Dealing with everyone's questions
Fairysoul
Posts: 1,361 Member
How do you handle all the questions about your food choices?
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Replies
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Short and sweet: no sugar/sweeteners, no grains.0
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I explain that it's for my health, and that I can point them to the science behind it if they're interested (usually via Marks Daily Apple, Robb Wolf's website or Balance Bites). It's hard not to over-whelm them with info, but I make it clear that there are lots of people who eat this way and we're all generally far healthier than people who eat standard diets.
And then I suggest they give it a shot for a week and see how they feel :happy:0 -
Thats such good advice thank you, Skwidlund!!0
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I haven't really had anyone say anything besides, "Whoa! You lost weight!"
If they ask, I've said basically no wheat or white flour....I do still use a tiny bit of sugar, honey, etc.. 0 -
I tell people I have food sensitivities, which obviously I do since I haven't gotten a migrane since switching to primal/paleo and I was getting them every 10days or so. My boss likes to bring in breakfast sometimes so he was asking me the other day what I will eat and said "oh, thats a lot easier than I thought" haha0
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I don't use the words Paleo, Primal or caveman. I tell them that I am eating low carb, healthy Farmers Market fruits and veggies, and that I cut out processed foods and let it go at that. There seems to be an acceptance of low carb and healthy.0
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'i follow a low carb, high fat, ketogenic lifestyle. i'm allergic to carbs, they make me fat'0
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I have found it easier not to mention you are eating Paleo. I tried that once and got into a debate with someone because they heard it was bad for you (too much meat/fat etc. etc.)
what I do tell people when they ask is that I have cut out grains/sugar/processed food
99% of the time its the grains that people can't understand why I don't eat them but I tell them I easily get all the carbs I need from fruit
I also point out that I eat lots of fresh veggies and organic meat which I doubt anyone would say is bad for you0 -
I tell them that I eliminated all processed food and drink so that my liver can digest instead of detox! When my liver is not detoxing, it is burning fat efficiently. I eat fresh fruit, vegetables, lots of fish, chicken, and meat, and as clean as possible! Some respond with "ah you are a cavewoman" or "you're doing paleo/primal". It is fun seeing who is in the know.0
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I have just started being asked about how I have lost my weight! The first few people I mentioned Paleo/Primal and they began to tell me how bad it is for me. ( by the way a in addition to being a massage therapist and personal trainer, I am trained food coach /psych) so VERY well trained and educated on MANY different theory's and ways to eat). Not feeling like arguing or eduacting people who are not interested I shortened my answer to I ELIMINATED ALL GRAINS! SUGAR AND PROCCESSED FOODS! OTHER THAN CHEEESE. When they ask what I can eat I say, meat, fish, veges, berries and nuts! Don't know how anyone can argue with. That!0
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I have just started being asked about how I have lost my weight! The first few people I mentioned Paleo/Primal and they began to tell me how bad it is for me. ( by the way a in addition to being a massage therapist and personal trainer, I am trained food coach /psych) so VERY well trained and educated on MANY different theory's and ways to eat). Not feeling like arguing or eduacting people who are not interested I shortened my answer to I ELIMINATED ALL GRAINS! SUGAR AND PROCCESSED FOODS! OTHER THAN CHEEESE. When they ask what I can eat I say, meat, fish, veges, berries and nuts! Don't know how anyone can argue with. That!
I like that! Ill have to keep it short next time I get into it with someone!0 -
I love when I tell people I've eliminated grains from my diet. Usually they'll get a shocked look and ask "Don't we NEED grains?"
I'll respond with "For...?" and watch as the wheels in their heads start turning. Umm, carbs? Fiber? Nutrients? Nope! I'm getting all of those things from fruits and veggies and unprocessed foods. Good try, though.0 -
I love hearing these responses. I'm pretty new to paleo/primal and I've just been telling people I don't eat processed foods.0
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I tell them I just have real food.0
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I tell them I just have real food.
This ^^!
Plus I just don't talk about Paleo/Primal in the manner I used to. I don't go into specifics because if somebody really wants to know, they'll pick up a book like I did when I first learned about it. They'll question everything about it, and decide for themselves if they're strong enough to try it. I can't tell you how many times I've heard the "I could never give up ____" line. At that point, I drop it and move on. I said that once too but then I started to ponder if I could indeed give it up. I challenged myself and made no excuses.
I think it takes a strong person to be Primal/Paleo, and only the strongest will get through the challenges that come with the lifestyle. I also think it's really important to understand the science of why we shouldn't eat those no-no foods because without that knowledge, there isn't a reason to continue without them instead of just popping a pill for arthritis, diabetes, high blood pressure, etc. Just my take...0 -
This is how the convo went...
She said "I'm still the chick that refuses to count calories -because she doesn't know how - doesn't believe in "dieting" and clearly doesn't know the first thing about body cleansing ...what about vitamin d and calcium, that doesn't seem healthy to me?"
