Unsolicited advice

dusty_712001
dusty_712001 Posts: 172 Member
A little background:

I was walking this morning as usual when a man going the other way stops me and ask if I am walking to lose weight. I of course told him yes. He asked how long I had been doing that and how much I had lost. So I told him I had been doing this for 3 months and had lost 91 pounds. He said, oh about 20 pounds a month (wrong I know, but I let it pass). He asked if I had been doing any special diet. I told him that all I was doing was eating less and keeping my carbs low (I really did not want to get in depth).

So, he starts talking about how eating 90% vegan would help me lose weight faster and helped keep the body in balance because its healthier.

Faster......30 pounds a month isn't fast enough????

Healthier......All my blood work is perfect. Bad cholesterol and triglycerides are low, good cholesterol is high. BP and pulse rate are perfect. Blood sugar is normal.

I definitely did not feel like discussing the benefits of a low carb lifestyle. I wanted to get on with my walk. I am not knocking a vegetarian or vegan lifestyle, but its not for me. I believe different people respond well to different methods. It's just annoying that the guy thinks he knows better for me than I do because he has seen me for 30 seconds one time.

End of rant.

P.S. I plan on posting progress pics soon. I created a photobucket account. I just need to upload and crop some pics.
«1

Replies

  • hbrittingham
    hbrittingham Posts: 2,518 Member
    91 lbs in three months is awesome!

    There will always be people out there who think their way is better. Sometimes it's easier to nod your head and then go on your way.
  • MSeel1984
    MSeel1984 Posts: 2,297 Member
    A little background:

    I was walking this morning as usual when a man going the other way stops me and ask if I am walking to lose weight. I of course told him yes. He asked how long I had been doing that and how much I had lost. So I told him I had been doing this for 3 months and had lost 91 pounds. He said, oh about 20 pounds a month (wrong I know, but I let it pass). He asked if I had been doing any special diet. I told him that all I was doing was eating less and keeping my carbs low (I really did not want to get in depth).

    So, he starts talking about how eating 90% vegan would help me lose weight faster and helped keep the body in balance because its healthier.

    Faster......30 pounds a month isn't fast enough????

    Healthier......All my blood work is perfect. Bad cholesterol and triglycerides are low, good cholesterol is high. BP and pulse rate are perfect. Blood sugar is normal.

    I definitely did not feel like discussing the benefits of a low carb lifestyle. I wanted to get on with my walk. I am not knocking a vegetarian or vegan lifestyle, but its not for me. I believe different people respond well to different methods. It's just annoying that the guy thinks he knows better for me than I do because he has seen me for 30 seconds one time.

    End of rant.

    P.S. I plan on posting progress pics soon. I created a photobucket account. I just need to upload and crop some pics.

    There will always be that person who thinks their way to eat is the only way and they think they're bestowing some amazing gift on you by sharing their lifestyle. Best thing you can do is smile, nod and be thinking *this is such crap.*
  • digitalbill
    digitalbill Posts: 1,410 Member
    Do you want to know another way to drop the weight off REALLY fast?
    Eat NOTHING AT ALL.
    Thats right. Eating absolutly nothing will gaurentee the fat will just MELT away.
    Imagine how jelous your friends will be when you look like a concentration camp survivor.
    Granted, there are a few unplesent side effecs but, those are unimportant right now.
  • MSeel1984
    MSeel1984 Posts: 2,297 Member
    Do you want to know another way to drop the weight off REALLY fast?
    Eat NOTHING AT ALL.
    Thats right. Eating absolutly nothing will gaurentee the fat will just MELT away.
    Imagine how jelous your friends will be when you look like a concentration camp survivor.
    Granted, there are a few unplesent side effecs but, those are unimportant right now.

    HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! Well put.
  • dusty_712001
    dusty_712001 Posts: 172 Member
    91 lbs in three months is awesome!

    There will always be people out there who think their way is better. Sometimes it's easier to nod your head and then go on your way.

    That's the method I was going with. It would have been easier, but he was trying to give me web addresses to look up.
  • jfinnivan
    jfinnivan Posts: 360 Member
    He shouldn't do that. He'll go into starvation mode and put all of the 91 pounds back on!
    Do you want to know another way to drop the weight off REALLY fast?
    Eat NOTHING AT ALL.
    Thats right. Eating absolutly nothing will gaurentee the fat will just MELT away.
    Imagine how jelous your friends will be when you look like a concentration camp survivor.
    Granted, there are a few unplesent side effecs but, those are unimportant right now.
  • So, he starts talking about how eating 90% vegan would help me lose weight faster and helped keep the body in balance because its healthier.

