, but if you stick to it long enough g-ma will figure out that it isn't anything personal.

AsaThorsWoman

I prefer a simple "No thanks."

No one needs a lesson in Primal living, and many people are downright offended by it.

My sister has accused me of "shoving it down her throat" but it's really a reflection of her gaining a lot of weight while I'm cheery as can be and excitedly rambling and losing fat consistently.

Part of me wants to grab sister by the shoulders and tell her all the awesomeness, but sister really doesn't want to hear it, and doesn't get excited about it, and has negative emotional connections with food and weight loss at the moment.

I've noticed when I'm with my Paleo BF we really unintentionally come across as "holier than thou" because we feed excitement off of each other about our Paleo diets and can completely derail a dinner conversation into a lesson in Primal living in no time without even realizing it.

If someone asks, or is Paleo, well, they opened the door so come crashing in like the kool-aid man, but if they are not even remotely the kind of persons who give a crap about diet and exercise, I would really keep it all to yourself and just say "No thanks."

:flowerforyou:

AsaThorsWoman

I've noticed when I'm with my Paleo BF we really unintentionally come across as "holier than thou" because we feed excitement off of each other about our Paleo diets and can completely derail a dinner conversation into a lesson in Primal living in no time without even realizing it.

What others don't realize is that this is our typical dinner conversations every night regardless of whether we're with others or not!

I really, really try to be more considerate of others because I know first hand that emotions and eating are a delicate balance.

mandabrett

You only have to explain it once. My peeps understand I eat this way. They really don't seem to notice my plate.

Howbouto

If someone asks, or is Paleo, well, they opened the door so come crashing in like the kool-aid man, but if they are not even remotely the kind of persons who give a crap about diet and exercise, I would really keep it all to yourself and just say "No thanks."

I started laughing at work over this one!!! So true. The girl that sits behind me (who is now a more compliante paleo peep than I) states I should get kick backs from "It Starts With Food". I have started at minimum 3 people on their paleo lifestyle with it.

pattyproulx

Depending on the personality of the people you will be with, some will always be pushy and try to make you eat something that you've said "no" to. I find it hard to understand why people do that, especially people who supposedly love us.

It blows my mind how true this is. I have my dad's wife's son is cleaning up his eating and exercising. He used to be obese and is slimming down considerably. They were all over for dinner a few weeks back (and we're usually big drinkers).

He decided he wasn't going to be drinking since he saves it up for bigger occasions and his mom kept badgering him to have a drink. FFS, why do people do this? Rather than say 'That's awesome.', people almost see it as a challenge to try and break the other person.

Why can't people be happy that others are doing things to improve their health?

monkeydharma

I know my G-Ma will be trying to feed me them pancakes and we'll be going out to eat, a-lot.

- If Grams is making flapjacks, she'll have eggs. Bring along an extra dozen or so and offer to cook up your own. As others have said, you can make a gluten intolerance excuse if you wish - or not.

- Going out is easy. You can always pick something that is paleo - or close to it. You don't have to be 100% if you catch the biggest problem foods: grains and sugar. You can put up with canola oil for a meal, etc. And everyone has a chef's salad.

anotherplayer

Just wanted to say wow! And thank you to all! The trip went well and I ate lots of meat and veggies. Pies were offered daily, but they finally got it near the end. Thank you again for your responses!

primalkiwi

Why can't people be happy that others are doing things to improve their health?

because we make them feel guilty about their own eating habits ;-) I put up with it daily in my household - I snapped a while back after I got sick of continually having rubbish food offered to me. I simply turned around to the offender and said "If I was an alcoholic trying to recover would you keep offering me a drink?" - obvious what the answer was to that so I continued with "Sugar and wheat make me sick and you are aware of that so why do you keep trying to get me to eat them?" ....silence :-)