I said this "I don't really diet I try to look at things as a lifestyle change, in my eyes if you workout a bit and eat healthful foods, in moderation it will be fine. I just think trying primal for a month will help curve my sweets cravings, I go all out too often on things like brownies and ice cream, even things that are processed!! I do track all my calories and vitamin intakes, and when one seems lower I supplement but mostly if you eat right you shouldn't need too. I wouldn't do anything like it if I wasn't able to keep track of what I am actually getting!! I also take cod liver oil and drink almond milk, plenty of vid d and calcium there.."0 -
Oh and she had nothing to say, and she's usually the one who trys to know it all!! I dunno it felt good to know what I am talking about so I can back myself up when people look down on me and my choices... I shouldn'r even care really but sometimes you want people to know that you mean business..0
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When I first started Primal Blueprint, I told my best friend and her husband. They asked a lot of questions and were politely skeptical. (I can only imagine their conversations behind my back.) It got tiring when every time we shared a meal they would ask "can you eat this? Can you eat that?" So last month we went on vacation together, and while I tried to make good meal choices, I indulged in desserts and sweet cocktails every day and I felt it. Bad.
For me, inflammation shows up in my Achilles tendons and in my thumbs making walking and lifting stuff painful. I had been living with this pain chronically for several years (I'm 52.) I thought it just sucked getting older and I popped ibuprofen daily. But quitting sugar and grains has eliminated my pain, and I've lost some weight.
So, while on vacation after complaining about pain in my heels, my "supportive" friend says " it's too bad that the things you used to enjoy (sugar) make you feel bad now." And I'm like-"No, sugar made me feel bad for a long time. I just didn't know it was the cause of my pain." I don't believe she gets it, though. And I don't feel like defending my "diet" to her anymore.0 -
I have found it easier not to mention you are eating Paleo. I tried that once and got into a debate with someone because they heard it was bad for you (too much meat/fat etc. etc.)
I tend to say I eat an anti-inflammatory, whole foods-based traditional diet. The anti-inflammatory part really interests people who deal with chronic issues like arthritis.
And I also stay away from paleo or primal phrasing in the real world. I tend to find it to be a bit misleading and narrow - I don't eat just what a paleolithic person would have eaten, but I do eat along those principals of natural, seasonal and unrefined.0 -
I tend to say I eat an anti-inflammatory, whole foods-based traditional diet. The anti-inflammatory part really interests people who deal with chronic issues like arthritis.
And I also stay away from paleo or primal phrasing in the real world. I tend to find it to be a bit misleading and narrow - I don't eat just what a paleolithic person would have eaten, but I do eat along those principals of natural, seasonal and unrefined.
Good job Skwidlund! I sometimes struggle what to tell my friends and this puts it best. Although I am from Michigan, I am living in Mexico, land of the tortilla....Being such a staple, I often have a hard time trying to translate to people why I can't eat them.0 -
Even on this site, I've noticed that "we" get attacked for our food choices. It's the only complaint that I have here. We are supposed to be tolerant and supportive of everyone.
The people that have issue with how I eat know a heck of a lot less about health and nutrition than I do. So I need to learn to shut my mouth, smile, and stop trying to defend myself. No matter how hard one tries, you can't educate people who don't make any attempt to educate themselves.
Also, I live with Inuit. I can see first-hand, in real-time, the health problems that arise from switching from the natural food that humans were meant to eat, to eating the modern diet. Yup, keep eating those 12 servings of grain; it's good for you!0 -
When I saw the modern recipe for akutaq was based on crisco, it was instantly apparent why Inuit are being destroyed by the 'white man's diet'. When it was made with caribou or seal fat, it was a healthy snack, but not anymore.
To respond to the OP, like most here it gets dumbed down to eating real, unprocessed food; mainstream media, Dr Oz, and Big Food/Pharma have more money to push back against a diet that doesn't include stuff in a box, bottle or bag. They haven't figured out how to make money from paleo yet--no 'Pemmican Crunchy cereal' in the product pipeline yet, and no need for a drugstore in one's medicine cabinet. Thus the 'it's unhealthy' rote response.
For those who try to tell me bread/grains are a food group, I suggest that's like saying hamburger is a food group. Grains and legumes are part of the plant food group, not a group unto themselves. I eat lots of other plants; but not those.
And yes, a bagel IS a *processed* food: read the label!0 -
I love when I tell people I've eliminated grains from my diet. Usually they'll get a shocked look and ask "Don't we NEED grains?"
I'll respond with "For...?" and watch as the wheels in their heads start turning. Umm, carbs? Fiber? Nutrients? Nope! I'm getting all of those things from fruits and veggies and unprocessed foods. Good try, though.
Lol, I'll have to remember that! It came up once around my husband's grandparents that I quit eating grains, and that was pretty much his grandmother's response (though I think it was more along the lines of "aren't grains good for you?"). I couldn't really come up with anything (because I'm not a fast-on-my-feet type of thinker, and was looking for an actual explanation for why grains are bad).0 -
I usually said something like that, "Are you ready to hear my answer and be amazed?"
Them:"Yes, please?"
Me:"Okay, I eat bacons and all those nasty fats everyday. I don't eat carbs such as grains, sugars, and processed foods because they are silent killers. 80% of what you eat will have the impact on your body. Now is it too much for you to understand it?"
Them:"Wow! You are crazy! You will have a heart-attack fo sho!"
Me: "Let's see who will have the heart-attack first in 50 years from now."
Them: "You are crazy!!!"
I usually don't explain everything to them, unless they have the will to understand it. It save my and their time.0 -
I did make sure to get my blood work done - so when people say I'm going to die of a heart attack, I show them my numbers and ask them to share theirs.0
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I say I eat an anti-inflammatory diet which primarily excludes grains/carbs. Which is essentially true. I they question me further I tell the truth again, that I have an autoimmune disease. It's all in the wording.0