    Faster......30 pounds a month isn't fast enough????

    I've noticed that many vegans tent to proselytize about these sorts of things using whatever "in" they can - if this person saw you gardening, they probably would have cited environmental reasons, or if they saw you walking a dog they'd have cited animal rights.
    I have vegan friends who don't talk about it at all and who stick to the diet for very personal reasons, so they're not all like this, obviously, but don't get too upset about it. Being vegan is like being religious in my opinion - if it's what you chose for yourself, that's great, and if you enjoy talking about it to people who are curious, good for you, but if you make a point to try to persuade strangers that your way is the best way, then you're just going to make yourself look bad.
  • nc90
    nc90 Posts: 83 Member
    JUST BY EATING A FRENCH FRY!
    He shouldn't do that. He'll go into starvation mode and put all of the 91 pounds back on!
    Do you want to know another way to drop the weight off REALLY fast?
    Eat NOTHING AT ALL.
    Thats right. Eating absolutly nothing will gaurentee the fat will just MELT away.
    Imagine how jelous your friends will be when you look like a concentration camp survivor.
    Granted, there are a few unplesent side effecs but, those are unimportant right now.
  • penrbrown
    penrbrown Posts: 2,685 Member
    This is so bizarre.
  • 91lbs lost is AWESOME! Whatever you are doing, keep doing it because it is working for YOU! I am sure the guy meant well, but everyone is different and what works for some doesn't work for all. That is exactly why I framed in one of my three garage bays and built my own gym. I have 3 pieces of cardio equipment, a very nice bench with cage (for squats, lats, etc.), a flat bench, adjustable dumb bells and other equipment. I got tired of listening to everyones advice on how, why and when to work out. Everyone has an opinion and their's is "always" right because they went to "this class" or have "that degree". Most are pretty cool about it and just want to give a different perspective on what to do and how to do it, but some were absolutely overbearing and rude. I have told more than one person to pound sand and stay on their side of the gym and worry about themselves.

    Keep up the good work!
  • Newf77
    Newf77 Posts: 802 Member
    It is obivious to me that what you are doing is working for you. You were much kinder than I would have been. I might have advised him that I was in practice to become a Zombie and you have never heard of a vegan Zombie, have you?
  • Takarameri
    Takarameri Posts: 152 Member
    It is obivious to me that what you are doing is working for you. You were much kinder than I would have been. I might have advised him that I was in practice to become a Zombie and you have never heard of a vegan Zombie, have you?

    This is an awesome answer!

    OP- Great job on your loss!
  • It is obivious to me that what you are doing is working for you. You were much kinder than I would have been. I might have advised him that I was in practice to become a Zombie and you have never heard of a vegan Zombie, have you?

    This is an awesome answer!

    OP- Great job on your loss!

    Agreed! With both! :D
  • Erika1962
    Erika1962 Posts: 187 Member
    Fainted after the *91 pounds in 3 month*:noway: AWESOME!!!!
  • UncleMac
    UncleMac Posts: 13,776 Member
    I've yet to meet a vegan who doesn't proselytize their diet. Like the reformed smoker who chides those who haven't kicked the habit, vegans seem to assume they merit a position of moral superiority.

    91 lbs in 3 months sounds a bit frightening. My dietitian wants me to lose between 1 & 2 lbs per week.
  • dusty_712001
    dusty_712001 Posts: 172 Member
    Fainted after the *91 pounds in 3 month*:noway: AWESOME!!!!

    It sounds like alot but I started with over 250 pounds to lose. When you have that much weight, any activity has some pretty serious calorie burns. Include taking in a resonable amount of calories and I was dropping pretty fast. I know the next three months I probably wont lose at the same rate, although I would like to drop at least another 70.
  • opuntia
    opuntia Posts: 860 Member
    It's just annoying that the guy thinks he knows better for me than I do because he has seen me for 30 seconds one time.

    I find most people think they know better than most people, regardless of how long they've known them. It's not worth getting annoyed at the delusions of other people, particularly strangers.

    I am, however, quite astonished at the idea that someone would stop someone who was walking and ask if they were walking to lose weight. I can see stopping someone who's jogging or running - that's obviously a fitness thing - but most people walking are walking to get somewhere, or because they like the scenery. I would be quite amused if someone stopped me as I was walking to work and asked if I was walking to lose weight.
  • gpstrucker
    gpstrucker Posts: 930 Member
    That's a lot of weight lost in a very short time.

