People fear the new and unknown. It's an evolved trait. You're scaring them!

I like scaring them, but if you want to frame it in a way they understand, maybe call it a "low toxin" diet. Some people call it a "low insulin" diet.

Theres a saying i like to remind myself of at tines like these....You can't argue with stupid... .

I leave people mostly unaware, but those who I eat with frequently know. And my teachers know, since it's to manage a medical condition. I did have a kinesiology major tell me something similar, I told him I was a bio major, and pre-health at that, so his physical therapist training could just step aside.

I just tell people I don't eat anything with sugar in it! That has solved all my problems with co-workers, opinionated adult children and such

LolaDeeDaisy23 wrote: »

What do you do when other people tell you this WOE is unhealthy, "bad for you," "will give you a heart attack," etc.?
Do you even bother to tell people you're on a low carb diet?
My coworker was arguing with me that being in ketosis means my "muscles are being eaten up"
I tried explaining to him that no, ketosis just means the body converts to burning ketones for energy vs glucose. And it was just a pointless conversation..he said he knows for a fact he's correct because he's a kinesiology major.
You can't argue with people like that.
So what do you guys do?
Do you even bother explaining? Or are your coworkers/ friends/ family unaware of your diet?

Or instead of educating a fool, just tell him to google it. And laugh at him, really loud....

Dan

ki4eld wrote: »

If anyone asks, I explain nicely and in non-geek terms. If they have a perplexed look, I toss out "135lbs lost, normal cholesterol levels, normal cardiac function, and I can bench press 170lbs." And then they shut up and go away.

If they continue to say stupid things, I use sarcasm to keep from killing them. I just look at them like they're a toddler and say slowly, "Would you like me to draw you a picture or should I explain it again more slowly? Because... science." And that usually shuts them up. If they're going to say stupid things, I can't be responsible for my facial expressions or comments. I'm only human.

Then again, I have an amazing RBF, so pretty much no one questions me about anything. Those that do know me don't want me to let the b*tch flow, so they stay off my case too.

^^^^ I love it K!!!! I'll have to try that response on the next person...

Dan the Man from Michigan
Keto / The Recipe Water Fasting / E.A.S.Y. Exercise Program
Current weight: 194.9, 119 pounds down, 16 to go. 14 months on diet

Well Meaning Diet Advice Given to You ~ That is Just Plain Wrong!

The lady that owns a vitamin/supplement store that I just discovered kept trying to tell me that we HAVE to eat at least s little fruit and have some carbs each day to be healthy or else our muscles will be used up. I just asked her then at what point did she think the body would use up stored fat... Since, you know, that's what it's for. I explained that I know (thanks to wabmester) that a certain amount of glucose is needed each day, and that it will come from protein so I account for it and make sure I eat enough protein for it to not be an issue. And that beyond that minimal amount, there's no reason for the body to use any more protein for glucose needs and there's plenty of stored and consumer fats for energy. She still tried to defend fruit, but I just said, we will just have disagree on that.

Sunny_Bunny_ wrote: »

The lady that owns a vitamin/supplement store that I just discovered kept trying to tell me that we HAVE to eat at least s little fruit and have some carbs each day to be healthy or else our muscles will be used up. I just asked her then at what point did she think the body would use up stored fat... Since, you know, that's what it's for. I explained that I know (thanks to wabmester) that a certain amount of glucose is needed each day, and that it will come from protein so I account for it and make sure I eat enough protein for it to not be an issue. And that beyond that minimal amount, there's no reason for the body to use any more protein for glucose needs and there's plenty of stored and consumer fats for energy. She still tried to defend fruit, but I just said, we will just have disagree on that.

Had that with a lady at a health meetup. Let's just say that we politely agreed to disagree on the matter of fruits and vegetables (I had literally just started carnivore when I had that discussion).

LolaDeeDaisy23 wrote: »

What do you do when other people tell you this WOE is unhealthy, "bad for you," "will give you a heart attack," etc.?
Do you even bother to tell people you're on a low carb diet?
My coworker was arguing with me that being in ketosis means my "muscles are being eaten up"
I tried explaining to him that no, ketosis just means the body converts to burning ketones for energy vs glucose. And it was just a pointless conversation..he said he knows for a fact he's correct because he's a kinesiology major.
You can't argue with people like that.
So what do you guys do?
Do you even bother explaining? Or are your coworkers/ friends/ family unaware of your diet?

"So, since you're a kinesiology major, you know that ketones are the byproduct of burning fat then, and not protein, and that the performance loss athletes report when first switching to a ketogenic diet is a result of glycogen depletion and is temporary."

Had a strongman friend said he had to have carbs, because science proved that he needed it, and the strongest man in the world said so, too. We argued for a few minutes about it, until I pointed out that the only real reason he needed it was because of his ego, because he didn't want to back off the load or volume of his workouts for a few weeks and work back up...and might have also had to do with rubbing it in that my method for dropping weight allowed me to eat bacon cheeseburgers (since the conversation started, because he was whining about what he couldn't have when dropping weight).

Generally speaking, though, I don't engage in such conversations. If I do, it's usually the medical aspect and explaining how it improves Diabetes, PCOS, and cholesterol issues. People can't really argue with medical facts.

LolaDeeDaisy23 wrote: »

What do you do when other people tell you this WOE is unhealthy, "bad for you," "will give you a heart attack," etc.?
Do you even bother to tell people you're on a low carb diet?
My coworker was arguing with me that being in ketosis means my "muscles are being eaten up"
I tried explaining to him that no, ketosis just means the body converts to burning ketones for energy vs glucose. And it was just a pointless conversation..he said he knows for a fact he's correct because he's a kinesiology major.
You can't argue with people like that.
So what do you guys do?
Do you even bother explaining? Or are your coworkers/ friends/ family unaware of your diet?

I have done enough research that I can explain the science in layman's terms what is going on.

My body is able to get its operating energy from three sources - carbohydrates, fats, and protein. It's easiest for my body to get its energy from carbohydrates, which turn into glucose once they are consumed. Unfortunately, my body has lost its ability to move glucose out of my bloodstream efficiently, and glucose in the bloodstream, sustained at levels > 140 mg/dl, damage organs. You can fix having too much insulin in the bloodstream two ways: The first is by making the "train" out of the bloodstream work more efficient by using medicines that either reduce insulin resistance or add more insulin to the mix. The medically recommended goal, using one or both of these medications is an average of 140 or 152 mg/dl - which means (in either case) periods of sustained blood glucose concentrations above the level at level at which I am damaging my organs. Those goals are set not because they are healthy, but because they are the lowest goals at which anyone making the "train" more efficient can expect to achieve.

But insulin resistance and insulin insufficiency are chronic, progressive disorders. Having that level of excess glucose hanging around accelerates the disease progression - leading to organ failure, amputation, loss of vision, etc.

The other solution is to fix the input - fewer carbohydrates in, mean less glucose that needs to hop the train out. My impaired system can handle the traffic if there isn't so much of it. Eating fewer than 50 net carbs a day means my blood sugar never reaches the level at which it does damage. It still doesn't fix the underlying disorder, but I can at least go into remission by only consuming the amount of carbohydrates my body can process in a healthy way.

Then we get to the question of where does my body get the energy to operate - and the second easiest place for it to get energy is from fats. The hardest (and damaging for other reasons - at least for people with insulin resistance or insufficiency) is protein. So my body engine gets most of what it needs to run on from an alternate fuel source - fats.

I don't talk about the goal being high fat - I talk about my goals being low carb and moderate protein. They are my goals. The consequence of those goals is that I do eat a relatively high quantity of fat. But talking about eating a high fat diet as a goal sets people's teeth on edge. And, for me, it really is a medical issue. It is every bit as important (likely more) than popping a pill - and to treat insulin resistance/insufficiency - it is definitely more effective.

EbonyDahlia wrote: »

It's quite frankly none of their business. I had my vegan SIL ask me at a family thing how I could possibly expect to be healthy without fruit and grain in my diet. I asked her how she could possibly expect to be healthy without food in her diet. She shut up. She gave me the "cats bum" face for a while, but I don't care.

I've never heard that expression before, but it literally made me LOL.