    As for the vegan, they aren't all zealous nuts but enough to make them all look bad in the eyes of many LOL
  • Do you want to know another way to drop the weight off REALLY fast?
    Eat NOTHING AT ALL.
    Thats right. Eating absolutly nothing will gaurentee the fat will just MELT away.
    Imagine how jelous your friends will be when you look like a concentration camp survivor.
    Granted, there are a few unplesent side effecs but, those are unimportant right now.

    Bahahahahahaha! Good one!
  • jensauce
    jensauce Posts: 150 Member
    I've yet to meet a vegan who doesn't proselytize their diet. Like the reformed smoker who chides those who haven't kicked the habit, vegans seem to assume they merit a position of moral superiority.


    SOOO true...i have lots of vegan friends, but i'm getting sick of them telling me how awful it is that i eat meat, and GASP! bacon?! i am a straight up carnivore, and while i've focused a LOT on fruits and veggies recently, i can never give up meat. and no, those vegan "substitutes" are nothing like the real thing.
  • Wonder what he would have said if you told him you were a cannibal?

    Great job on your loss. keep on keeping on.
  • aftergypsies
    aftergypsies Posts: 248 Member
    I've gotten annoying advice like this before as well. Some lady at the grocery store told me I would lose a lot if I went on her diet that consisted of nothing but boiled arugula. Yeah, no thanks. Hah
  • mom2handh1975
    mom2handh1975 Posts: 224 Member
    Congrats on the amazing changes you're making! As for the other guy, some people just suck. :grumble:
  • JenniBaby85
    JenniBaby85 Posts: 855 Member
    People try it with me too. I know I'm doing fine though, some are just well meaning individuals, and some are just malicious individuals. Either way, what works for some people, does not work for others.
  • dusty_712001
    dusty_712001 Posts: 172 Member
    I've yet to meet a vegan who doesn't proselytize their diet. Like the reformed smoker who chides those who haven't kicked the habit, vegans seem to assume they merit a position of moral superiority.

    91 lbs in 3 months sounds a bit frightening. My dietitian wants me to lose between 1 & 2 lbs per week.

    I understand that 1 to 2 pounds per week is standard that is accepted. The fact is that with what I had to lose, that would have taken me between 2 1/2 to 5 years. I would be very surprised to see someone stay focused for so long since seeing any significant results would take forever. I do not believe I could do it.

    I am trying to do it as healthy as possible. During the week I eat between 1200 and 1500 calories and stay under 30 carbs. On the weekend I try to eat between 2000 and 2200 calories and stay around 75 carbs. And every 6 weeks or so I have a day where I do not worry about my carb intake at all to have some former favorites. As I near my goal, I will increase my calories to reduce my deficit, to work up gradually to a maintainence level.

    I have increased my walking so that now I am walking up to 2 hours a day 5-6 days per week. I also do some strength training, hitting all the major muscle groups at least once a week, and keep my protein intake high to make sure as little of the weight loss as possible is coming from lean muscle tissue.

    This is what is working for me. I am not saying I would recommend someone with only 30 pounds to lose to do it in one month.
  • ldrosophila
    ldrosophila Posts: 7,512 Member
    Do you want to know another way to drop the weight off REALLY fast?
    Eat NOTHING AT ALL.
    Thats right. Eating absolutly nothing will gaurentee the fat will just MELT away.
    Imagine how jelous your friends will be when you look like a concentration camp survivor.
    Granted, there are a few unplesent side effecs but, those are unimportant right now.

    I think they call that the Aushwitz diet. That was a very effective diet you could totally see the abs and hip bones.

    *Sorry if anyone finds this offensive, but I couldnt help it.
  • 12skipafew99100
    12skipafew99100 Posts: 1,669 Member
    Congratualtions on your success!
  • Contrarian
    Contrarian Posts: 8,138 Member
    When people I don't know start giving me uninvited advice, I usually just tell them that my mother doesn't allow me to talk to strangers and walk away.
  • leejayem
    leejayem Posts: 120 Member
    It's taken me my whole life to realise that long term weight loss is not about some super diet or "tricky" way of eating. I think that for most of us who struggle with our weight, it's not because we don't know how to eat healthy & exercise, it's because food has taken on an importance that we find so hard to replace - I've never had a pizza or bar of chocolate tell me I'm ugly or worthless!!! I say good on all of us here because we are trying to get our lives in order & deal with our food/body issues. Whatever works for each one is different - if only it was a simple as your unsolicited advisor would like to have us believe!!
  • heatherloveslifting
    heatherloveslifting Posts: 1,428 Member
    Holy crap! You lost a pound a day! That's just amazing!